Submit
Report

Northern California Lake Fishing Report

Limit:

Tuesday, May 20th, 2014

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished a half day today, launched at Lime saddle, off the lake about noon. Bite has slowed down a tad, all fish caught today have spawned and are thin now, no fat bellies. the males all have tails frayed a tad and side of face scrapped from bed making. Managed 26 fish today, 3 right at 15" all the rest 14 1/2 to 12". More smaller fish caught today then last trip. Also got a 9 pound catfish, that had me thinking I had a giant spot hog, only to be a catfish. Darn thing took about 15 minutes to land. Most colors worked today, I still like the brown shades, anything with brown works for me. Morning dawn worked well after 10 am.
      City: Magalia

      Tips: Got me a little 14 ft Klamath, will be going out more from now on. Still, anyone with a boat looking for a fish partner, let me know, lets go catch some spots. Email me at Jewelweaver@earthlink.net Guess, if you want to fish with me, let me know, got a spare seat for you.

Saturday, May 17th, 2014

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 72

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: We hit the water on Saturday for our second trip to Berryessa. We started in Ski Club cove and my nephew hooked up pretty quick with a small spot. About 6:30 I caught the big fish of the day, a 4 lber, on a black and red buzzbait. My dad caught a dink on a spook and that was the end of the topwater bite for us. We picked up a few more dinks back in the narrows on shakey heads and then moved out to the vineyards around 11:00. The bite was slow, but we caught 4 fish between 2 1/2 and 3 lbs on green pumpkin senkos with split shot weights about 2 1/2 feet above the hook (lazy man's carolina rig!).All in all it was a fun day and my best 5 (which is all the fish I caught that day) went about 12 1/2 lbs.
      City: Elk Grove

      Tips: Not sure I can give many tips as we really didn't get into them too well and I'm still learning the lake. I think you can catch fish on whatever you have confidence it at this lake so just go out there and chuck and wind and have fun!

  • Yuba County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Sorry - I meant to say that some of the rockpiles WERN'T very deep!

    • By

      Water Temp: 66-71

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: I took a father/son team to the lake Friday - and found the fishing to be good if size didn't matter! The son started the trip off (about 7:30 am) with a nice 3 1/2 lb spotted bass - but it was downhill from there. After the morning breeze stopped, the lake went absolutely flat, with bright sun. They still caught a few keepers, but just tons of dinks - which means the spawn is probably over. Had a tough time getting the boat out at the dam with the Friday crowd coming in the afternoon.

      Tips: We covered most of the lake as they wanted to learn how and where to fish in the summer. Small Berkely Havoc baits worked well along with the small brush hogs and 5" Senkos. I made a few casts with a swimbait and did get a good bass to hit it 3 times - but no hookup. Probably about 50 feet! Most bass were hitting in about 20 to 40 feet of water. Beware! There are numerous rockpiles that are now very deep - maybe 6 to 8 feet. I'm not sure they are all marked.

  • Solano County
    • By

      Water Temp: 70

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Launched at 6 out of River's End and it was already windy. Fished east facing walls throughout the day to stay out of the wind. Picked up a 3 3/4 pounder on top water within the first hour. Couple more like that but no more after 9AM. Caught em here and there on drop shot for the rest of the day. Through frogs, cranks, jerkbaits and punched but no takers.
      City: San Mateo

      Tips: Drop shot is always my go-to technique when things get tough. I like some flash when the water is stained so typically something with chartreuse.

Friday, May 16th, 2014

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 70 TO 74

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Went out late afternoon on Friday with Bob. He wanted to try out the rod and reel that he had picked up at a garage sale. He used a lipless crankbait with a feather tail for his first cast and he got smacked hard and thought he was stuck. I told him to keep reeling and he was having a hard time so I helped reel it in. It turned out to be a nice size pike (see photo). His next catch was a nice bass and he was happy with his new rod and reel. Saturday I went out on my own and it was a little windy so I headed out to the back of the Monticello Ski School where I hoped I would be sheltered from the wind. I spent most of the day there and caught a total of 28 fish of which only 8 were keeper size. I really enjoyed myself even though I didn't catch any real size bass. I'm looking forward to Memorial Day Weekend. 'til next week.................................................................................good fishing!!!!!!!!!
      www.fishingconnection.net If you have any questions or stories you would like to share please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com or call me at 650-583-3333.
      City: San Francisco

      Tips: PRO CURE SCENTS,BRASS AND GLASS ,AND MY HOBIE POLORIZE SUNGLASSES MADE IT EASIER TO CATCH FISH

  • Santa Clara County
    • By

      Water Temp: 65-70

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: went out at 8:00 am through swimbait with flasher hook in to a 3.13 in Cherie cove went a lithe farther tossed a carlonia lizard boom a 5.3 pig
      remainder of the day with lizard end up with 8 more fish 2 to 3 pound range
      City: Saratoga

      Tips: toss swim baits or small plactic baits up close to shorework back slow

      tight lines

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: Didn't look!!

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Launched at Lime Saddle at 6 am, fished till 10:30 am. Went to north fork and managed just 29 fish, 3 right at 15", the rest ranging from 14 1/2" to 4", yep, got me a 4" small mouth that thought he was a 20" fish. The bait was bigger then the fish!! Water dropping now, down about 5 feet from our high a few weeks ago. Get ready, water will be a record low this year. I found an area full of small small mouth, most 10-13", ended up catch 6 or so in one location. They all thought they were big :>) Most fish from 5 to 30 feet deep.
      City: Magalia

Wednesday, May 14th, 2014

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 66-71

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Just a quick report - Mike and I did the lake from 5 pm to a little after midnight. The lake was flat calm - what a concept!!! We worked the east and west shore of the Clearlake arm and found the fishing excellent for medium size bass. Mike got the catfish award this time - about 15 lbs. He also got the big bass award at 6.91 lbs, just before we quit. It was the night of the 4 1/2's - about 7 or 8 bass in that approx. 4 1/2 lb range. Not bad. Two of mine were just under 5 lbs, but Mike's big one was the only over 5 lbs. Action was spotty but consistant the whole trip. Fish were from 3-4 feet down to 20 already. Tule banks with rock were good last night. We did manage a nice post-spawn limit of 26 lbs with around 25 nice bass and a few dinks.

      Tips: My, how the lake can change in 4 days - besides the flat water. Weed growth has been amazing with the warm days and some area with nasty looking floating stuff. That will change when the wind returns this weekend. The jig bite continues to be good for us, as well as the Senko bite before dark. A variety of Berkley Havoc baits were good too - black/blue. Mike and I were amazed at some of the savage hits we had after dark. Wow!! We were setting in self-defense! Not sure why that was unless the warm spell and post spawn hunger pangs fired 'em up.

Tuesday, May 13th, 2014

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 64

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished a half day today by my self, off the lake at noon. Launched at lime Saddle and boy was it windy the first couple hours. Fished points on the way to the North fork, picking up 6-7 fish, no large one. Fished the east side of north fork trying to get a buffer from the wind. Not as many suspended fish today for some reason, and fish tended to be smaller, not sure why. Managed a total of 37 spots on robo worms, fished in 5 to 30 feet of water. Only 2 15", 3 14 1/2", with the rest 12-14". Curly tail worked great today, think the tail action gets fish attention. Dark colors early, lighter as the sun got higher. Today a mix of Texas rigs and Carolina worked well. Saw a couple deer crossing the west fork, amazing how well they swim.
      City: Magalia

      Tips: Try working the east side of north fork, where the west fork meets, going south towards the damn, lots of fish in that area. Coves and points holding lots of fish. Find unusual structure and you will find fish.

Saturday, May 10th, 2014

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 62-66

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: I just looked at the wind speeds at Clear Lake for today (Sat). What a year for wind - maybe the worst I can remember at Clear Lake. I had a very good angler/client Thursday afternoon/night, and we were supposed to repeat on Friday. We started Friday about2:30 pm and lasted 'til about 7 pm. The lake was just like an ocean - went in for safety's sake! One 5 pounder and a dink - no post-front bite at all!. Thursday, in clouds and light rain, the bass (and catfish) were on the bite. My client and I were catching 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 pl bass, then they got bigger. After he landed one near 5 lbs, I got the "crunch" bite - and it was a good one. She went 9 lbs even - my first 9 of the year and 2nd 9 in the boat! After releasing the fish, he sticks another big one, but comes off in a few seconds. This was all around 7:30 pm. After dark the bite was fair but fishing was difficult as the wind was swirling. A bit north of Frazier Point, I got this huge hit in about 2 feet of water. I was very excited for about 30 seconds, and then - "Oh No!!" The 15 minute battle was on - and I won - I guess one can say that. Finally in the net, a near 24 lb channel catfish. At least this one didn't break my line - Berkley 12 lb fluorocarbon. She hit a jig! We quit about 1 am with a 28 lb limit of bass and a 24 lb one fish limit of catfish, LOL!!!

      Tips: There isn't really much to say as this venture to Clear Lake was not typical! I am very happy to personally see several 8's and two 9's in my boat. Quality has been excellent in the south end this year, as CLum just mentioned in his previous post. I am just so disturbed about all the tournament fish going not only to the casino, but now all the way to Nice. With the very low water levels that are ahead of us, and the possible low oxygen levels this summer, I hope their survival rate is ok. Some of you younger anglers better hope it is! The future is yours!!

Thursday, May 8th, 2014

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 62

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Looking back on the trip, about half the fish we caught were spawned out & half were still carrying eggs so it appears that there's a gap with pre spawn & post spawn. It was nice to see such a strong reaction bite, when they hit, they usually crushed the tackle! The fish all seemed healthy with good color & deep red gills. They fought like the dickens & I hope the bite keeps on going! If you can get to Clear Lake, do it! So far it's been one heck of a season! (Best one I've seen so far!)

    • By

      Water Temp: 61.2-63.0

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Pretty much the same as last night, we started earlier at 7:00pm got to fish Wheeler Point & picked up a nice 7.9 on a jig. After 30 minutes, the wind really picked up so we headed back to Frazier Point & Konocti. We caught a few more jig & managed one Carolina rig fish on a 10" red shad power worm. The rest came on reaction with the big 6th Sense & blades. Our best five went 7.9, 5.13, 5.9, 5.2, 4.10 for a best limit of 28.11. Not bad when you consider the wind really limited the spots we could fish!

      Tips: They were deeper tonight, in the 15-25ft range, all relating to rock structure. Made it out to dollar island but got blanked out there. Colors were Brown's again with some red thrown in. This trip was about wind. We used bigger & heavier baits just to get to the bottom structure & also not having our casts blown back in our face. We wore our vests 100% of the time& took no unnecessary chances. We fished rather slow presentations & the strikes were hard. This lake is one of my favorites, the bites still good so have fun & stay safe! Also, they were stacked so if you get bit, throw back to the spot, you might get hit again!

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 63

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Dana and I gave it a try today for a half day in the north fork. We managed 55 fish today. A mix of spots, smallie, and one 5-6 pound catfish. We only got a couple keepers, 15" plus fish, with the bulk 13-14 1/2", along with 4-5 fish less then 12". Windy, great for spot fishing. We also picked upa few spots suspended at 10-15 feet in 100 foot of water. Don't overlook the suspended fish, they can be caught. Bite is wide open right now.
      City: Magalia

      Tips: If you find suspended fish along the banks, then fish the bottom in that area, you'll get spots if you do. As always, if you own a boat and want a fish partner, let me know, lets go catch spots. Email me at Jewelweaver@earthlink.net

Wednesday, May 7th, 2014

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 60.4

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: What a difference a day makes! The jig and Texas rig bite went south but there was a decent reaction bite! We only boated 14 & they were smaller, but there was enough action to keep it interesting. Got on at 9:00pm & was off by 2:00am. The wind was terrible limiting the spots we could fish. We were using the 6th Sense Crush 500Dr (large deep diving crank) running it slow & bouncing it off the bottom. We also threw single Colorado blade spinnerbaits running them slow. We fished Konocti Bay again because of the wind. We caught one jig & one Carolina fig fish, the rest came on reaction. Our best five went: 6.8, 5.4. 4.7, 4.4, 4.2 for a total of 24.9.

      Tips: They were in 15-20ft off Rocky points, got quite a few off Frazier point. We were throwing the crank as far as we could, reel done fast for the first few turns, then slow rolled it the rest of the way in. They crushed it when they hit it. We had no luck with the Luckycraft 20d as it was too light to cast in the wind. We put on the 6th Sense for the weight & started getting strikes with it. Jimmy from Clearlake Bait & Tackle turned us on to them!

Tuesday, May 6th, 2014

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 61

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Ted & I hit the water at 11pm Monday waiting for the wind to die down. It was pretty bad so we didn't venture too far from our ramp. Fishing, however, was good! We nailed 3 fish on our first 4 casts, a couple of 3's & one 4 lber's. We got them on crankbaits & they clobbered the bait! Pulled out the jig rod & got two nice 7lber's, one was spawned out & the other was still heavy with roe. The night was very consistent for us, we boated 21 fish with our best 5 going 7.13, 7.4,7.2, 5.13, & 5.8 for a best limit of 33.8 which we were happy about because we,didn't know what to expect with the wind. Fish were in 10-15ft of water & were very active. We caught them on crankbaits, blades, swimbaits, jigs, & Texas rigs.

      Tips: We were throwing the Luckycraft D20, single Colorado blades, Berkeley 5" swimbaits in Hitch, Skinnybear 1/2 oz Griz jig with Damiki Knockout trailers. Texas,rigged double wide beavers from reaction innovation also worked. Colors were Brown's with red flake. We worked the jigs & Texas rigs rather fast with pronounced hops. We stayed in Konocti Bay & played shuck & duck with the wind. We threw against the wind otherwise you couldn't feel the baits. They were mostly in rocky structure, but we were very limited in unusable fishing spots. We were lucky that the fish were stacked up on the spots we could fish! Hope the wind lays down tomorrow.

Monday, May 5th, 2014

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 63

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Jeff and I fished for a half day today and slayed the bass. We caught so many that we lost count eventually. For sure we had 40 spots, maybe near 50 range. About 6-7 in the keeper range, over 15" with a couple in the 16" range. Just about any bait and style works right now. If you find suspended fish, then fish the banks and catch spots. Seems colors didn't matter today. Guessing the great bite is full on for the next month or so. This is the time to fish this lake, so get out and catch spots.
      City: Magalia

      Tips: Anyone with a boat looking for a fish partner?? let me know and lets catch fish. Email me at Jewelweaver@earthlink.net I'm ready to go.

Sunday, May 4th, 2014

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 68.5

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: I was getting my gear ready for Saturday's fishing when my neighbor who was out walking his dog came over and introduced himself. He told me he lived next to Bob who had told him about our fishing trips and what a good time he had and how knowledgeable I was about this lake and how to catch bass. He told me he was interested in learning how to catch fish and would I have any suggestions for him. I asked if he would like to go out tomorrow (Saturday) and he said yes. I asked him if he had any rods that he would like to use or if he needed to borrow mine. He said he had some rods to use. He went and got them to show me and his wife drove him back to my place. That's how I met Judge and Lori. I invited her to join us and she was excited about going out. I showed them a few basics and we agreed to meet at 9 AM the next morning. I set up my rods for the trip on my Okuma Rod Rack which holds up to sixteen rods and reels. When we started out the lake was like glass smooth as could be but as soon as we reached the main lake the wind picked up and you could see whitecaps. I told them that the ride over to the vineyards would be a little rough but that's where they really wanted to fish so we headed there. Judge caught the first bass of the day trolling but his line was frayed and snapped and goodbye fish, lure and line. This happened two more times. We decided to get to the vineyards and fish there. I had them use my equipment. I decided to use brass and glass and plastic worms. I told them to open the bail and let the worm go to the bottom and let me know when it reached the bottom. Judge got the first bite and landed a 4 lb bass he was thrilled. I took Lori's worm and put Pro-Cure crab scent with garlic on it and boy is that potent. I cast her line out towards shallow water and told her to just to make sure she felt the bottom. All of a sudden the line was jerked down hard and she knew she had a bite as she reeled the fish in and it jumped out of the water she realized she had a big bass. The closer she reeled it in the bigger it got. Judge did a great job of netting the bass which filled the whole net. The bass weighed in at 12.5 lbs!!!! (see photos) After taking pictures we released the bass. It was another great day of fishing at the vineyards. 'til next week................................................................good fishing!!!!!!!!
      www.fishingconnection.net If you have any questions or stories you would like to share please email me at bestguide@hotmail.com
      or call me at 650-583-3333
      City: San Francisco

      Tips: My web page is up and running again. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please visit me at www.fishingconnection.net.
      Thanks,
      Sid

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: 64-69

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Timing was better this trip as we were able to beat the incoming cold front by a few hours Friday. I guided a father, son, and friend from 5 pm 'til 1 am and found the fishing to be excellent! They had all made pre-trip bets and all I heard the first few hours was who owed who 5 bucks!!! That was fun since they were all doing well. The "friend" landed a 7 pounder, while I started making a few casts before dark to see if a jig was working and a 6 1/4 pounder told us it was! So, their 4 and my 1 made a limit of near 26 lbs before dark - about 3 hrs. After sandwiches and a small break, the heavy artillery came out along with their first experience fishing with a black light. They loved it and the bass put up quite a show as they jumped before we landed or lost them. Two of the guys each lost a big bass! In spite of that, the bite was good and they landed enough to bring their total to around 27-28 bass. The guys landed around 12 or 13 bass over 4 lbs. The "son" caught fire around midnight and landed 6 or 7 in a row - while the other just couldn't figure out what he was doing. As I have said before, sometimes the "back seater" rules!! I thought the trip back to the ramp might be a problem with the worsening wind, but the Z521 did fine!

      Tips: All of their bass except my 6 were in the top 10 feet of water - some right on the bank! I just fished off and on a little after dark and only caught 2 more. All of their bass before dark were caught on 5" Senkos, mostly #301. After dark, the new Berkley 5" Chigger Craw proved its worth! That WAS the hot bait and the one that "son" was using during his hot streak. I think I had him using the green craw color. The double-wide beaver worked also. Did not try any worms yet. We stuck with rocky areas with nearby flats for most of the trip. They caught several on dock pilings also. Some manmade rock walls held fish too, but most are too shallow to hold the bigger females.

Friday, May 2nd, 2014

  • Trinity County
    • By

      Water Temp: 58

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: fished a week there last week.first couple of days we nailed them on swim baits tons of 3 and 4 lb largemouth spots and smallmouth and 1 largemouth that went 8+ then the weather turned cold all our fishing was within 3 miles of Trinity Center.
      good luck be safe