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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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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

Wednesday, April 30th, 2014

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 63 to 66 depend

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Amazing fish day for Dana and I. We fished a half day and just killed them, not really, released all as always. We managed 50 spots today with a handful of small mouth. Largest a nice 17 1/2", about 3 1/2 pounds. A couple 16", a couple 15" and many in the 13-14 1/2" range. It was like every cast had a hit, we also missed many fish. We were doing wacky rigs, and targeted all the suspended fish off points early, then worked deeper as the sun got higher. Brown or one might say, natural looking worms were the hot ticket today. Fish from 5 feet to 25 feet, most suspended fish in the 15-20 foot range. Awesome bite in the north fork. We only worked once small section of shoreline today, no running around. Fishing is in full swing right now.
      City: Magalia

      Tips: Anyone with a boat looking for a fish partner, let me know, lets go catch some spots. Email me at Jewelweaver@earthlink.net Fishing is hot right now.

Sunday, April 27th, 2014

  • Napa County
    • By

      Water Temp: 65

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: What an amazing weekend!!!! Took my buddy Albert out on Saturday and hit some of my favorite spots. I noticed how low the water really is as we noticed rock formations and trees in areas we had not seen them before. Its one thing to see it on the fish finder another to actually see it in front of you. In Willy's ski school there is a tree laying in about eight feet of water that is always loaded with bass you can see them swimming around but catching them is another story. I watched at least ten bass boats trying their luck with no good results. I tried to entice a good size bass for at least fifteen minutes with no luck very frustrating. Albert had two blow ups on a large top water lure it was very exciting. We fished in approximately three feet of water and as the sun went down it got cold. We had a very enjoyable day. On Sunday John and I headed out in the morning and our goal was to end up at the vineyards. At the ranch house cove I saw many birds indicating bait so we went through the birds a few times and we were disappointed because we ALMOST had limits. We continued towards the vineyards and I found another bait ball in about fifty feet of water where the bass corralled them and now we had limits so for the balance of the day we culled the bass as we caught them. Now we are at the vineyards and the bass are everywhere it was bass heaven. You could see signs all over of the previous spawn. I hooked one of the largest bass I had ever caught had it on for about fifteen seconds and it snapped my line and broke my heart. I marked the spot and I'll be back!!! Bass were jumping all around us it was unreal. The weather was changing and white caps were forming and we had a ways to go to get back to the launch ramp so as much as we hated to leave we did. In the whole time we had fished this area we did not see any other bass boats which was surprising. What a great day!!! (see photos)
      '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: there will be another spawn get ready

Saturday, April 26th, 2014

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Temp: ?

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Now I have an excuse to thank the fellow who made the previous post. I appreciate it!! This is a very windy report. I had to postpone my trips last night and today. Two or three boats were pulling out after fishing for awhile out of Red Bud - too rough. And next week is supposed to be in the 80's. Timing is everything!!

      Tips: Usually the cold front recovery period this time of year is pretty fast. Sun is higher now and the water should warm again quickly. Could be a spawning wave this week - new moon period.

Friday, April 25th, 2014

  • Riverside County
    • By

      Water Temp: 72.0

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Pre-Fishing for NBW tourney and throwing crank baits, Well the wind was blowing into the dam so I got the wind to my back and casting as far as I could throw it along the dam and bam; hook up! I am thinking this is a giant as it peel drag and head to deep water, then I am thinking its a catfish or striper. Low and behold I finally get it turned around and its a 15lb carp foul hooked.
      So, I continue on and proceed to hook up four more times with them peeling off line and going to deep water before I turn em around and came to realize this is what I came out here for; to hook up and fight a fish.
      I was a blast and my best five would have went about 70lbs; lol.

      Tips: Go fishing, don't get locked in on bass and fish for what you can get hooked up with. It happened to be carp today and it was a blast.

      Cranks running 3-6 feet, long cast with medium retrieve and sharp hooks.

      We did catch fifteen bass on plastics and jigs; NuTech Green Pumkin/Brown and Water melon red. Slow off deep points. 15-25 feet.

Thursday, April 24th, 2014

  • Lake County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Larry, I live in Oregon and only get to fish Clear Lake a couple times a year, but I read these reports all the time. I hope you don't get frustrated being the only one that posts. I appreciate the time you put into it. Good news is, I'll be there for 7 days starting this Saturday! Maybe we'll run into you on the water and I can buy you a beer. Thanks Larry!
      City: Merlin

      Tips: Sorry WB, it's not a fishing report, but Larry's a one man show here.

    • By

      Water Temp: 61-64

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: It's nice to know that no one is fishing Clear Lake anymore - at least no one that can post a report! Mike Sperbeck and I will have the lake to ourselves, as we did yesterday afternoon. We start about 5 pm out of Red Bud - again - fighting the wind. We fished what protected areas we could and starting catching bass from 10 inches to 3 1/2 lbs. For the rest of the trip, the wind was a problem, but manageable. Just before dark the size changed and we were into better bass! I lost the biggest which I often do, probably 7 to 9 lbs, but did land the biggest at 6 1/4 lbs. We caught five between 5 and 5 3/4 lbs which gave us a 30/30 trip. Around 30 bass with our limit at 31 lbs. Interesting - all those males that were thick in the shallows last Thursday with my father/2 sons trip - were mostly gone. We fished about 6 1/2 hours.

      Tips: Senkos were very good before dark, and the jig bite was back - hooray!! A few Berkley Havoc baits worked too. After dark the jig bite was still on as well as large plastics like the Berkley jumbo Chigger Craw (finally - a bigger craw) and 3 sizes of Reaction Innovation beavers. Bass were in attack mode and "I think I have a bite" mode. Every hit was different. I'm not sure what will happen at far as the spawn will go in the south arms. Water temp has not risen and should drop some this weekend. Dark of the moon is next Wed and weather will be much warmer. Maybe a pop in the action!!

  • Butte County
    • By

      Water Temp: 62, surface

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Great 1/2 day on the water today for me, off the water at noon. Ended up with 15 spotted bass. Only one at 15" the rest 12-14 1/2" All on robo worms in 10-25 feet of water. Today, got my first suspended fish off a point in 50-70 foot of water, fish hanging at 10-18 feet down. My new hummingbird dialed me in and away we went. Tossed worms out wacky style with spit shot with just enough line to sink to the fish below the boat at the 15 foot range. Damn, got 7 spots in the last hour. My first suspended fish!!!catch.
      City: Magalia

      Tips: Anyone with a boat looking for a fish partner, let me know and lets go catch spotted bass. Email me at Jewelweaver@earthlink.net

Monday, April 21st, 2014

    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: It was my third time EVER Bass fishing (Don't hate me!). But I have been reading a lot on BassResource.com.
      Anyway, There was supposed to be a front later in the day, so I tried a bit of fishing before work (7:30-9).
      Fishing from shore, tried a Jig and trailer, Rat Trap, spinnerbait, nothing. And I could see swirls, Bass were feeding. I remembered reading that during the spring bait fish are smaller, so I tried my smallest lure, a #2 PantherMartin with 1.5in trailer. (5.5' Ultralight rod and 8lb test line.) Cast at a swirl and caught a nice 2 pound eater.

      On my way back to my car 5 minutes later, I tried a couple more casts, felt a subtle strike and set the hook. 5 minutes later, I hauled in a 27 inch HAWG! I DIDN'T HAVE A SCALE! But best guess based on looking at scores of tourni pics, is 11-13 pounds.

      This lake still has monster Bass! (Still has this HAWG in fact, because naturally, I released her. I'll thin the herd of 1-3 pounders and have fish dinner, but anything over that needs to pass its genes on. Especially Trophy fish! Let those trophies lay more eggs!!!)
      City: Santa Rosa

      Tips: Water was way dirty, so it was a bronze #2 spinner. Tiny lure, tiny rod, tiny 8lb test line, and MONSTER Bass!

      Literally big enough to eat every other fish I've ever caught in my life.