By: The Fish Sniffer Staff January 31, 2005 Last Issue Hello Deborah, My name is Aaron Kolarich. I am 22 and I am from Walnut Creek, CA. This Bass weighed 6 1/2 pounds. It was caught in the Delta on 10/23/04. I caught it on a 1/2 oz. black and blue Skinny Bear Jig with a black zoom bat tail trailer. The rain poured throughout most of the day but we had great success. I hope this picture will qualify to go on your site!!! Thank you and have a great day.

LAKE SHASTA
Black bass fishing is wide open right now at Lake Shasta. "The bass are hitting rip baits, top water plugs, jigs, and plastic worms all over the lake," reported Lisa Manies of Strictly Fishin'.

"During a recent club tournament one angler landed a 10.6 pound largemouth on a dark colored worm fished on a darter head," disclosed George Mejorado of Phil's Propellers.

Most of the bass being caught are averaging between 1 and 2 pounds with some larger fish running up to 4 pounds. Look for the bass from the surface down to 22 feet. The top baits are dark colored jigs and plastic worms in dark brown and dark green color tones.

OROVILLE
Black bass fishing is tough because the fish have moved into deep water with the cold weather. "The top two methods are drop shotting with plastics or spooning for suspended fish down to 80 feet deep," said Wade McGrath at McGrath's Bass Plus. "Ninety-nine percent of the fish are spotted bass, but a couple of bait anglers reported nailing two largemouths in the 3 to 4 pound range."

McGrath noted that neon blue Zipper and Power Worms are the top-producing drop shot lures. Most of the spotted bass are in the "slot" of 12 to 15 inches, with the typical fish going 14 inches long.

SONOMA
The bass bite at Lake Sonoma continues to produce for anglers and a few anglers are still getting good bags. "Mike Nunally and Rodney Goldboth spent a day at the lake flipping jigs and Sweet Beavers to combine for a 16-pound bag of largemouth," said Scott Green at Outdoor Pro Shop.. "They spent the majority of the day flipping to laydown logs in the Warm Springs arm and Yorty Creek."

Aside from that, anglers can catch a few quality largemouth by using jigs, creature baits or dropshot rigs tipped with Roboworms to fool the bass. The bass will be in the 15 to 30 foot range on average.

CLEAR LAKE
The bass bite is doing well, as evidenced by a recent ABA tournament at the lake. The winners of the event came to the scales with a five fish limit for a little over 21-pounds with a big fish of eight pounds.

"The action has been good, but slow is the key right now," said Bob Higgins.

"Whether it is crankbaits, jigs or dropshot rigs, to get bites, it has to be moving slowly."

COLLINS LAKE
Kathy Hess at Collins Lake described the bass bite as "tough", saying the few fish that have been caught were taken in 20 to 30 feet of water. The best approach for bass is drop shotting 4 inch worms near areas of deep water structure.

FOLSOM
Bass anglers are reporting slow action, while working purple and black jigs in 15 to 40 feet of water. The number of bass being caught is small, but the quality of the fish is good with some hefty smallmouth bass leading the catches. A recent bass tournament was won with a 12.50 pound limit, according to Dennis Phanner at Sacramento Pro Tackle.

AMADOR
There have been very few reports of black bass being caught. If you're interested in bass, try working worms and jigs in 20 to 40 feet of water near structure.

Lake Amador has come up 11 feet in the last 2 weeks and is currently full. The boat ramp is in full operation.

SALT SPRINGS VALLEY
On January 31, Salt Springs Valley Reservoir will open to the angling community following a brief winter closure.

"The lake is about 2 inches from the spill and we are hoping the lake will run over to flush some of the debris away," noted Debi Nunes at the Salt Springs Valley Resort. "A few bass fishermen came through this week and caught a few bass on worms and reaction baits, but fishing is still tough for this time of winter."

Along with the normal bass fishing tournaments held at the lake, Salt Springs will be adding a night tournament for the first time on June 25. More events are planned for the coming year, so keep a look out for derbies and other events at Salt Springs Valley Reservoir.

MCCLURE
Over at Lake McClure, the black bass bite is good for anglers using brown 6 inch plastic worms near the rock piles and islands, according to Diana Mello at A-1 Bait & Tackle. "You can expect to find fish anywhere from the 20 foot range down past 60 feet of water," she said.

SANTA CLARA VALLEY LAKES
Fishing in the Santa Clara Valley lakes is improving as the lakes begin to fill following recent rains. "Bass fishing seems to be the most popular right now, although crappie seem to be a little active at Anderson," said Steve LaRussa of Coyote Bait and Tackle.

LaRussa reported that the launch ramp at Coyote is back in the water, but that the water is muddy and the bite is tough as a result. The best bet for catching a few bass is to slowly crawl a jig and pig or dark colored Brush Hog in the clearer south end of the lake. The bites will be few and far between, but think shallow and be prepared for a quality fish.

Calero has been featuring a solid afternoon bite on warm days. "Spinnerbaits and jigs are getting a few good fish in the warm afternoons," LaRussa said. "However, the most consistent bite on the lake right now is the deep drop shot pattern."

LaRussa suggested that anglers use their fish finders to locate schools of bait in and around the 40-foot zone, and target them with Aaron's Magic Roboworms. Bank anglers should cast as close to deep water as possible with Brush Hogs and jigs. The average size of largemouth bass caught will be one to two pounds.

Anderson is also filling and the rising water level seems to have scattered the fish throughout the water column. LaRussa advised anglers to try dragging a watermelon with red flake Hula Grub in 5 to 40 feet of water.

"The most consistent bite has also been to drop shot on bait schools in deeper water, but the bass tend to be small," he said. "Another effective pattern is to use a Reaction Innovations Flirt worm on a darter head near the dam."

The crappie bite at Anderson has been decent, as a few reports of crappie are coming in. Anglers using mini jigs or minnows on deeper cover are taking the majority of the slabs.

The fishing at Uvas has picked up slightly thanks to the rising water; largemouth bass in the one to two pound range have been falling for split shotted Predator Worms near the dam.

The fishing at Chesbro has yet to materialize, the few bass being taken are small and are falling for dropshot rigs tipped with Roboworms, according to LaRussa.

MILLERTON
With Millerton Lake at approximately at eighty percent full, Merritt Gilbert of Valley Rod and Gun said that limits of small spotted bass are common.

"The lake is rising so fast that spotted bass are staying where they have been," Gilbert reported. "One weekend anglers will be dropshotting fish in 50 feet of water, and the next they are fishing in 65 to 70 feet."

Gilbert suggested that anglers try dropshotting, fishing jigs and crankbaits on warm afternoons to fool mainly spotted bass in the pound and a half range The striper bite is non-existent except for the occasional lineside that bites a bass angler's offerings. The usual lure that attracts a striper is some sort of deep jigging spoon.

PINE FLAT LAKE
Bass anglers have also been having some fun at the lake as well. Merritt Gilbert at Valley Rod & Gun said that a recent ABA Tournament was won by the team of David Compolongo and Brett Collins who beat the rest of the field by weighing in a five fish limit for a little 14 pounds. The bag included a five-pound largemouth that was big fish of the event.

Gilbert stated that the pair used a combination of jigs, worms and crankbaits to bag their winning limit. "The fish have been all over the place and the majority of anglers are varying depths to catch a mixture of largemouth and spotted bass." Gilbert continued.

Anglers who stay versatile and can rotate between shallow water reaction baits, jigs and drop shots can catch their share of largemouth and spotted bass."

Three of four ramps are now open and the water level is rising a foot per day.