By: The Fish Sniffer Staff May 3, 2007 Last Issue I was fishing my local lake in early February, (Lake Chabot-Castro Valley) just like I have a bunch of times for Bass!   I knew that if i was to be effective in my presentation on this day, i would have to slow the speed of my presentation due to the cold temperature of the water.   Well, it sure paid off. When on my 9th or 10th cast of the late morning, around 11am i coaxed this LAKE CHABOT LARGEMOUTH on a 10" Pumpkin Seed power worm. I was fishing approximately 12-15 deep & fishing the 10" Power Worm Texas rigged, using 8lb CXX-P-LINE. When the tell tale pick up took place! very slight, not the oridanry tap tap tap, and then your line moving. This was a different take, my line just started to move, so i fed this HOG a little bit of line, then i reeled down just slightly to weight & then set the hook! WHAM! My FISH OF A LIFETIME was on, solid hook set! Surprisingly though, but most likely due to the water still being cold, there was not a whole lot of fight in this OLD TIMER. She had one decent run in her though. But when she surfaced, i let out a big holla, Wooo Hoooo! This boy was huge! I got her to me w/ no issues, thought for a quick second that when i lip her, i gotta get a good grip..well, she came out of the water like a dream! My Gamagatsu firmly planted in her middle jaw jam. I popped the hook outta her & again hollared WOOOO HOOOOO! I easily placed both, BOTH of my fists in her mouth, this was a BIG BASS , THE ESSENCE OF LARGEMOUTH was evident before me.   What a rush, I took some pics of this seasoned vet & released her w/ thanksgiving! What a beauty! She weighed in @ a whopping 14lbs 04oz, just 3lbs shy of the Chabot Lake Record. Adam Doss

Trinity Lake
The pre-spawn bass bite at Trinity Lake is in full swing, according to Steve Gildesgard at Dragonfly Outfitters.

“The bass are hitting Gitzits and crankbaits in 8 feet of water,” he explained. “John Gray, The Maine Guide, reported catching and releasing 7 smallmouths over 3 pounds in 1-1/2 hours of fishing on Saturday, April 28. He enticed the fish with rainbow X-Raps in the north end in Squirrel Gulch.”

Shasta Lake

“At Shasta the bass are shallow and beginning to spawn,” reported Arnold Fancelli at Phil’s Propellers. “The bite is pretty much wide open at this time. Fish are being hooked from right next to the bank out to 25 feet deep. Many of the shallow fish are small males. For quality fish it is a good idea to work deeper areas.”

“Main lake points are kicking out lots of fish, but fishing around standing willows with Senkos can be really effective too. Most of the bass are coming on Mojave Oxblood colored Mothers Finest worms in the 4 and 6 inch sizes. Anglers are using the 4 inchers on dropshot rigs and the 6 inchers on darter heads. For bigger bites swimbaits are producing as are spinnerbaits,” continued Fancelli.

Lake Sonoma
Lake Sonoma is a good bet for big largemouth bass, now that fish are coming out of their spawning mode and are actively feeding again.

“The only bait you’ll need at the lake is a swim bait and nothing else,” noted Justin Kelly of Outdoor Pro Shop. “The lake has received a lot of pressure this week and everyone seemed to be catching bass on swim baits.”

According to Kelly, the top pattern anglers are using is a light colored hitch pattern. “The bait fish are all over the lake, so fishing should be great over the coming weeks as temperatures warm up,” added Kelly.

For maximum success targeting bass on the lake, Kelly suggested fishing in the creeks along flats adjacent to deep water areas.

Clear Lake
The largemouth bass action at Clear Lake continues to sizzle, with anglers reporting catching and releasing large numbers of quality fish.

“Nothing has changed – fishing remains awesome at Clear Lake,” revealed Larry Hemphill, fishing guide. “We’re averaging 20 to 25 fish per trip and the fish go up to 8 pounds.”

On Hemphill’s latest venture to California’s largest natural lake, Hemphill and his clients nailed 22 fish to 5 pounds. Their top five fish weighed a total of 21-1/2 pounds. They caught their fish on 6 to 8 inch Dead Ringer and Berkley Power Worms. On a previous trip, Hemphill caught a 7 lb. bass on a blue/chartreuse Basstrix Minnows in the Clear Lake keys.

“Most of the fish are being caught on plastic worms; the jig bite isn’t very good now,” said Hemphill. “Many of he monster bass have already spawned and the fish have moved out of the shallows.”

The fish are hitting best for Hemphill at Rattlesnake and in the Keyes. The bass are averaging a solid 2-1/2 to 3 pounds each.

“The bass bite is turning back around,” said Bob Rider, owner of Lakeshore Bait and Tackle. “The reports we’re hearing are of the feast or famine nature – either an angler did very well or didn’t catch a thing.”

Among the anglers catching fish, key presentations include soft plastics, nightcrawlers and minnows fished in 8 to 12 feet of water. “Now, with the weather warming into the 80’s, we’re expecting to see most of the bass heading for the shallow water again,” said Rider.    

Camanche
The bass fishing has slowed down at Lake Camanche as the fish go into their post-spawning mode, as evidenced by a trip to the reservoir on April 28 by Cal Kellogg, Fish Sniffer Associate Editor, and Don Paganelli of Paganelli’s Bass Fishing Experience.

“We only caught 6 bass in the 1 pound range all day,” said Kellogg, “and the other bass fishermen we talked to experienced tough fishing also. We caught spotted, largemouth and smallmouth bass. The only activity we found was in the river arm.”

The anglers caught their bass on 4 inch worms in morning dawn and smoke with black flake patterns near the bank. The big excitement of the day was when Paganelli hooked a 10 lb. channel catfish while using 3 inch blue grub.

“A gentleman from Rio Vista rented a boat at North Shore this week and caught and released about 10 bass up to 4 pounds,” said Eldon Porray of the Lake Camanche Recreation Company. “He was fishing near Dikes 2 and 3 with Baby Brush Hogs in green pumpkin, and purple Robo Worms. Most of his fish came in less than 12 feet of water. “  

Millerton
Millerton Lake probably has the best bass bite in the Fresno area now. “Not many big fish are being caught, but your chances of catching twenty to thirty fish a day are very good,” said Merritt Gilbert of Valley Rod and Gun.

Lucky Craft Staycee’s, Spinnerbaits, and Zara Spooks have been the best reaction baits right now on Millerton. An average fish has been around two pounds but better fish up to four pounds have been coming on jigs.

If you are having a bad day, you can try and split shot or drop shot straight tail worms. The fish are no deeper than fifteen feet and are definitely moving in to spawn very soon.

“The stripers have moved farther up Fine Gold Creek.” Merritt said “If the water stays up high enough, you can expect the stripers to move all the way back to the running water to spawn, but right now they are just following the salmon and shad as they are also moving up the creek. The best bet right now since they are on the move would be to troll broken back Rebels in baitfish patterns.”

Bass Lake
The bass bite is sporadic, with the most fish being caught on Yamamoto Senkos in shad or watermelon colors. The better fish are biting Lucky Craft Staycees, but your best bet at catching bass is drop shotting straight tail Robo Worms in Baby Bluegill, Oxblood, or M.M. III.

The lake has stabilized 12 feet below full pool, but the water temperature dropped six degrees last week with the cold front. It has now stabilized around 54 degrees.