Anybody Bass Fish? (Lake Berryessa)
- Thread starter T4Argh
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
Clone of the Mean
New member
Learn to dropshot. You can catch a lot of fish…..
White 4x4runner
New member
Clearlake has better bass. Only downside is its so full of mercury. I've never fished berryessa but I can ask some friends that do.
Thanks! I've heard Clear Lake has really good bass fishing but it's 2.5 hours away. I do plan on heading out there one day. Any good spots from shore at Clear Lake? Oh yea, I'm fishing strictly C&R.
Berryessa is only an hour away. I plan on going here every other weekend or on free time.
White 4x4runner
New member
I haven't fished the lake in years. But kelseyville lakeport side is better than Clearlake. If you wanna take a long drive if you just keep on the road to Knoxville it comes out in lower lake.
MyHigh
New member
Do any of those lakes allow the use of bait fish?
I know, I know, it's cheating but when introducing kids to fishing it's nice to actually catch something. And your almost guaranteed to catch bass with baitfish. If not then next best thing to use IMO are lures, something that keeps your kids attention. I've almost always have luck with rat'l'trap lures, they have a fairly fast rate of retrieve and are filled with BB's that make a ruckus when reeling them in. I've fished, just about every lake in San Diego and Oregon, just not northern California.
Good luck! And major kudos! For spending time with your kids fishing.
I know, I know, it's cheating but when introducing kids to fishing it's nice to actually catch something. And your almost guaranteed to catch bass with baitfish. If not then next best thing to use IMO are lures, something that keeps your kids attention. I've almost always have luck with rat'l'trap lures, they have a fairly fast rate of retrieve and are filled with BB's that make a ruckus when reeling them in. I've fished, just about every lake in San Diego and Oregon, just not northern California.
Good luck! And major kudos! For spending time with your kids fishing.
Thanks for the tip! I'll check out Kelseyville.
MyHigh
New member
Yea, I totally understand, I'm not much of a bait fisherman either.
Not sure if your planning on waiting till spring or heading out next weekend, but water temp has a big enfluence on then large mouth. Up in Oregon the temp gets dam cold and the large mouth head to deep water and become picky eaters.
Hell, just a couple weeks ago, a young kid caught a 17.5 pound lunker on my old stomping grounds, lake Miramar!! And god bless him he let it go after he got an official weigh in at the ranger station, few more years and that lake will have the million dollar bass swimming around. I think he said he caught it on a 12 inch plastic worm.
Not sure if your planning on waiting till spring or heading out next weekend, but water temp has a big enfluence on then large mouth. Up in Oregon the temp gets dam cold and the large mouth head to deep water and become picky eaters.
Hell, just a couple weeks ago, a young kid caught a 17.5 pound lunker on my old stomping grounds, lake Miramar!! And god bless him he let it go after he got an official weigh in at the ranger station, few more years and that lake will have the million dollar bass swimming around. I think he said he caught it on a 12 inch plastic worm.
Quatre Coureur
New member
I've had luck with plastic worms(blue w/ yellow tail) on a weedless setup. Also the Rapalas. Fished Otay, Hodges, Wohlford, Silverwood, Cachuma but never the 'infamous' Lake Berryessa.
Thanks! I guess it's just too cold. The weather has been weird.
Are swim baits any good?
Certain time to use them weather wise?
Best way to fishing swim baits?
Does it even matter just as long as the fish are there?
MyHigh
New member
No problem, I'm happy to help!
So yes temp is a big issue when dealing with bass. During winter they head to deep water where the temp is constant and doesn't fluctuate like the top 20 ft of water. For best luck spring is when you want to go, after the water temp reaches 45 and higher the bass will start to leave the deep water and come closer to the surface, they are looking for more food and gearing up for spawning season (directly related to water temp), look for a bank that drops fast, the bass will be around this structure, a place where they can shoot to deep water if in danger. When spawning season starts the water temp will be around 65-70 degrees this warmer water temp signals that it is time to spawn, when this happens they will be in 20 ft or less of water and be very aggressive toward things that look like egg robbers! (crawfish, frogs,) so in this situation jigs spinner baits that you drop retrieve, drop retrieve in basically jigging either one very slow along the bottom. When spawning bass like open clean areas. In some instances if the water is clear you will be able to see circular clean spots where they lay the eggs. I also think this is a good time for the swim baits and such. Basic rule of thumb if the water is murky use bright unnatural baits, and when clear use natural looking baits, such as minnow, rainbow trout, and brown or red crawfish. Same goes with worms bright when murky and natural colors when clear.
Once the water temp gets hot mainly during mid summer (75+) degrees the bass will become slugs! They will look for easy prey, around this time of year you want to look for weeds, reeds, docks, fallen trees, basically anything that allows the bass to get shade and sit and wait for food to come to them, during these times I find it hard to entice bass to feed, because they save any strenuous activity for nighttime, so during the day you can basically thump the jig on there head and they will ignore you.
It's been a while since I've fished for large mouth, and so my temps may be a bit off. Find yourself a little temp gauge and put it in your tackle box, your local newspaper should have a day in which the sports section will list the water temp of local lakes. Remember bass seasons are not set its all dependent on the water temp, so start learning or watching the temp of the water you want to fish and this will help you select what style you should shoot for in a particular time of year. There is a ton of info out there I just gave you a basic rundown and I'm not all that great a fisherman but one important thing to remember is don't fall in love with just one lure, try many different lures, retrieve techniques, and colors trial and error is key if something isn't catching move on.
Good luck!
So yes temp is a big issue when dealing with bass. During winter they head to deep water where the temp is constant and doesn't fluctuate like the top 20 ft of water. For best luck spring is when you want to go, after the water temp reaches 45 and higher the bass will start to leave the deep water and come closer to the surface, they are looking for more food and gearing up for spawning season (directly related to water temp), look for a bank that drops fast, the bass will be around this structure, a place where they can shoot to deep water if in danger. When spawning season starts the water temp will be around 65-70 degrees this warmer water temp signals that it is time to spawn, when this happens they will be in 20 ft or less of water and be very aggressive toward things that look like egg robbers! (crawfish, frogs,) so in this situation jigs spinner baits that you drop retrieve, drop retrieve in basically jigging either one very slow along the bottom. When spawning bass like open clean areas. In some instances if the water is clear you will be able to see circular clean spots where they lay the eggs. I also think this is a good time for the swim baits and such. Basic rule of thumb if the water is murky use bright unnatural baits, and when clear use natural looking baits, such as minnow, rainbow trout, and brown or red crawfish. Same goes with worms bright when murky and natural colors when clear.
Once the water temp gets hot mainly during mid summer (75+) degrees the bass will become slugs! They will look for easy prey, around this time of year you want to look for weeds, reeds, docks, fallen trees, basically anything that allows the bass to get shade and sit and wait for food to come to them, during these times I find it hard to entice bass to feed, because they save any strenuous activity for nighttime, so during the day you can basically thump the jig on there head and they will ignore you.
It's been a while since I've fished for large mouth, and so my temps may be a bit off. Find yourself a little temp gauge and put it in your tackle box, your local newspaper should have a day in which the sports section will list the water temp of local lakes. Remember bass seasons are not set its all dependent on the water temp, so start learning or watching the temp of the water you want to fish and this will help you select what style you should shoot for in a particular time of year. There is a ton of info out there I just gave you a basic rundown and I'm not all that great a fisherman but one important thing to remember is don't fall in love with just one lure, try many different lures, retrieve techniques, and colors trial and error is key if something isn't catching move on.
Good luck!
Similar threads
