The early part of winter is a great time to be up in the Marin County Watershed lakes. As the water cools down from the late fall heat waves, trout will begin to move up into the shallower waters, making it much easier to cast to them.
Also, the scheduled trout plants from the Department of Fish & Game look to be significant this winter - so sometime around November 15, we expect a good-sized truckload of larger fish to be dropped into the lake.
We've stocked up on the larger sized (1/2 - 3/8 ounce) Kastmasters which tend to be productive, as well as the key colors of Power Bait. If you are looking for an upgraded rod and reel setup, we have a sale going on for the Daiwa freshwater rod/reel combos - $25 "out the door" including mono line.
Winter bass can be great in these lakes as well, slowly working larger baits such as 6 and 7" senkos, or even the big Castaic lures produces strong strikes at this time of year.
For those folks already thinking about next year, DFG has told us that the 2012 fishing licenses should be available on November 15 through our sales terminals. We'll announce that here when they are ready to sell, but just in case you want to fish on New Year's Day, you can get ready soon!
Showing posts with label marin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marin. Show all posts
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Monday, August 3, 2009
Nicasio Reservoir - Marin Bass Club Results
On Sunday 7/26 six two-man teams competed for prize money and bragging rights at the 4th Marin County Bass Club Event of the season held on Lake Nicasio.
Of the anglers that showed we had grown men like Joe Hargreaves from jigmonster.com and Western Sport Shop and Randy Kid from the Sonoma County Belly Boat Club. Randy was coming in with the momentum of having just won his last tournament on the California Delta in dominant fashion with a 24lb bag that included a 10.3 lb and a 9.4 lb fish. A number of cagey locals who knew the lake very well showed up too - even one former east coast tournament angler who had won events on Lake Champlain before moving west.
Oh, and I forgot to mention, a couple of "kids" showed up as well; 16 year old Jeff Russell, who has acted as a stand-in whenever I've had to pull out of a team tourney in the past, and 16 year old Eduardo Li of Hi's tackle - another stand-in during the Team tournament season. These two were matched up as a team. We never saw what hit us!
Ok, you're probably laughing already, but these kids beat us - all of us! They posted an 18 pound lead over the second heaviest limit of the day.
Let's just take these facts one at a time -
1 - They clobbered everyone.
2 - Their LEAD was 18 pounts - not their limit.
Not only that - Jeff set a new Marin Bass Club Tournament Record with a single fish of 11lb 3oz. That's a nice fish. Uh... yeah.
For those of you interested, we will be trying a new format at our next event where you will be allowed to fish any publicly accessible lake in Marin County as long as you are back for the weigh in on time. Also, our next tournament will be ope to everyone - so even if you are not a member of the Marin County Bass Club, you'll get to join in the fun.
And here are some photos of the fun:
Click on through to see more photos.
Of the anglers that showed we had grown men like Joe Hargreaves from jigmonster.com and Western Sport Shop and Randy Kid from the Sonoma County Belly Boat Club. Randy was coming in with the momentum of having just won his last tournament on the California Delta in dominant fashion with a 24lb bag that included a 10.3 lb and a 9.4 lb fish. A number of cagey locals who knew the lake very well showed up too - even one former east coast tournament angler who had won events on Lake Champlain before moving west.
Oh, and I forgot to mention, a couple of "kids" showed up as well; 16 year old Jeff Russell, who has acted as a stand-in whenever I've had to pull out of a team tourney in the past, and 16 year old Eduardo Li of Hi's tackle - another stand-in during the Team tournament season. These two were matched up as a team. We never saw what hit us!
Ok, you're probably laughing already, but these kids beat us - all of us! They posted an 18 pound lead over the second heaviest limit of the day.
Let's just take these facts one at a time -
1 - They clobbered everyone.
2 - Their LEAD was 18 pounts - not their limit.
Not only that - Jeff set a new Marin Bass Club Tournament Record with a single fish of 11lb 3oz. That's a nice fish. Uh... yeah.
For those of you interested, we will be trying a new format at our next event where you will be allowed to fish any publicly accessible lake in Marin County as long as you are back for the weigh in on time. Also, our next tournament will be ope to everyone - so even if you are not a member of the Marin County Bass Club, you'll get to join in the fun.
And here are some photos of the fun:
Click on through to see more photos.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Spring Fishing Bonanza!
Bay And Ocean Report
Surf striper action has begun with a bang, as several large schools of big stripers are working their way up the coast starting in Monterey where surf casters report hot action during the low light hours on big surface poppers like the 7" Cotton Cordell Pencil Popper in white with a red head, or 8" Chesapeak Bay Custom Poppers in pink bait fish and black back bait fish. When the sun is out, it's time to break out the iron - 3 to 4oz Kastmasters, Micky Jigs, and Sumo . These fish are on the move too, as reports are beginning to come in to Pacifica and Ocean Beach as well. Also several surf casters are reporting to their amazement that white sea bass are appaerently schooling up with the bass or at least near them and several have been landed.
Striper fishing in the bay has been a different story, with reports of sporadic "hit or miss" fishing from Sausalito to Buck's Landing, but Red Rock has been a bright spot fishing well on the north and south side depending on the tide. Hair raisers, Swimbaits, Rat-L-Traps, Yozuri Crystal Minnows, and Lucky Craft Pointer 128s in Auorora Black or American Shad.
Live bait is still unavailable, but trollers are doing very well for Halibut along South Hampton Shoal, Berkley Flats, Outer Richmond Harbor and off Paradise Park. Best bets are either herring behind a dodger, or herring in a rotary salmon killer rigged to a rotary flasher. If you want to catch jacksmelt on a sabiki rig, or buy shiners, you can drift the Marin Islands and the main bay the same way you drift anchoveys. Another method is the "power drift" (moving the boat just fast enough to make your line enter the water diagonaly) with a hootchie rig over frozen anchoveys or plastic worm tails.
Freshwater Report
One month since the state ban on stocking trout in Bon Tempe was lifted, the lake has been stocked twice and anglers are reporting limits on Power Bait, 1/4oz Kastmasters , and 1/4oz Panther Martin spinners. Bon tempe has yet to produce a big trout eating bass for the guys who throw big trout swimbaits like the Storm BBZ-1 or Hud, but now that the trout are back it's only a matter of time.
Stafford Lake is producing bass in the 3/4 to 2lb range on Senkos, drop-shotted worms, and down sized spinnerbaits, but some of the regulars are getting better quality fish with frogs, flipping jigs, swim jiga, big cranks, big c-rigs and swim baits.
Look for an improving bite on early morning top water as well as an improving bite on windy afternoon spinnerbait, and swim jig fishing aswell.
Kent Lake is still fishing great and the top baits are 6" Senkos, Football head jigs, and Swim jigs. Look for an improving early morning bite on big walking baits and wake baits.
Lake Berryessa is still a play ground for guys who want numbers of bass and a shot for a big one on top. Best baits are the drop shott, the football head jig, the Zara Super Spook, and the 6" Hud.
Last but not least, a quick congratulations for Jeffrey Russel who won a very stingy derby at the Marin County Bass Club Tournament held at Stafford Lake last month. And also to Chris "Flipper" Franks for sticking a monster bass on Lake Berryessa during his last tourney there.
FREE Topwater Techniques and Jig Fishing Clinics -
June 17th and 18th
If you want to reliably catch largemouth bass, you need to be on top of your techniques. It's surprising to meet so many anglers who have great results when their main (or only) technique is producing, but suddenly start catching zip when conditions and seasons change. Of course, one of the things I love to do is share these other ways of fishing with anglers who want to learn. My goal is to have you catching quality fish year round.
Two of the most needed skills you need right now are Effectively Fishing Topwater Baits and Jig Fishing.
On Wednesday, June 17th I will be giving a free Topwater clinic at the Western Sport Shop in San Rafael. The clinic will start at 6:30 and go about an hour.
(Map to location shown below)
View Larger Map
On Thusday June 18th I will be giving a free clinic on jig fishing at Santa Rosa store starting at 6:00pm .
(Map to location shown below)
View Larger Map
Both clinics are free and open to the public. Please try to attend one or the other and your results will benefit!
Surf striper action has begun with a bang, as several large schools of big stripers are working their way up the coast starting in Monterey where surf casters report hot action during the low light hours on big surface poppers like the 7" Cotton Cordell Pencil Popper in white with a red head, or 8" Chesapeak Bay Custom Poppers in pink bait fish and black back bait fish. When the sun is out, it's time to break out the iron - 3 to 4oz Kastmasters, Micky Jigs, and Sumo . These fish are on the move too, as reports are beginning to come in to Pacifica and Ocean Beach as well. Also several surf casters are reporting to their amazement that white sea bass are appaerently schooling up with the bass or at least near them and several have been landed.
Striper fishing in the bay has been a different story, with reports of sporadic "hit or miss" fishing from Sausalito to Buck's Landing, but Red Rock has been a bright spot fishing well on the north and south side depending on the tide. Hair raisers, Swimbaits, Rat-L-Traps, Yozuri Crystal Minnows, and Lucky Craft Pointer 128s in Auorora Black or American Shad.
Live bait is still unavailable, but trollers are doing very well for Halibut along South Hampton Shoal, Berkley Flats, Outer Richmond Harbor and off Paradise Park. Best bets are either herring behind a dodger, or herring in a rotary salmon killer rigged to a rotary flasher. If you want to catch jacksmelt on a sabiki rig, or buy shiners, you can drift the Marin Islands and the main bay the same way you drift anchoveys. Another method is the "power drift" (moving the boat just fast enough to make your line enter the water diagonaly) with a hootchie rig over frozen anchoveys or plastic worm tails.
Freshwater Report
One month since the state ban on stocking trout in Bon Tempe was lifted, the lake has been stocked twice and anglers are reporting limits on Power Bait, 1/4oz Kastmasters , and 1/4oz Panther Martin spinners. Bon tempe has yet to produce a big trout eating bass for the guys who throw big trout swimbaits like the Storm BBZ-1 or Hud, but now that the trout are back it's only a matter of time.
Stafford Lake is producing bass in the 3/4 to 2lb range on Senkos, drop-shotted worms, and down sized spinnerbaits, but some of the regulars are getting better quality fish with frogs, flipping jigs, swim jiga, big cranks, big c-rigs and swim baits.
Look for an improving bite on early morning top water as well as an improving bite on windy afternoon spinnerbait, and swim jig fishing aswell.
Kent Lake is still fishing great and the top baits are 6" Senkos, Football head jigs, and Swim jigs. Look for an improving early morning bite on big walking baits and wake baits.
Lake Berryessa is still a play ground for guys who want numbers of bass and a shot for a big one on top. Best baits are the drop shott, the football head jig, the Zara Super Spook, and the 6" Hud.
Last but not least, a quick congratulations for Jeffrey Russel who won a very stingy derby at the Marin County Bass Club Tournament held at Stafford Lake last month. And also to Chris "Flipper" Franks for sticking a monster bass on Lake Berryessa during his last tourney there.
FREE Topwater Techniques and Jig Fishing Clinics -
June 17th and 18th
If you want to reliably catch largemouth bass, you need to be on top of your techniques. It's surprising to meet so many anglers who have great results when their main (or only) technique is producing, but suddenly start catching zip when conditions and seasons change. Of course, one of the things I love to do is share these other ways of fishing with anglers who want to learn. My goal is to have you catching quality fish year round.
Two of the most needed skills you need right now are Effectively Fishing Topwater Baits and Jig Fishing.
On Wednesday, June 17th I will be giving a free Topwater clinic at the Western Sport Shop in San Rafael. The clinic will start at 6:30 and go about an hour.
(Map to location shown below)
View Larger Map
On Thusday June 18th I will be giving a free clinic on jig fishing at Santa Rosa store starting at 6:00pm .
(Map to location shown below)
View Larger Map
Both clinics are free and open to the public. Please try to attend one or the other and your results will benefit!
Friday, April 3, 2009
Shifting Tactics for Better Bass Bishing
The last two weeks have been incredible. (And if you haven't been out there yet, why not?) Kent Lake alone kicked out 16 fish over 5 lbs -- and those are just the ones that were reported. (Believe it or not, people don't tell us everything - you have to assume that at least as many have been caught but not reported). Top baits continued to be 3/8 and 1/2 oz flipping jigs in darker colors like green pumpkin/watermelon, pbj, and lava craw along with 5-6" Senkos in watermelon/black flake, green pumpkin/black flake, and baby bass. There have also been some smaller-than-huge swimbaits like the Castaic slow-sinking bluegill and the Maverick Minnow accounting for some big fish.
That said, anglers are begining to notice a change in the bite. When viewed from above (on a hill or up a tree) the number of fish cruising the shallows and loitering in certain small areas has increased dramaticly, along with the skittishness of these fish while in the shallows. It has also been increasingly challenging to "sight" fish for them. This tends to indicate that the first wave of spawners are getting ready to get down to business.
This means you need to stay well off the bank, keep your shadow off the bank and execute every cast and each presentation as cleanly and efficiently as possible. I'm assuming you are using polarized sunglasses (even/especially in low light conditions) and some fluorocarbon line. (Flourocarbon line has the same reflective coefficient as water, so it literally disappears when immersed. Like all fishing line, it does not biodegrade, so you need to pack out so we can all continue to enjoy these areas.) For details on the baits and srategy ascociated with sight fishing try reading the article I wrote called "How to Blink Bedding Bass" in the archives of californiabasscraft.com.
The next Marin County Bass Club meeting will be Wednesday, April 8th. Our guest speaker will be Noah Stevens of the Sonoma County Belly Boat Bass Club. He will be doing a clinic on getting into bass fishing from a float tube for fun or for tournament competition (which, I'll point out, can be more fun). As usual, the meeting is open to the public and free of charge as it is sponsored by Western Sport Shop, Jigmonster.com, and Noah Stevens will be donating his time to drive down and share his knowledge and experience free of charge. So feel free to stop by and take a look as any one with enthusiasm regardless of skill level is always welcome.
That said, anglers are begining to notice a change in the bite. When viewed from above (on a hill or up a tree) the number of fish cruising the shallows and loitering in certain small areas has increased dramaticly, along with the skittishness of these fish while in the shallows. It has also been increasingly challenging to "sight" fish for them. This tends to indicate that the first wave of spawners are getting ready to get down to business.
This means you need to stay well off the bank, keep your shadow off the bank and execute every cast and each presentation as cleanly and efficiently as possible. I'm assuming you are using polarized sunglasses (even/especially in low light conditions) and some fluorocarbon line. (Flourocarbon line has the same reflective coefficient as water, so it literally disappears when immersed. Like all fishing line, it does not biodegrade, so you need to pack out so we can all continue to enjoy these areas.) For details on the baits and srategy ascociated with sight fishing try reading the article I wrote called "How to Blink Bedding Bass" in the archives of californiabasscraft.com.
The next Marin County Bass Club meeting will be Wednesday, April 8th. Our guest speaker will be Noah Stevens of the Sonoma County Belly Boat Bass Club. He will be doing a clinic on getting into bass fishing from a float tube for fun or for tournament competition (which, I'll point out, can be more fun). As usual, the meeting is open to the public and free of charge as it is sponsored by Western Sport Shop, Jigmonster.com, and Noah Stevens will be donating his time to drive down and share his knowledge and experience free of charge. So feel free to stop by and take a look as any one with enthusiasm regardless of skill level is always welcome.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Bassing - Best Bets, Current Conditions and Events
Largemouth bass fishing on our local watershed lakes during the months of February and March offer your best shot at sticking, not just a pig, but your best possibility for catching multiple pigs on the same day.
For example, if you hit lake Phoenix Lake on the 3rd or 4th day of a warm weather pattern, you should start to see schools of fish that had been suspending in some of the deeper holes begin to break up and start cruising the shallows. The majority of these fish will be males in the 1-3lb range. But, the big females in the 3-12lb+ range will stay behind in so called "staging areas" where they await the full moons that light their overnight visits to the shallows where the males have been busy building nests in preparation for their arrival.
These "staging areas" are usually the first deeper water away from the spawning areas. If you are fishing a cove, they will be mid-water-column, at the mouth of the cove. This is one of the only times of the year that big fish will be concentrated in a small area. These fish are also now a little "lure dumb" from having not seen many artificials for the past two months.
The best way to target these bigger fish is to run a reaction bait right through them - something like a Lucky Craft LV Max-500 in the Mad Craw color, or a reddish or craw colored larger Rat-L-Trap. You can also throw double-willow bladed Spinnerbaits as well, but for effective results, you should run a trailer hook because they will be striking short and slow.
If you don't get bit, move along and let those fish relax. After about 40-50 minutes make the same casts. This time however, you might try slow rolling a 6-8" Castaic Trout Swimbait Most importantly - don't change your retrieve if you feel a small tap - keep the slow roll going and don't set until you feel the full weight of a large fish loading up the rod. Another option is to let a 5, 6, or 7" Senko (Watermelon/Black Flake is a good starter color) glide and fall slowly with a horizontal posture right past their noses on a slack line. Watch to see your line either twitch, jump, or (oh boy!) start swimming away before setting the hook
That said, Nicasio Reservoir appears to be happening right now. Yes, it's still pretty cold and the low water conditions are not exactly the stuff of dreams. This larger body of water lacks the cut and dried patterns of Phoenix Lake, but if you have the right baits and are ready to work a little bit, Nicasio can reward you with more 5-pound-plus fish then any other lake in Marin County.
With Nicasio, it's all about spots. Best bet would be to take a baitcasting set up with 15-20lb test line and a brass and glass rigged green pumpkin Brush Hog. If you have another set up or two you can also throw a chartreuse chatter bait, such as the BooYah Boogie Bait, a white/chartreuse spinnerbait, or a 4-5" swimbait like the Storm Chartreuse Shiner, or the River2Sea baby bass. If you want to fish for a big bite, throw the Castaic slow sink platinum series Sunfish or a Berkley 10-11" Power Worm in black/blue or june bug
I wanted to give special mention to Noah Stevens, he is a regular customer of the shop and a highly skilled jig fishermen who is known to prowl Lake Alpine with the Jigmonster Lava Craw Jig and stick some quality smallmouth bass from time to time. Noah is also a member of the Sonoma Belly Boat Bass Club and just won their first event of the year with only two fish, one of them being an astounding 11.94 lbs for a new club record, way to go Noah!
I also wanted to say thanks to everyone who came out to the 1st open meeting of the Marin County Bass Club which met at the San Rafael store. Special thanks are in order to Chris "Flipper" Franks who gave an excellent seminar on swimbait fishing in our area. Chris is an up-and-coming tournament pro and member of the Jigmonster bass fishing team.
Meetings for the Marin County Bass Club are held the second Wednesday of every month and are open to the public. For more info on the club please visit californiabasscraft.com. Our next meeting will be on March 11th at Western Sport Shop in San Rafael. I will be giving a free seminar on jig fishing both from the bank here in Marin and from the boat on our major tournament waters. This presentation will cover all aspects of jig fishing, including types of jigs and where and when to fish them.
The Marin County Bass Club will also be holding a big fish derby on March 21st at Phoenix Lake. The entry fee for the event is $15 and you must sign up before March 14th. Look for more details here or call me at the San Rafael store - 415-456-5454.
Now get fishing!
For example, if you hit lake Phoenix Lake on the 3rd or 4th day of a warm weather pattern, you should start to see schools of fish that had been suspending in some of the deeper holes begin to break up and start cruising the shallows. The majority of these fish will be males in the 1-3lb range. But, the big females in the 3-12lb+ range will stay behind in so called "staging areas" where they await the full moons that light their overnight visits to the shallows where the males have been busy building nests in preparation for their arrival.
These "staging areas" are usually the first deeper water away from the spawning areas. If you are fishing a cove, they will be mid-water-column, at the mouth of the cove. This is one of the only times of the year that big fish will be concentrated in a small area. These fish are also now a little "lure dumb" from having not seen many artificials for the past two months.
The best way to target these bigger fish is to run a reaction bait right through them - something like a Lucky Craft LV Max-500 in the Mad Craw color, or a reddish or craw colored larger Rat-L-Trap. You can also throw double-willow bladed Spinnerbaits as well, but for effective results, you should run a trailer hook because they will be striking short and slow.
If you don't get bit, move along and let those fish relax. After about 40-50 minutes make the same casts. This time however, you might try slow rolling a 6-8" Castaic Trout Swimbait Most importantly - don't change your retrieve if you feel a small tap - keep the slow roll going and don't set until you feel the full weight of a large fish loading up the rod. Another option is to let a 5, 6, or 7" Senko (Watermelon/Black Flake is a good starter color) glide and fall slowly with a horizontal posture right past their noses on a slack line. Watch to see your line either twitch, jump, or (oh boy!) start swimming away before setting the hook
That said, Nicasio Reservoir appears to be happening right now. Yes, it's still pretty cold and the low water conditions are not exactly the stuff of dreams. This larger body of water lacks the cut and dried patterns of Phoenix Lake, but if you have the right baits and are ready to work a little bit, Nicasio can reward you with more 5-pound-plus fish then any other lake in Marin County.
With Nicasio, it's all about spots. Best bet would be to take a baitcasting set up with 15-20lb test line and a brass and glass rigged green pumpkin Brush Hog. If you have another set up or two you can also throw a chartreuse chatter bait, such as the BooYah Boogie Bait, a white/chartreuse spinnerbait, or a 4-5" swimbait like the Storm Chartreuse Shiner, or the River2Sea baby bass. If you want to fish for a big bite, throw the Castaic slow sink platinum series Sunfish or a Berkley 10-11" Power Worm in black/blue or june bug
I wanted to give special mention to Noah Stevens, he is a regular customer of the shop and a highly skilled jig fishermen who is known to prowl Lake Alpine with the Jigmonster Lava Craw Jig and stick some quality smallmouth bass from time to time. Noah is also a member of the Sonoma Belly Boat Bass Club and just won their first event of the year with only two fish, one of them being an astounding 11.94 lbs for a new club record, way to go Noah!I also wanted to say thanks to everyone who came out to the 1st open meeting of the Marin County Bass Club which met at the San Rafael store. Special thanks are in order to Chris "Flipper" Franks who gave an excellent seminar on swimbait fishing in our area. Chris is an up-and-coming tournament pro and member of the Jigmonster bass fishing team.
Meetings for the Marin County Bass Club are held the second Wednesday of every month and are open to the public. For more info on the club please visit californiabasscraft.com. Our next meeting will be on March 11th at Western Sport Shop in San Rafael. I will be giving a free seminar on jig fishing both from the bank here in Marin and from the boat on our major tournament waters. This presentation will cover all aspects of jig fishing, including types of jigs and where and when to fish them.
The Marin County Bass Club will also be holding a big fish derby on March 21st at Phoenix Lake. The entry fee for the event is $15 and you must sign up before March 14th. Look for more details here or call me at the San Rafael store - 415-456-5454.
Now get fishing!
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