California is blessed with many top notch reservoirs. So many in fact, that no matter how much you fish it's hard to visit them all. For me this was the case with Lake Berryessa. I've known for a long time that it's an outstanding lake boasting strong populations of trout, bass, crappie, and catfish, but I'd never found the time to fish there.

I was scheduled to compete in a bass tournament at Lake Berryessa in March 12. That fact combined with the positive reports I'd received from Dino Righetti and Mike Keen at Spanish Flat Marina prompted me to visit the lake recently.

Prior to my visit, the lake had enjoyed a few days of fair sunny weather and the bass were on a good bite. When my Dad and I arrived at Berryessa, a stiff breeze, overcast skies, and low whitecaps greeted us, not exactly the conditions we'd been hoping for, but that's fishing!

After launching and cruising outside the sheltered cove at Spanish Flat, I was immediately taken aback by the lake's size. I'd reviewed a map of the lake before visiting, so I knew it was a big body of water but it seemed even larger in person.

Our primary mission was to explore the lake and attempt to locate some concentrations of bass. For the first two hours we focused our efforts along the lake's western shoreline working visible structure with crankbaits and spinner baits without results.

I'd wanted to check out two large islands about midway down the lake, but the wind was seriously hampering our efforts, making boat handling difficult. In an attempt to find some calm water we decided to cruise over to the east side of the lake and do some reconnaissance in the Wragg Ridge area.

Dad had seen some rainbows jumping and suggested that we troll our way across the lake. His idea sounded good to me, so I tied on a silver and blue Cripplure, while Dad opted for a white Roostertail spinner. As we slowly crawled through the chop we saw several more trout jumping high above the water.

We had been trolling for less than 10 minutes when Dad's rod loaded up and started bucking wildly with the gyrations of a hard fighting trout, only to have the fish throw the hook before Dad could work it to the net. "Now it's my turn," I commented to Dad as we resumed trolling. As is often the case I was wrong, and Dad was into a second fish in short order. Again, the trout shook the hook loose. We were getting hit, but the score was fish 2 anglers 0.

My Cripplure got hammered next and I started fighting the fish as Dad scramble to free the net, which had become tangled in my stringer. When I looked back to see what he was doing I instantly noticed that his rod was bent and pulsating.

"Dad you've got one on the hook," I said pointing at his rod. As Dad struggled to get the rod out of the holder the line suddenly went slack and Dad had lost his third fish in 15 minutes. With a little luck, (and vastly superior angling skill!) I was able to lead my fat rainbow into the waiting net and we had our first fish of the day. Little did we know it would also be our last. We continued to troll for about 45 minutes without results and decided to get back to bass fishing.

We worked the coves surrounding Wragg Ridge for the next 3 hours using a variety of crankbaits, jigs, and plastic worms, getting only one half hearted strike for our efforts. Around 3 o'clock we called it a day and headed back to the Spanish Flat Marina for a soda and a fishing report.

At the marina we met avid fisherman and Fish Sniffer subscriber George Parish, just as he finished cleaning a fine mess of crappie he had caught while fishing minnows. Mike Keen, one of the marina staff, confided that the fishing had been going well, but that the wind and overcast had slowed the bite significantly. That made me feel a little better. I was beginning to think that I'd lost my touch.

Despite our lukewarm success, this is a great time to visit Lake Berryessa. The trout are actively feeding near the surface and several bass with double digit weights have been reported in recent days. The trout fishing is expected to remain good and the bass bite should continue to improve as more fish move to the shallows in preparation for spawning. Plus, kokanee and king salmon are also on tap for trollers working the waters of Berryessa.

Add to that the strong crappie bite that's underway and you've got the foundation for a memorable day on the water. For more information about the March 12 Future Pro Tournament held at Lake Berryessa, check out my article in the copy of Bass Angler News in the current issue of the Fish Sniffer paper.