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Spring is right around the corner and anglers across northern California are gearing up for what is undoubtedly the most exciting time of year to target black bass. With most of our lakes still hovering in the low 50's, bass action has been hit or miss depending on the weather. With the first week of March under our belts, it's only a matter of time before we get our first stretch of 70 degree weather that pushes water temps into the upper 50's or low 60's and the bass bite is going to break wide open. During the coming weeks, anglers should key in on those lakes and rivers that tend to warm up first. Lake Berryessa is one of the best options early in the year because it is often 4 to 6 degrees warmer than many other lakes and the bite will sometimes break loose 2 to 3 weeks earlier. Berryessa has been producing some of the most consistent bass action for the past few weeks with anglers reporting near limits to limits of a mix of largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. Larry Hemphill of Larry Hemphill's Guide and Instruction Service made recent trips to Berryessa on Saturday, March 4 and reported catching several keeper sized largemouth along with a few smallmouth. "I was fishing the main body of the lake with two clients and we landed a total of 9 bass with the largest being a 2 pound, 14 ounce smallmouth," he explained. "We also had a couple largemouth over two pounds." |
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Hemphill said the bite was slow in the morning, and then finally turned on around noon. "We found most of our fish in fairly shallow water in the backs of coves," he explained. "Most of the fish fell for Rodstrainer jigs with Yamamoto grub trailers and we also had some action on lizards and Magic Worms." I also spoke to Fish Sniffer subscriber Matt Miller from Vacaville who has been spending quite a bit of time on Berryessa during the last two weeks. He fished the same day as Hemphill and reported catching approximately 10 largemouth bass up to 3 pounds while throwing crankbaits and rip baits during the first hour of daylight. He said the bite slowed down dramatically by 7:30 am and he picked up a few more fish while dragging worms in 20 feet of water. While some anglers are doing well at Berryessa, many others have been struggling for a few fish a day. With water temperatures still in the low 50's, these fish can be extremely fickle and you really need to be in tune with the daily movements of the fish to find consistent action. However, a few days of warm weather should move most of the fish up into shallow water and those 5 to 15 fish days are going to turn into 20 to 40 fish days. As soon as we see a jump in temperatures, look for an excellent shallow water bite on jigs and plastic worms. Also, the crankbait and rip bait bite should produce equally well, especially during windy conditions. We should see a lot of smaller fish holding on points and the backs of coves in 2 to 5 feet of water and some better quality fish staging near those areas in 10 to 20 feet of water. Berryessa is a large lake and it can be tough to decide where to start. Here are a few things to consider; The east shore tends to warm up fastest and can provide some of the best shallow water early season action. During a trip last week, I found most of the lake was running 50 to 52 degrees, except for the east shore where water temps topped out at nearly 55 degrees. Another good bet this time of year is to concentrate on the inflow areas, especially when inflow water temperatures are a degree or two warmer than the rest of the lake. Pope and Putah creeks are probably the first two areas I will check. Of course, many other smaller creeks throughout the lake can produce equally well. Keep an eye on the weather forecast and try to hit Berryessa on the third or fourth day of warming temperatures. This almost always happens during the first few weeks of March and it can produce some of the most tremendous catches of the year. |
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