Berryessa
1/12/22
Air Temp: 37 at the ramp 60’s late afternoon
Water: 53 degrees
Wind: variable 1-3 in am, 5-12 pm
Clarity: about 2 feet
I was excited to meet up with RB brother Rob Clarke, at Markley Cove. Both of us being former Marines, we got along just fine, as I knew we would.
We had a mishap at the ramp, totally my fault (don’t ask, I’m embarrassed eniugh) but after the initial shock we sucked it up and went fishing.
We ran out of the cove only to be met with lake fog and it was thick. Me being an old sniper, I would have pulled over and fished, until the fog lifted. With that being said, Rob is a former Infantry Marine and naturally he charged ahead navigating by map brail. Love this guy!
With water lower than usual, I’d say down about 50 feet, and the temp being 53 I thought they would be biting but the opposite was true. It turned out to be a grind. We stopped throughout the narrows to fish and came up with a few fish but it was one here and one way down the road.
We made it out to main lake and fished several of our spots but had the same results of one here and one there. We never did find a school. When one of us hooked one the other would fire back in there with hopes of a school being fired up, but nothing.
The bite, if you call it that, really died when the sun broke through and the wind died down. My productive lures turned out to be a Frenzy Baits Nail Shakeyhead, a TNT Baits Jig, and an A rig built by Rob Clarke. I threw several other baits and only got a hit and miss on the spinnerbait. I know Rob threw some of the same baits and some others as well, but other than a crankbait, without success, I don’t recall the others, as I was in prayer for fish most of the time lol.
As we worked our way back to the launch, we stopped several times when we graphed fish below us. We dropped on them without success. A bit disappointed but glad to have spent a nice day on the water, we headed for home.
All and all, it was great fishing with Rob and if you get him to make you an A rig or two you won’t regret. I’m pretty sure you’ll have to wait for duck and goose season to be over. There’s an old saying, A rollibg stone gathers no moss! That’s Rob! Busy busy!
I’m pretty sure I need to and will spend some more time on that water, and you should too. Remember to take a kid or two with ya fishing, let them experience the great outdoors with a mentor.
RB Bass Angler, Hunter and Shooter
Mike Rogers
