Water Temp- 60
Wind- 10-15 mph
I had a short visit back to California for my Granddaughter’s Birthday. On every trip back to Cali I have to go fishing at least once. This short trip only allowed time for one fishing excursion. Usually I try to hit the Delta or Clear Lake but this trip we went to Berryessa.
I hadn’t been to Berryessa since my move to Missouri in 2015, so when my old fishing partner Tom Lutz suggested it I jumped at the opportunity. We launched slightly before Sunrise at the Cappel Creek launch ramp. There was the first difference I noticed. A $5.00 launch fee where before I moved it was free, followed by the 5 mph buoys being moved out past Spanish Flat instead of at the mouth of Cappel Creek. After the long idle out of the 5 zone we ran up the narrows to target the numerous smallmouth and spotted bass along the rocky shoreline. After just a few casts Tom hooked into a nice 2 pound spot on a Ned Rig. Followed shortly by me getting one on a senko. We moved towards the back of some coves and were able to quickly catch and release several largemouth that were on beds. We both had the trifecta of catching Largemouth, Smallmouth and Spotted Bass with Tom also catching a chunky Meanmouth.
After a few hours we decided to make the run up to my favorite Berryessa area, Putah Creek. We had success in Putah tossing senkos around rocky banks that were in front of potential spawning coves. We made another move to Pope Creek, again throwing senkos and found Pope to be full of smallies. While my return to Berryessa didn’t provide any huge bass, it was a blast catching 2-3 pounders all day and never knowing if it was a largemouth, smallmouth or spotted bass. After being gone for 8 years, I’ve really come to appreciate what great fisheries NorCal has to offer….
RBBass Outdoors Angler Jeff Jewell
