Lake Oroville
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Lake Oroville Fishing Reports
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Species
Spotted BassSeason
Winter
Technique
Umbrella Rigs
Structure
Baitfish
Forage
Shad
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Ned Rigs
Structure
Ledges
Went back on Saturday for my second run at this lake. I had similar success as my first attempt last week. Although I caught 12, they were for some reason about a 1 pound smaller? Last week it was all 2.5 to 3 pounders and this week they were mostly in the 1.5 to 2 pound range. I was using the same tactic using a ned rig, looking for shelves and rock piles off of points. In retrospect, I think sometimes, I start creeping too close to the shoreline, and maybe I'm leaving the larger fish that are a bit further out? I tried various spinner baits, crank baits and top water lures again in the recessed areas between the points but wasn't having any action at all on those.
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Ned Rigs
Structure
Points
This was my first trip out to Lake Oroville, and I was not disappointed. Can't wait to get out there again cuz those bass fight twice as hard as their size. And with 16 fish in the 2-3 lb range, it made for a fantastic day. And as mentioned, it seemed every one of those fish put up a fight that had me thinking they were going to be twice as big. I just received my latest order of tackle from Omnia and put it right to use. I started up the north fork, using a Ned rig on the points. The Zman Finesse TRD was killin it! (I was using The Deal pattern) When I advanced into a cove, I switched over to the Whopper Plopper and tried some jerk baits as well. Although I caught a few in the coves, I pretty much hurried over to the next point, because that's where the bigger fish were holding. They were in the 20-30 ft deep range on either side of the point. I would never have left the north fork, but since this was my first time on Oroville, I wanted to explore a little bit. Spent some time at the Dam, but only smaller fish there. And went under the bridge to the upper south fork with more success on the points. Overall a great day. My top five fish added up to 14lbs 4oz.
Species
Spotted BassSeason
Winter
Technique
Umbrella Rigs
Structure
Points
Forage
Shad
Water Temperature
48°
What a day. Saturday was day 2 of the WWBT Pro/Am on Oroville. It was a tough day with only 3 bites. Could have had 5 bites if I didn't waste time running around and just stayed on the trolling motor. Best options imo would be to throw a compact a-rig, Keitech 2.8 /3.3 or dropshot a 3-4" Keitech Easy Shiner. And fish it slow. You could catch fish on flats, 45 degree banks and points. You just needed to cover enough water to come across enough fish to get bit. Most flats were hammered pretty well so I mainly fished steep banks with any slight irregularity along the bank slowly fishing the a-rig or drop shot. Fish would come ont he irregularity or you could hit the points. Wind blown points will produce better but not necessarily needed. Over the course of practice and the tournment I also caught fish whenever we would see a large ball of bait. You can drop your dropshot down into the balls of bait and if there is a feeding spot nearby they will eat it almost every time. The conditions right now are tough. The weather is fluctuating by the hour. The water is rising a few feet per week and it's keeping the pre-spawn spots from committing to moving up in droves. There is also a largemouth bite going on with the rapidly rising water the largemouth are up shallow so you may or may not run into one. Trolling Motor: Lowrance Ghost Electronics: Lowrance HDS Live 12 x 2, Active Target Rods: ALX Powerbolt (custom made for A-Rig) Reels: Daiwa Tatula 200 Line: 20lb. Suffix Advance Lures used: Keitech 2.8/3.3, Shanes Baits a-rig, Outkast Tackle jigheads Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous 94.02% Weather: Clear and sunny to sideways hail/rain storm. Wind: calm to 30+ mph Air Temp: 38-54 Water Temp: 42-50 Water Clarity: 0-3' Areas targeted: Feather River arm, main lake and Middle Fork Feather River.
Species
Spotted BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Ned Rigs
Structure
Boulders
Forage
Minnows
Water Temperature
82°
Found the fish on sonar. I caught one on a crank bait. My son used the Z-Man neg rig in a minnow color (the deal). Cast and let drop to the bottom in a slack line. If they don’t hit it on the fall, let it rest a few seconds. Lift the road tip to feel for a bite. Let it rest and repeat. It only took a minute to hook up. They often hit it on the fall.
Species
Spotted BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Crankbaits 7'-12'
Structure
Boulders
Forage
Minnows
Water Temperature
82°
The exact lure is MEGABASS 3/8 oz. SUPER-Z Z3 style: baby bass. A steady slow crank with pauses was irresistible today.
Species
Spotted BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Drop Shot
Structure
Shad
Forage
Shad
Water Temperature
74°
Bite is pretty good on Oroville right now. Caught fish anywhere from 5-40' of water. Use your graphs and a heavy dropshot weight with a straight tail pond smelt/shad imitator. as soon as you see a pod of fish cast to them and you will likely get bit. If not graph until you see the next. If you don't see balls of bait around the area as well don't bother. Move on until you see the bait and the small schools of bass pushing them around. Forward facing sonar helps but is not necessary with this technique. A damiki style jighead and 3-4" straight tail baitfish imitator will also work. Other techniques that would be effective would be ballhead with keitech etc or underspin. 2.8-3.3 size. Or a spoon or a blade bait. Good luck.
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Spring (Post-Spawn)
Technique
Tubes
Structure
Points
Water Temp: 76 Water Clarity: Clear (6-8foot visibility) Report: Fished evening, launching around 4:30pm until around 9:00pm. Wind was dead, average wind was 2-3mph. Caught 24 fish between partner and I. They were concentrated on rocky structure points and shallow coves. Many strikes in the 2-4ft range. We had the best luck with Old Ugly colored Dry Creek Tubes and the larger fish on 3.5” KVD Coffee tubes in watermelon with black flakes. Largest fish 3.5, But a aerate size was right around 2lbs. Majority of the bites were on spinning reel. But was able to land quality fish on both bait casting as well. Tips: Slow roll the tubes until you can feel every rock and structure. Bites were strong and easily detectable. Gear: Shimano Vanford spinning reel, 8lb floro Sunline Sniper leader, Dobyns Fury 703SF, Owner darter head 1/4 oz.
Species
Panfish / BluegillSeason
Summer
Technique
Micro Crankbaits
Structure
Brush Piles
Forage
Minnows
Water Temperature
79°
I used a tiny Yo-Zury crank bait. This was a slow sinking purple lure with a tight wobble and one treble hook. Other tiny baits like Z-Man Micro would do great as well. I love Z-Man products!
