Hi all,

 

So I've been fishing in the Bay area for a couple years now and I finally have a little bit of a handle of how to catch fish here. Generally I go to the south San Jose reservoirs (Calero, Anderson), and I go to the Delta occasionally. I fish off a foot WS Ride 115. I'm confident enough where I know I can at least catch a couple.

 

Except Chabot. I've been to Chabot 3 times now and every time I get skunked. There was a post in the Fising reports section about Calero and @WRB was kind enough to give his take on strategies. So I went to Chabot today and I had a savage paddle tail trout swimbait, an Uptons custom dragontail in aaron's magic, brown a football head jig skirted with a green Big Bites Baits Dean rojas fighting frog trailer, and a texas rigged Big Bites Baits fighting frog. I fished the Dam/Cove area extensively, starting shallow, but I also hit the ledges out to about 25 feet. I, for the life of me, can't figure this lake out. Do the bass only hit on swimbaits? Is their main food source trout? Any tips would be appreciated. I know there are monsters in here......I just can't crack the code. 

Getting skunked is always a bitter pill to swallow. 

Have you talked to the boat rental people, they usually know what is going on and will share info with you. If trout are being stocked the rental guys know the schedule. They know what's been caught and where. Rental docks are the biggest cover area on the lake and often home to some big bass.

Timing is more than likely your problem along with whatever depth the bass are using. Try afternoons and mornings until you figure this lake out.

Good luck, hope you catch sometime soon!

Tom

5 hours ago, WRB said:

Getting skunked is always a bitter pill to swallow. 

Have you talked to the boat rental people, they usually know what is going on and will share info with you. If trout are being stocked the rental guys know the schedule. They know what's been caught and where. Rental docks are the biggest cover area on the lake and often home to some big bass.

Timing is more than likely your problem along with whatever depth the bass are using. Try afternoons and mornings until you figure this lake out.

Good luck, hope you catch sometime soon!

Tom

 

What Tom said th365thli is money. The docks used to hold big slab crappie after the spawn. Half Moon Bay is someplace to check out early morning cause some of the big girls like to come up shallow, especially if foggy or overcast. If you have electronics, maybe check out how far Alder Point goes out, you might be surprised....

3 hours ago, J._Bricker said:

 

What Tom said th365thli is money. The docks used to hold big slab crappie after the spawn. Half Moon Bay is someplace to check out early morning cause some of the big girls like to come up shallow, especially if foggy or overcast. If you have electronics, maybe check out how far Alder Point goes out, you might be surprised....

 

Half Moon Bay has bass? Confused, it's definitely salt water. Forgot to say I'm targeting bass.

Chabot is one of the best lakes I have ever fished. Always get a few 5-6lbers and a ton in the 2-3 range. You need to spend time on the lake and get to know it so you can have a general idea as to where the bass will be as they seem to move around a lot. The only tip I will give you without giving away lures or spots (gotta figure that out yourself) is that you should stick to fishing the lake on days that have more than average wind or overcast.  Not hard since Chabot gets a ton of wind. The bite always picks up on those days. Put in your time too. Don't go for just a few hours. Get a boat rental, bring two trolling motor batteries and spend the entire day fighting the wind.  Eventually the bite will turn on.

I should add that I have fished chabot from the bank at least 20+ times with 0 luck. Always do good from the boat though.

 

 

Half Moon Bay has bass? Confused, it's definitely salt water. Forgot to say I'm targeting bass.

 

'That's funny th365thli! Good luck out there, JB 

 

I should add that I have fished chabot from the bank at least 20+ times with 0 luck. Always do good from the boat though.

 

This is good to know, so I don't waste a trip up there lol.

 

Chabot is one of the best lakes I have ever fished. Always get a few 5-6lbers and a ton in the 2-3 range. You need to spend time on the lake and get to know it so you can have a general idea as to where the bass will be as they seem to move around a lot. The only tip I will give you without giving away lures or spots (gotta figure that out yourself) is that you should stick to fishing the lake on days that have more than average wind or overcast.  Not hard since Chabot gets a ton of wind. The bite always picks up on those days. Put in your time too. Don't go for just a few hours. Get a boat rental, bring two trolling motor batteries and spend the entire day fighting the wind.  Eventually the bite will turn on.

I should add that I have fished chabot from the bank at least 20+ times with 0 luck. Always do good from the boat though.

 

Brother, I spend at least 8 hours every time out there. At this rate instead of dropping 50 dollars on a boat rental or dragging my kayak it seems easier to go to the southern lakes. But good tip on the wind, as a kayaker I tend to pick less windy days but I'll rent a boat and try and go for suggested weather.

Kayak shoukd work if you can anchor and focus on lure presentation. Do you have a depth finder to determine what depth the bait is at? Now the bass should be in less than 20', as the water warms they will move deeper. If you want numbers go to finesse worms and presentations, you have good lures for the bigger bass.

Tom

I've fished Chabot only a few times but the tip on fishing overcast is 100% correct. Go out on a day like that and fish a jig for most of the day. 

3 hours ago, BASS302 said:

Thanks BASS302 for this, it might bring some clarity to my earlier post. Good fish all, JB