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Northern California

From the rugged North Coast to the high Sierra lakes, swap reports, tactics, and stories from NorCal waters — salmon, steelhead, trout, bass, and everything that bites north of the Delta.

68 Topics 179 Posts
  • Collins lake nov 8th- 9th

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    fishsnifferF
    From one of our friends Tom Mailey [image: 4cd37544-70bd-4c98-b471-1fb4425fff5b.png] Fishing Collins on 11/25, I was reminded that it ain't over until it's over. 2 clients and I spent 6 fruitless hours mostly trolling the lake for exactly nothing. No takedowns, not even a stink eye. We tried spincasting for a bit in along the east shoreline, but that didn't do any good either. Disappointed and frustrated, we headed back to the launch. But as we were literally tying up to the dock, I noticed one solitary trout, about 3 pounds, cruising near the surface. On a whim, and I almost didn't do it, I cast a grub I'd been using earlier. And while that particular trout didn't bite, 5 or 6 others followed my grub back to the dock. And that's when we all noticed there were even more fish- an entire school of nice, Collins-sized fish. There were even a few lightning trout mixed in. We got the two other spinning rods back out and started tossing. In 20 minutes we had these four rainbow to about 5 lbs, 2 on a copper Mepps spinner and 2 on Power Bait we just tossed in and soaked. The grub got nothing but looks! We would've stayed longer and I'm certain we would've caught more, but the young guy had borrowed his girlfriend's car and had to get to work. I have a hunch they'd just done another stocking and maybe these fish hadn't yet moved away from the dock, but I didn't see a truck, and nobody was fishing nearby. Craziest end to a morning of fishing I've experienced in a while. It was a good lesson to not be afraid to try something completely different, and to never totally give up until the boat's out of the water and the tie-downs are on!
  • Rollins Reservoir Map Update

    rollins
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    B
    Excellent, please keep the maps coming
  • Official Berryessa Thread

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    fishsnifferF
    Done, renamed to Official Berryessa Thread. Also linked from Maps in the sidebar.
  • Crab snaring at Ocean Beach, 11/16

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    M
    Start with 6oz, if you trap is drifting to right or left within one minute then add 2 more ounces. I don’t use more than 8oz. It gets harder to cast and reel in. If I need more than 8oz then surf probably too rough and crab will just bury themselves in sand. I crab when surf is less than 550kj wave energy Good luck
  • FishSnifer is Awesome

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    fishsnifferF
    Thanks guys, this means a lot coming from the community. We’re stoked to continuously improve all things Fish Sniffer and getting more anglers out there.
  • Early November Delta Stripers

    stripers
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    spookieS
    Very nice work John
  • American River Salmon Fishing w/ Kailyr Perry

    salmon american river
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    J
    Is Kailyr still guiding this year?
  • Eagle Lake Fishing Report 11/4/2025

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    JPMJ
    Makes me want to get back out to Eagle Lake!
  • Napa River

    Moved
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    J
    My buddy and I hit it a few times earlier in October. We saw lots of bait fish and water was fairly clear. River edges and seams did well for stripers with more lighter color lures. I think we some of the rain we got and some more on the way, the water should get a little more color so I think having darker colors would be better in November. We saw lots of fly fishermen out there when we went and they all seemed to be doing good.
  • Mokelumne River skunk on Friday

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    spookieS
    Thanks Mark
  • October Lake Berryessa Report

    kokanee salmon
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    spookieS
    I'll pick some of them up, thanks
  • Halibut and Stripers out of Emeryville

    stripers halibut
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    JPMJ
    Catching bigger hali than some of the adults out there haha
  • Annual Shasta Fall Trout Derby

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    SierraguyS
    There are two annual trout derbies on Shasta. This fall derby and the Kokanee Power tournament in the spring, usually the first weekend in May. That derby also allows Salmon to be included. Both events are well organized and attended
  • German browns showing up

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    SierraguyS
    I’m putting in a vote for Bucks Lake!
  • Feather River Depth

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    B
    thanks. helpful information
  • Bodega Bay & Tomales Bay October Report

    lingcod rockfish
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    spookieS
    Great report
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  • Lake Oroville October Report

    bass salmon trout
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  • Truckee River October Report

    trout
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  • Pardee & Camanche Lakes October Report

    bass
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