Lake Berryessa
Limits Of Kokanee Highlight Trolling Catches

SACRAMENTO – If you want catch a limit of kokanee, as well as good numbers of rainbow trout and some king salmon, now’s the time to book a trolling adventure on Lake Berryessa. “This morning we had Michael and Jordan from Idaho back out once again on Berryessa searching for more Kokanee action and they limited out again,” reported Nate Kelsch of Big Nate’s Guide Service after his latest trolling adventure. “Not only did they score limits of kokanee, with all fish being extremely fat and healthy, but they had a couple donkeys in the mix, and got 7 big Eagle Lake trout and 1 nice king salmon for the crew by noon.” “We also lost a few nice kokes right behind the boat,” he continued. “The epic train rolls on. This lake is fishing as good as I’ve seen it in years and continues to provide exceptional action for my clients. The Fish America Kokanee Dodgers, with Tpex lures and Uncle Larry spinners, continue to dominate our catches between 20 and 60 ft.” On his previous trip, he also reported outstanding kokanee, king and trout fishing. “Today had Tom, Bob and Ken out on Berryessa for a potluck trip and they crushed them. They scored donkey kokanee and king salmon and rainbow trout and even caught a huge Sacramento pike-minnow. We had everything wrapped up by noon, with 21 fish to the boat. A couple of fish also broke us off – and numerous fish didn’t stick. A couple of fish broke us off.” “Once again I stayed away from the fleet to the best of my ability, and it paid dividends. There are fish all over the lake, If you put in some time and find your own fish, your success rate will go up exponentially. Catch America gold, orange, and pink dodgers, paired with Tpexes and Uncle Larry’s spinners in various patterns, crushed them once again. Chrome Killer Corn is another key element to this epic bite we were on.” “We caught fish from the surface down to almost 70 ft chasing marks on my graph and those marks are turning into fish on ice in our bag! We are now booked solid thru June and only have a few dates available for July and August is starting to fill up as well,” Kelsch added. Bass fishermen are also experiencing epic fishing on Berryessa. “The bite has been red hot, with packs of bass feeding on shad,” reported Don Paganelli of Paganelli’s Bass Fishing Experience. “On one trip, the top water bite at Lake Berryessa was completely off the hook. We caught and released more than 75 bass, all on top water lures. White Blade Runner spinner baits also caught a few, along with a few small swim baits.”
Reclamation now requires all boats launching at Lake Berryessa to participate in a seal program to prevent the spread of invasive golden mussels. All vessels wishing to launch at Lake Berryessa will be inspected, according to the Bureau of Reclamation: A red quarantine seal will be applied for 30 days during which the vessel will not be permitted to launch. Vessels that have finished the 30-day quarantine may return to the lake and have the seal removed by authorized staff and will be allowed to launch. For questions about this new protocol and vessel decontamination, contact BOR-Berryessa@usbr.gov.
Lake Berryessa is holding 1,523,794 feet of water, 95 percent of capacity and 115 percent of average.