SHARE returns to the Big B

[JWall]

To the 1 of 4 individuals who could not fish on Saturday after Friday's cancellation and rescheduling, THANK YOU!

I now am part of the 8 boats that will be fishing on Saturday, after 4 of Friday's slots were moved to Saturday due to inclement weather.

Anybody fish it this time of year? I traditionally fish it in the first 2 weeks of May, and never a month this early.

Curious…did they move 4 to Saturday and 4 to Sunday? I am fishing Sunday. As for April tactics, I’m planning a similar approach like I have been fishing El Cap this last month+. The weather has had its way with the Cap and I am assuming it will have its way this weekend at Barrett. Fishing very tight to cover up shallow and deeper if they pull back. I do think the catch rate will be better though after being closed since September.

They moved the 4 from Friday to Saturday, so there will be a total of 8 boats on Saturday.

Sunday? You have 4 whopping boats with fishermen on there. Enjoy!

Wow!! That’s wild. Thanks for the get back

[Queue]

There will be about 15-20 boats out each day with 4-8 of those SHARE participants. The balance being CDFW staff.

[JWall]

There will be about 15-20 boats out each day with 4-8 of those SHARE participants. The balance being CDFW staff.

I was thinking only 4 non-DFG boats “catching” wasn’t going to provide their desired amount of data. Or then maybe we will

[dwaynesda]

For those that are going on Sunday, you can catch them on your favorite ways. Senkos, underspins, flukes, jerk baits, darker chater baits, rattle traps. No top water action or shad busting yet. Lake is full. Water is about 59-62 and very clear. Fish are on the bank to about 12' water.They are in beautiful shape and the opener looks to be excellent in a few weeks. Lots of crappie and bluegill also. Barrett is in great shape.

[JWall]

For those that are going on Sunday, you can catch them on your favorite ways. Senkos, underspins, flukes, jerk baits, darker chater baits, rattle traps. No top water action or shad busting yet. Lake is full. Water is about 59-62 and very clear. Fish are on the bank to about 12' water.They are in beautiful shape and the opener looks to be excellent in a few weeks. Lots of crappie and bluegill also. Barrett is in great shape.

Thanks a bunch for the report. Have several of those pre-rigged for us tomorrow.

[Shawnster]

Hope you have a fantastic Sunday session! Looking forward to hearing about it.

[DarkShadow]

Saturday was pretty excellent. It was one of those, 'pick your favorite bait' and go at it.

I will say though, that after speaking to most of the guys there, there were a few that got both numbers and size.

[JWall]

Had a decent day fishing flylined pumpkin/purple senkos while the girl tossed reapers. Caught 25 fish between us that included a beast bluegill, a solid crappie, and 3 of the 23 bass in the 3-4lb class. The lake is setting up for a rockin year!!

[MaxZmus]

So which part of the lake were you guys assigned to?

[JWall]

So which part of the lake were you guys assigned to?

Hauser. We headed for Echo Cove and basically stayed there all day. Not prolific numbers but breeze-protected and a steady bite. Lunch by the waterfall didn’t hurt either. Heard Pine was the best zone on Saturday.

[DarkShadow]

I got Hauser, which I didn't mind since I knew it a little bit better than Pine.

Had about 50 or so fish, not counting the dinks that were a pound or less. Very impressed at the average size. Quite a few of those were 3 to 4 pounds. If I hadn't had to race to the DFW gentleman once I had 3 or 4 fish in the livewell, I'm sure I would've gotten a few more fish to go.

First 3 fish I handed off to the workers all weighed a tad above 1800 grams. (I know, I was trying to do the conversion to pounds but ran out of toes and fingers to do the math with)

What was strange was that the dock area had a lot of bait, but I found zero in Hauser. Perhaps I didn't explore enough, but all my fish came on non-shad baits in deeper water.

For what it's worth, the size of the fish got smaller the further back into the cove I went.

Water level looks great, btw. It's gonna be a fun May for those who have the opportunity to fish it.



(I'm trying to motivate on getting a more decent and detailed report...)

[JWall]

I got Hauser, which I didn't mind since I knew it a little bit better than Pine.

Had about 50 or so fish, not counting the dinks that were a pound or less. Very impressed at the average size. Quite a few of those were 3 to 4 pounds. If I hadn't had to race to the DFW gentleman once I had 3 or 4 fish in the livewell, I'm sure I would've gotten a few more fish to go.

First 3 fish I handed off to the workers all weighed a tad above 1800 grams. (I know, I was trying to do the conversion to pounds but ran out of toes and fingers to do the math with)

What was strange was that the dock area had a lot of bait, but I found zero in Hauser. Perhaps I didn't explore enough, but all my fish came on non-shad baits in deeper water.

For what it's worth, the size of the fish got smaller the further back into the cove I went.

Water level looks great, btw. It's gonna be a fun May for those who have the opportunity to fish it.



(I'm trying to motivate on getting a more decent and detailed report...)

Great day Dark Shadow! Sounds like we should have been looking deeper We gave up on our shad baits pretty quick thankfully. The bass were definitely not interested.

[dwaynesda]

It was a great day on Sunday. We caught 70 fish with most between 2 to 4 lbs. We fished the very back of Hauser where the water was 67. Green pumpkin chaterbaits with a small pumpkin fluke, Mega bass jerkbaits and 1/16 oz Hookup baits in natural shad, watermelon/red flake Paca craw, texas rigged were our best lures. The fish were just moving up the the recently flooded shallows and started making the nests but had not settled in yet. Fish are nice and healthy and are large. No top water action or spinnerbaits at this point in the fishery. Lots of great data was collected. Lots of mixed sizes. Anecdotally, the fishery looks in great shape.

The lake is so full that there is no parking down by the dock. It is completely underwater. Water is almost up to the porta potti on Pigs point. Water is extremely clear. Lots of shad balls down deep where the 2 arms come together but there was no shad popping all day in either arm yet.

All but one of the boats were running great except for one that crapped out a 2 on Sunday.

Good luck tomorrow evening on Ticket master.

[JWall]

It was a great day on Sunday. We caught 70 fish with most between 2 to 4 lbs. We fished the very back of Hauser where the water was 67. Green pumpkin chaterbaits with a small pumpkin fluke, Mega bass jerkbaits and 1/16 oz Hookup baits in natural shad, watermelon/red flake Paca craw, texas rigged were our best lures. The fish were just moving up the the recently flooded shallows and started making the nests but had not settled in yet. Fish are nice and healthy and are large. No top water action or spinnerbaits at this point in the fishery. Lots of great data was collected. Lots of mixed sizes. Anecdotally, the fishery looks in great shape.

The lake is so full that there is no parking down by the dock. It is completely underwater. Water is almost up to the porta potti on Pigs point. Water is extremely clear. Lots of shad balls down deep where the 2 rams come together but there was no shad popping all day in either arm yet.

All but one of the boats were running great except for one that crapped out a 2 on Sunday.

Good luck tomorrow evening on Ticket master.

Great meeting you at the dock Dwaynesda! We thought about heading that way after lunching by the waterfall but headed back up into Echo. And whatever you are helping with on the motors, thank you!

[dwaynesda]

You are welcome.

They bring me up to get the motors all running before everyone shows up a week before the event. We had 6 problem motors that did not want to start but got them all up and running. Lori was pretty surprised to hear that.

All in all, a great weekend but the congratulations all go to Matt and Quinn, and their staffers, from DFW for putting in the huge amount of time to get everything prepared for the survey. Lots of time and effort that absolutely no one sees days before the event to make sure that everything goes smoothly. They are the unsung State workers who are the heros' and need to be thanked.

This survey is done to make sure that Barrett remains the best bass fishery in SoCal. Proper management of all the lakes they are in charge of here in Socal is critical. They are the team that makes it happen and I for one, am happy they are in a position to do the hard work it takes.

[JWall]

You are welcome.

They bring me up to get the motors all running before everyone shows up a week before the event. We had 6 problem motors that did not want to start but got them all up and running. Lori was pretty surprised to hear that.

All in all, a great weekend but the congratulations all go to Matt and Quinn, and their staffers, from DFW for putting in the huge amount of time to get everything prepared for the survey. Lots of time and effort that absolutely no one sees days before the event to make sure that everything goes smoothly. They are the unsung State workers who are the heros' and need to be thanked.

This survey is done to make sure that Barrett remains the best bass fishery in SoCal. Proper management of all the lakes they are in charge of here in Socal is critical. They are the team that makes it happen and I for one, am happy they are in a position to do the hard work it takes.

We really enjoyed watching Matt’s passion, as well as all the others. He got a big kick out of our daughter working on a degree similar to his up at UC Davis. Maybe she will be in the Share crew one day soon. Thanks to all of them, we look to be in good hands going forward

[dwaynesda]

Yes, my friends son participated last year as measurer staffer and Matt asked a lot of questions of him.. He was just finishing up his degree at ASU for the same thing and interning with Az Game and Fish. He graduated and He just got hired on by a huge national transmission line construction co as a resident staffer biologist and is tickled pink he got such a great job with great pay and benefits right out of the gate as his first real job. Volunteering for stuff like that looks good on the resume. He did the same volunteering for AZ Game and Fish also. It is not in the fishing industry like he wanted but it is still a neat job making sure the construction is not wildlife harmful. Eventually he will get to where he wants to be but he could not say No to this great offer.

[DarkShadow]

Quinn was there on Saturday!?

Must have missed him.

[dwaynesda]

Yes, all day.