San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

For Discussion: Didn’t last year’s spawn get messed up with ever changing water levels?
Any thoughts about this years ? Or how this months lake survey findings are? Nests et all.
C U at Barrett

When I fished it a week ago, there were fish in all stages.

Some were hard locked on beds, some were wandering the shallows with a mate.

Some were just making their nests, and some were guarding nests.

Water temp was in the low 60s, FWIW.

Nice!!
Thanks for your input

You fished it ? Did you have to use their boats ? How was the fishing ? That's awesome you get to fish early I might add . I bass fish alot wondering what you like to use at Barrett ? Did you catch anything with size ? Sorry about all the questions if I never ask anything I don't learn .

Probably won a spot with the CDWF share program. They allow a small group to fish early to weigh and measure the fish for data collection. I won 2 years ago and did the same.

Awesome how do you get apart that program ? I am a serious bass fisherman very seasoned on catching fish expeially Barrett been going over 25 years now .

Share program is a raffle. It’s pretty much a donation because only a small random picked group of people get selected out of hundreds who buy a “raffle” ticket. Look up SHARE on dfg site. It’s usually mentioned here before it happens every year. I’ve tried several times and just donated my money. Good luck next year.

Thanks for the heads up ! That's awesome you get to fish early . Barrett a special place to me so love to help anyway I can . Thanks again appreciate your words !

Loveyourmama2 wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2024 6:07 pm You fished it ? Did you have to use their boats ? How was the fishing ? That's awesome you get to fish early I might add . I bass fish alot wondering what you like to use at Barrett ? Did you catch anything with size ? Sorry about all the questions if I never ask anything I don't learn .

Yep, we used the same boats that the anglers who bought tickets on Ticketmaster will use in the next few months. I know a few motors had issues that day I went, including a boat that a DFW employee was using. I almost had to tow him back to the marina.

As far as baits? Barrett is a special place and when the bite is on, you can pretty much use anything.

Having said that, the bigger fish for me have come on either buzzbaits or jigs. It's extremely tempting to mess with the one pounders that you'll see.

One the day that I went, my first 2 fish were about 4 pounds each and while I could've caught 100 of those pesky 1 pounders, I chose to fish deeper and the average size of the fish was impressive.

The first time I took my buddy, I told him that if he tied on a drop shot, he was getting kicked off the boat. Don't waste your time with techniques that are meant to catch finicky fish unless it's absolutely necessary.

Depending on what the fish are doing, you have to match your bait accordingly. In the morning, you can definitely throw a topwater bait or a buzzbait and get some action. Once the sun comes up and the fish retreat, I like throwing a Texas rigged bait into the thick. Try to focus on baits that are not going to get hung up, and will allow you to fish the trees efficiently. For some reason, I tend to have success with black/blue plastics.

Feel free to ask questions, as I fished it about a month ago and while I was restricted to fish Hauser, the bite was phenomenal.

DarkShadow wrote: Mon Apr 15, 2024 9:43 am Some were just making their nests, and some were guarding nests.

This was the majority of what we saw yesterday.

Spot On with the Spawn On DarkShadow!!
I confirm the same on the opener.
Water clarity and the late burnoff made an amazing Big B aquarium below!!
Polarized lenses and the right light angle lit up nesting sites everywhere!
I could site fish with top water gear for a good hour.
Enjoy your day tomorrow et all!!!!

Very cold Wednesday morning with slight breeze headon on the way out.
Calmness dominated the whole lake when this pano was shot
Enjoy !
Morning burn off was very late while the top water bite was brief?

Trolling A rig over semi shallow areas ( Soawn areas) and had much better luck!

Enjoy the weekend all!