San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

This was my third trip this season to Barrett (and my third trip ever), and it was the toughest by far!

First day I fished Hauser, second day I fished Pine, but the results were largely the same. Was on the water around 5:30-45 each morning and threw top waters for a long while in a bunch of spots but rarely had bites and the ones that did were dink bass and bluegill. Switched to 2-3ft depth jerkbaits and crankbaits, and again only had dinks. Tried many different types of retrieves but still no dice on decent fish. Started throwing deeper jerkbaits and cranks (5-8ft) and also mixing up the retrieves and again only sporadic dink bites. It wasn't until I switched to dropshot and started fishing 15-25ft deep that I started reliably getting bites and landing nicer fish. 3-4" worms including Geecrack bellows stick (green pumpkin), Chomper dropshot worm (watermelon seed), Z-man finesse worm (green pumpkin), and a Don Iovino Teanie Meanie (honey brown) all did the trick and produced consistent bites and the best fish of the weekend. I must've had 15 different plastics out and another dozen different hard baits I tried and those were the things that worked! Only other decent fish I caught was on a shad colored keitech fat impact with an underspin style hook, but that was the one and only bite on that thing. With the dropshot I found that I got much better bites when getting up near the shore and casting out to deeper water and retrieving "uphill" back toward the shore. Casting dropshot or other lures parallel or toward the shore in shallower water only produced dink bites. Also tried wacky rigged and texas rigged worms but those got no bites in the same spots I used dropshot and caught fish. When going between spots I would troll a mini umbrella rig and had some success on that, but unlike in June when I consistently caught a bunch of 2-3lb fish doing that, the bites were less consistent and the fish kept getting off the hook.

Next and last trip of the season is in mid-September so hoping the bass are less discerning next month!

Great info. How long was was your dropshot weight from the hook?

Hi, nice report. It does seem like the dinks are the dominant catch. Last week, I found fish suspended over no structure and not relating to bait balls, which were also hard to find. I think there's something going on with the combination of odd weather ( for this time of year ) the clarity of the water ( it seems different in every section of the lake) and the water level still dropping, is making it hard for them to properly relate to the shore. I'm working on that theory, but I think I am maybe giving the bass too much credit for thoughts they may not have.

JWall wrote: Fri Aug 30, 2024 9:07 am Great info. How long was was your dropshot weight from the hook?

About 8-10” I’d say. I tend prefer a bit longer length. I also got good fish on drop shot just by letting it sit in the water, letting the wind and chop do the work giving the bait subtle movement. Overall had to take a very finesse approach and look for rocks and submerged trees/brush in 15-25 feet of water.

Early release wrote: Fri Aug 30, 2024 9:18 am Hi, nice report. It does seem like the dinks are the dominant catch. Last week, I found fish suspended over no structure and not relating to bait balls, which were also hard to find. I think there's something going on with the combination of odd weather ( for this time of year ) the clarity of the water ( it seems different in every section of the lake) and the water level still dropping, is making it hard for them to properly relate to the shore. I'm working on that theory, but I think I am maybe giving the bass too much credit for thoughts they may not have.

That’s a good observation I think. I also didn’t find any fish around the bait balls like in May or June.

AutoJonez wrote: Fri Aug 30, 2024 11:25 am

Early release wrote: Fri Aug 30, 2024 9:18 am Hi, nice report. It does seem like the dinks are the dominant catch. Last week, I found fish suspended over no structure and not relating to bait balls, which were also hard to find. I think there's something going on with the combination of odd weather ( for this time of year ) the clarity of the water ( it seems different in every section of the lake) and the water level still dropping, is making it hard for them to properly relate to the shore. I'm working on that theory, but I think I am maybe giving the bass too much credit for thoughts they may not have.

That’s a good observation I think. I also didn’t find any fish around the bait balls like in May or June.

I agree with AutoJonez Dave. The fish are where they are for a reason. The trick is cracking that code. Keep theorizing!

YMMV, but one thing I know about Barrett is that Northerns are a schooling fish. I've NEVER fished an area and had to change bait 15 times and spend 30 minutes without getting bit, and then suddenly start getting fish.

If the fish are there, they''ll let you know.

I don't waste my time trying to crack a code when the fish aren't there. Move move move and don't expect schools to suddenly come to you. Don't be afraid to throw your original game plan out the window and start fishing new areas.

DarkShadow wrote: Fri Aug 30, 2024 4:14 pm YMMV, but one thing I know about Barrett is that Northerns are a schooling fish. I've NEVER fished an area and had to change bait 15 times and spend 30 minutes without getting bit, and then suddenly start getting fish.

If the fish are there, they''ll let you know.

I don't waste my time trying to crack a code when the fish aren't there. Move move move and don't expect schools to suddenly come to you. Don't be afraid to throw your original game plan out the window and start fishing new areas.

The “code” wasn’t about baits as much as location, depth, etc. My experience at Barrett is just about anything will work when you find those pockets of fish. Like you say, keep moving.

Agree with jwall, I was their on the 25th with my buddies and we were killing it between each other we had 10-12 fish 3-5 pounds and 40+ each ranging from 8-13 inches.