San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

Greetings all. I am a first time fisherman at Barrett Lake in a rental boat with a buddy next Saturday. Prefer light spinning gear. Nothing bigger than 6 or 8 lb. Trilene XL or XT or big game. No braid. Never been here before. Probably will not launch until 6 AM.

So where do we go on the main lake? Or by the dam and the buoy line? Up which arm if either and is that right or left? How deep, sounds like along the shore back to 10 to 20 feet of water. Barbless artificials, I know, so bringing an assortment of jigs, frogs, senkos to wacky rig (in what colors(?)), fat ikas (green pumpkin, copper, black and blue, and pearl), and bodegas - fly lined or nail weighted (never used them before).

So am I covered? Do I need to go up to 10 or 12lb test - I do not mind light line but grass and snags??

Like I said, first time here and would appreciate any guidance and direction from you fisher-folk. Much appreciated.

Sounds trite but it all works. Locations and tackle. I will say you don’t need your lighter line, Barrett bass bite 10-12 easily. Maybe even more if fluoro. Browse a few of the reports for specifics.

I will add to keep moving if no biters or just sporadic. A 50 yard move can make a difference in numbers.

Lots of snags so I mostly use weedless. Since I am using weedless, I can usually get away with using 6 pound line. Hooked fish will usually swim out to deeper water.

Can't go wrong with Senkos, drop shot and Ned rigs. If there is a lot of stringy moss around, then a Texas rigged Senko is nice.

Underwater rocks can be extremely productive. If you don't have a fish finder, look for rock faces on the shore and assume the rocks continue. Drag your drop shot or Ned slowly across the rocks. I have often caught 10-20 fish from a single rocky structure. Don't leave fish to find fish.

While most people downplay it, trolling crankbaits or a Whopper Plopper in the middle works, especially midday. Chasing wolf packs in the middle works too when they are busting. Almost anything you throw at busting fish gets bit: spoon, crankbait, Spook, swimbait, etc. Sometimes they will bite it withing one second of it hitting the water, before you even start a retrieve, so be ready.

I mostly use green pumpkin and shad (black/pearl) colors but about any color will work. Fish can be anywhere from 1' deep (right up against the bank) to 20' deep (not counting the ones in the middle).

Barrett fish overwhelmingly feed on small shad. Smaller baits sometimes work very well.

September is usually a pretty good bite. If you are any good as a bass fisherman, you should have a blast. Let us know how you do and what worked.