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Thread: Lake Nacimiento Report

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Offshore
    Posts
    820

    Default Lake Nacimiento Report

    Nate from Lake Nacimiento Marina here with your latest fishing report. Though winter is on the horizon and colder water temperatures are looming, winter is one of my favorite times of the year to fish. Decreased boat traffic and cool temperatures make winter fishing at Lake Nacimiento a great experience! The current water temperature is between 60-65 degrees, with warm temperatures during the day fish, are still fattening themselves up for colder water temperatures. In many cases, an angler with the right lure and location selection can come away with double-digit stringers. Spotted Bass are still being pulled in regularly while White Bass are making sporadic appearances.

    During winter months lure selection, retrieve speed, and the location is more important than ever. Generally, when the water is colder all species of bass tend to slow down, therefore the lure must be close enough to the bass to entice a strike. Though a novice angler can have a lot of luck during warmer times of the year, winter is less forgiving. Proper technique will be absolutely necessary over the next few months. Below are some tips that will help you get out and catch your limits!

    Lure selection: There are two arguments in selecting the size of your lure. Two different Pro Anglers may give you two conflicting answers. One side says a small lure is best to use since it will require the fish to expend less energy catching and digesting the meal. The other side argues that a bass will see larger bait as providing more energy and therefore will be more likely to strike. My advice, try both. Once you find the fish, try switching between smaller sinking jigs and larger sinking swim baits or worms. Most importantly, always use lures that sink on their own. Deep diving crank-baits and the like will only sink while retrieving. You want the lure to drop in front of the bass slowly, therefore avoid crankbaits and topwater lures. Since the water tends to be clearer during colder temperatures, ensure you use natural colors and patterns.

    Retrieve speed: This is the most important factor when fishing during winter. All-Pro anglers agree, SLOW IT DOWN! Bass conserve as much energy as possible in the colder water, they will not chase a lure. If during the summer you keep your lure in the water for less than a minute, slow down your retrieve and keep it in the water for 3 minutes. Let the lure fall periodically by jigging the tip of your rod, bass are more likely to strike while the lure is falling in front of them than if it was zipping by. Try bouncing the lure off the lake bed and cover, just ensure you do this SLOWLY.

    Location selection: This really depends on the weather. If it is a sunny warm day and the water temperature is sticking around 55+ degrees, bass can be found soaking in some rays in the shallows. For a warm sunny day try fishing the shallow water sections in the middle of the lake between Snake Creek and Las Tablas or the back of coves. For a cooler day try the rocky shoreline at the mouth of Las Tablas, or the cliff section right before Bee Rock.
    Bundle up, bring some coffee and snacks and enjoy the fact that you could be the only boat on Nacimiento.

    LAKE CONDITIONS:


    The condition of the lakes is typical for this time of the year. The water is cold and clean. As of this writing, Lake Nacimiento is at 753-feet elevation (43% capacity) and Lake San Antonio is at 720-feet (32% capacity). Last year at this time, the elevations were 728-feet and 663-feet, respectively. You can see that there is a lot more water in the lakes than last year, and the outflows have been reduced dramatically, which bodes well for next year.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Beaumont, CA
    Posts
    503

    Default

    Nate,

    That is a great suggestion and recommendation. I've only fished Nacimiento once and I loved it! I live down South and it is quite a ways for me to travel, but I would definitely like to fish it again!

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