Calaveras lake fishing?

[BLACKFINTURKEY]

So I love just 20 minutes from Calaveras and hardly ever fish it, every time o go I hardly ever catch anything. I've caught a few reds and cats on bait, one red on a spoon and a few strippers on trolling lures. Does anybody have some solid tips on producing fish in this lake?

[Junkers88]

We set jug lines out and let them sit over night. It's been hit and miss this year. Using small (1"x1") pieces of chicken breast for bait has been the best for us when we can't catch live shad.


Richard.

[Bowtech Lefty]

It's been a few years since I've fished it but caught some catfish chumming a couple of spots first then using Big Marvs punch bait. They use to sell it at the convenient store off 1604 just before you turn going into the lake. Only reds I've ever caught were either trolling downriggers or off the crappie wall using a spoon or live bait.
Good luck!

[hoghunter69]

i use to fish the second cove pass the dame when the discharge water was pumping, using shad and catching only cats but it was constant catching, other than that i have not caught decent numbers of bass since the late 80s by the power lines when lillys were up,. they ever want to get on the map they will have to do some massive bass stocking

[Radar]

I used to fish it a lot, almost every weekend for two years. I never set jug lines and always fished rod and reel. Never fished the wall and now it is fenced off. I set up my boat with rod holders and use a drift sock. Drift fish using cut shad or tilapia.
Typically let a 1 ounce sinker bounce the bottom with the bait about three foot up. There are a few spots that will produce one or two and you got to move on. All fish I caught from there I threw back, but I have caught my biggest red there at 35 inches long and several blues in the 10-12 pound range.

[coy-ote]

for cats fish the old road bed that's between the wall and the dam, also the second cove where the discharge is has a creek bed that runs through the middle of it, fish the drop off when the day heats up and the fish go deeper, lots of great spots some most folks know about other are what left of the old xmas tree reefs they dumped in there back in the 80's they used to be marked on the maps u get upon entry, get a good graph and fish the structure you find. also the double hump is a place that is between the boat ramp and the wall drifting good for stripers, and cats if your bait can make it down that far before the stripers get on it, went to high school down from there and fished that lake a lot way back when. for reds keep your eyes open and a rattle trap or spoon handy you never know when they will surface chasing bait fish water looks like its boiling if its a big school .good luck be patient lots to learn

[.270]

I was part of the Cali Cat Yaker Plastic Armada. I fished with an ol'timer who could draw the contours of the lake on a napkin from memory. Showed me how to fish that lake. Now that it's getting warmer, I would paddle across the cove. We mainly fished for catfish, Reds were fun accidents.

The limit of reds took 30 mins for me to fill. Took me longer to paddle across and get anchored than limit out. I caught these in front of a charter boat with clients and they were trolling way too close to me. After I strung up the 3rd, I heard a lady say, "Maybe we should ask him what he's using, he just got here and has a limit". Was trying to stick it out for catfish but shortly after another near pass, a red hammered my bait and off for another sleigh ride, but I broke him off on purpose.

I mainly used live tilapia, whole small shad, cut shad, shad gizzards (if you can find them) and head on shrimp. The guy who taught me how to fish Cali used cut carp all the time.

I you are on Facebook, join 210 Fishing. Always someone posting about being out there.

[coy-ote]

would see guys from 181 sitting on that old tank dam in a circle, I never paddle out there due to injuries, but have been on a sleigh ride before I got injured but at the coast

[.270]

would see guys from 181 sitting on that old tank dam in a circle, I never paddle out there due to injuries, but have been on a sleigh ride before I got injured but at the coast

Yes sir! I would have been one of them. Fun times with great people!

[coy-ote]

was driving into town the other day and looked over as I usually do at the first cove, and the reds were on a school tearing up the water looked like whitecaps just passed the tank dam, I too fish for channels and blues out there reds and stripers just got in the way, we used chicken liver and big marv's cheese bait most recently

[BLACKFINTURKEY]

I was part of the Cali Cat Yaker Plastic Armada. I fished with an ol'timer who could draw the contours of the lake on a napkin from memory. Showed me how to fish that lake. Now that it's getting warmer, I would paddle across the cove. We mainly fished for catfish, Reds were fun accidents.

The limit of reds took 30 mins for me to fill. Took me longer to paddle across and get anchored than limit out. I caught these in front of a charter boat with clients and they were trolling way too close to me. After I strung up the 3rd, I heard a lady say, "Maybe we should ask him what he's using, he just got here and has a limit". Was trying to stick it out for catfish but shortly after another near pass, a red hammered my bait and off for another sleigh ride, but I broke him off on purpose.

I mainly used live tilapia, whole small shad, cut shad, shad gizzards (if you can find them) and head on shrimp. The guy who taught me how to fish Cali used cut carp all the time.

I you are on Facebook, join 210 Fishing. Always someone posting about being out there.

The next time you head out there maybe we can hook up and I'll tag along, that's if you still fish it. Thanks for the tips guys.

[Hunt life]

Tilapia for sure or perch they seem to catch better more movement. Cut shad for cats dose well on bottom

[coy-ote]

Free line a live tilapia set out 3 or 4 rods and hang on it's a hoot when they all go off at once


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mikeyb_23]

We always fished the coves past the dam. Used tilapia and perch caught from the reeds by the main boat ramp. Had some great days out there, seems like the hotter the better.

[Radar]

Calaveras and Braunig have a lot of fishing pressure on them and most folks in San Antonio do not know what catch and release is. 7 or 8 guide services fishing the lakes continuous, so you have to learn the lakes and stay moving. Calaveras is 3600 acres and Braunig is 1300 acres, during the summer the banks are lined up with fisherman.
To me it was a challenge to learn and catch the fish there. There is Hybrid Stripers in both lakes, but its hard to catch one 18 inches. I have caught quite a few that were 17 inches. Years ago it was a Crappie kingdom, but hotter water and fishing pressure ended that.
The make up water for both lakes come from water run off from San Antonio and the waste water plant. The water from the plant is treated and pumped to Braunig then Calaveras. I'm sure the fish are ok to eat as the water is checked often, I just cant get passed the idea of eating fish out of poopy water.
I have a few friends that work at the power plant, so they share some crazy stories at times.