Ask The Pros Q. and A.
Lake Oroville
Any Tips For A Novice On Fishing Lake Oroville?
Q. Having recently retired, I’m new to bass fishing. I just moved to Oroville, CA and Lake Oroville is very close. How do I fish for spotted bass on Oroville when every place on the lake looks the same: very steep and deep. Any help would be a god-send!
Dan
A. I'm out in California myself and have fished Oroville many times over the years. Come to think of it, I got lucky in a BASSmasters event up there back in 2001 and won a boat. It was an amazing feat since I'm considered a “Delta Rat”. The one thing to keep in mind up there is that this is a predominant spotted bass lake. These are roaming and constantly moving fish. They can be found shallow and deep through out the year. They are schooling fish too, so at times, when you find one, there may be hundreds.
Oroville’s primary forage for spooted is the smelt, which are found throughout the lake. They’re typically found right on the bottom, but can be found from 8-120 feet at different times of the year. Using any electronics you have can be very advantageous in locating the spots!
Many techniques work here. Tossing topwater baits like Spooks and poppers work year round. Small spinnerbaits and cranks are effective too, especially on the steeper walls and long finger points. Dropshotting 3-5" plastics in green pumkin’ and smoke colors is also a very popular tactic. One of my favorite baits up there, and the one I used to win that boat in 2001, is the Yamamoto Hula Grub fished on a One Ton jig head. Four-five inch double tailed Hulas in green pumkin’ and cinnamon pepper work best. Fish ‘em hard and fish ‘em fast down the bank from 2-60 feet. Carolina rigged lizards are another effective choice up there.
Probably the best advice I can give you is to get check out www.Westernbass.com. You will find that many local fishermen frequent and put up current information on the fishing reports page for Oroville. You can also go into the Northwest Forum and post questions there where anglers are very willing to share and help you out with information regarding how to catch ‘em on Oroville year round!
Andy Cuccia
Western Pro