Decided to hit Calero after work today for a couple of hours as sunset is at 8:00pm. Launched at 6:00pm and immedately raced to one of the back coves without another fisherman in sight. Started fishing a Luckycraft Max LV-500 in Ghost Minnow and picked up a 1.6lb male on the 10th cast in about 10ft of water. Worked my way down the shoreline to the spawning areas without a hit, so I switched over to a senko (was seeing a lot of fish on the depth finder just off the bottom). Fished the senko for about 30 min without a hit, so I switched back to the crankbait then switched colors to see if that ws the key.

I saw a lot (more that I've ever seen) of fry in the cove so I was careful not to run the trolling motor too much (good polarized glasses are a must). Looks like we had a good spawn the last full moon and the water temp was 67 degress in this cove. Hopefully we should see the population stay healthy here for the next year if the weather stays fairly consistant.

At about 7:00pm I noticed a lot of activity on the surface from some of the bed fish (yes, a lot of fish are still on their beds at Calero) so I decided to rig up a buzz bait and something to sight fish with as a backup. 3rd cast on the buzz bait and I landed a 1.8 off a bed. Weighed, released and the next cast produced a lot of swells but no fish. Worked my way around the cove fishing from the shore to 10 feet of water then working in about 3-4 feet parallel with the shore to hit multiple beds. Ended up landing 6 more fish in 45 min fishing the buzz bait parallel to the shore. Largest was 2.8lbs, but saw a couple of 4-5lb females with no love.

Tried sight fishing as I saw 1-2 fish on just about every bed but no takers. I think I'll try back later this week and practice the drop shot on these beds and some slower moving top water baits. Maybe I'll try dead sticking the MS Slammer or the Generic Trout.

Calero is fun to fish, however the water level is really low and the 30 boat limit can prevent you from getting on the water after work some days.

If you're planning on going out, call ahead to the ranger station first and ask if they've reached their limit. Nothing worse than making the drive out to Calero and getting the boot.

Vince
vince@theblankslate.com