Lake Nacimiento Fishing Report

Bass at Lake Nacimiento are spread across a wide range of depths, from shallow zones around 10-15 feet to deeper structure at 35 feet. The jig bite has been solid, with black and blue ¾ oz football jigs producing well, especially around rocky areas. Bigger bass are holding onto the jigs longer, while smaller ones tend to pick up and drop them quickly. Dropshots and ned rigs are also pulling in fish.

White bass are being caught near shad schools on spoons and spinners. Catfish are still being caught as well.

The lake is dropping, but the bass are still biting. Like most California bass lakes right now, shad are the main forage, and Nacimiento is no exception. A-rigs, chatterbaits, and spinnerbaits in shad colors are working best. The fish aren’t huge, but there’s plenty of action. Some topwater blowups are possible, but most of the shad schools are holding deeper than 15 feet, so focus your efforts there. Dropshotting grubs has also been successful.

Catfish are biting on chicken livers and shrimp. Bluegill are in the shallows, and a few folks are still finding a decent crappie bite.

Spotted bass are still the main attraction at Nacimiento, although slowing down slightly from previous weeks. Grubs, drop-shotting, and small swimbaits are still what's hot, but some anglers are finding an explosive topwater bite in the early mornings. White bass have also been quite active, hitting the same baits used for the spots. Crappie and catfish action has been fair.