FISHING REPORT

YEAR 2001
 

Weekly Fishing Report
 December 16, 2001

The Colorado River flow has slowed to 6000 cfs and the visibility if 5 feet. The water has cooled down to the mid 50's in the lakes the low 50's in the river. There are numerous sandbars. The weather is cool til mid morning with  highs of  70 in the daytimeand the low 40's at night.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the big mouth bass fishing has  ben poor. The bass are being caught  mostly in the   lakes  using nightcrawlers or shiners, plastic worms and crankbait.  The water is  clear in the back waters. The water is cold and the weather chilly resulting in a minimum of fishing pressure

Catfishing is fair.

The  stripers are still biting well on all types of meat and live shiners in the lake entrances and downstream from sand bars.  Recent catchs were made with 1/2 oz chrome Rattle Trap and shad coloered Rapalas. It is not uncommon to catch 10 to 15 stripers in the 3 to 6 pound class in one day.

Dredging continues accross the river from Fishers Landing  to clear our the old California Cut that was silted over by the flood of 1983.
 

                                                                             Weekly Fishing Report
                                                                                 December 9, 2001

The Colorado River flow has slowed to 6000 cfs and the visibility if 5 feet. The water has cooled down to 55 degrees in the lakes the low 50's in the river. There are numerous sandbars. The weather is cool til mid morning with  highs of  70 in the daytimeand the low 40's at night.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the big mouth bass fishing has slowed down quite a bit. The bass are being caught  mostly in the   lakes  using nightcrawlers or shiners, plastic worms and crankbait.  The water is  clear in the back waters.

Catfishing is good. Blues and chanel cats are biting in the lakes on chicken liver and stinkbait, flatheads are hitting goldfish and bluegil in the river but slowing down.

The  stripers are biting well on all types of meat and live shiners in the lake entrances and downstream from sand bars.  Recent catchs were made with 1/2 oz chrome Rattle Trap and shad coloered Rapalas. It is not uncommon to catch 10 to 15 stripers in the 3 to 6 pound class in one day. With an Arizona fishing licence there is not limit on stripers. With a California fishing license there is a limit on size and number.

Dredging continues accross the river from Fishers Landing  to clear our the old California Cut that was silted over by the flood of 1983.

The annual  parade of lights will be held a Martinez Lake Resort on Saturday,   Saturday, December 15.
 

                                                                             Weekly Fishing Report
                                                                                December 2, 2001

The Colorado River flow has slowed to 6000 cfs and the visibility if 5 feet. The water has cooled down to 56 degrees in the lakes the low 50's in the river. There are numerous sandbars. The weather is cool til mid morning with  highs of  70 in the daytimeand the low 40's at night.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the big mouth bass fishing has slowed down quite a bit. The bass are being caught  mostly in the   lakes  using nightcrawlers or shiners, plastic worms and crankbait.  Most tournament fishermen are flipping in the backwaters using  jigs or black plastic worms with green tails. Many undersized bass are being caught. Recent tournaments have done poorly.

The water is very clear in the back waters.

Catfishing is good. Blues and chanel cats are biting in the lakes on chicken liver and stinkbait, flatheads are hitting goldfish and bluegil in the river.

The  stripers arel biting well on all types of meat in the lake entrances and downstream. Largest recent catch was 11.25 pounds by the entrance to Martinez lake using a 1/2 oz chrome Rattle Trap. It is not uncommon to catch 10 to 15 stripers in the 3 to 6 pound class in one day. With an Arizona fishing licence there is not limit on stripers. With a California fishing license there is a limit on size and number.

Dredging continues accross the river from Fishers Landing  to clear our the old California Cut that was silted over by the flood of 1983.

The annual  parade of lights will be held a Martinez Lake Resort on Saturday,   Saturday, December 15.

Recent Catches:

Jeff Wilson of Lakeside Ca caught a 14 pound chanel cat on a crawdad of the docks at Martinez Lake.

Jamie Zachea and Dave Newsom both from Las Vegas, caught 30 stripers in two days using crank bait at the entrance to Martinez Lake and the trailing edges of sandbars. The largest was caught by Dave Newsom weighting 11.25 pounds.
 

                                                                                 Weekly Fishing Report
                                                                                   November 25,2001

The Colorado River flow has slowed to 6000 cfs and the visibility if 5 feet. The water has cooled down to 62 degrees in the lakes the  high 50's in the river. There are numerous sandbars. The weather is perfect,  high 70's daytimeand the high 40's at night.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the big mouth bass fishing has slowed down quite a bit. The bass are being caught  mostly in the   lakes  using nightcrawlers or shiners, plastic worms and crankbait.  Most tournament fishermen are flipping in the backwaters using  jigs or black plastic worms with green tails. Many undersized bass are being caught. Recent tournaments have done poorly.

The water is very clear in the back waters.

Catfishing is good. Blues and chanel cats are biting in the lakes on chicken liver and stinkbait, flatheads are hitting goldfish and bluegil in the river. Small stripers are still biting on all types of meat in the lake entrances and downstream.

Dredging continues accross the river from Fishers Landing  to clear our the old California Cut that was silted over by the flood of 1983.

The annual  parade of lights will be held a Martinez Lake Resort on Saturday,   Saturday, December 15.

Recent Catches:

Carl Limbrick and Mike Barr of San Diego caught 60 stripers and 3 catfish over a 3 day period using chicken liver on sand bars and dam areas ranging from 1 to 3 pounds.
 

                                                                     Weekly Fishing Report
                                                                        November 18, 2001

The Colorado River flow has slowed to 6000 cfs and the visibility if 5 feet. The water has cooled down to 67 degrees in the lakes the low  60's in the river. There are numerous sandbars. The weather is perfect, low 80's daytimeand the high 50's at night.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the fishing has slowed down quite a bit. The bass are being caught  mostly in the   lakes  using nightcrawlers or shiners, plastic worms and crankbait.  Most tournament fishermen are flipping in the backwaters using  jigs or black plastic worms with green tails. Many undersized bass are being caught. Recent tournaments have done poorly.

The water is very clear in the back waters.

Catfishing is good. Blues and chanel cats are biting in the lakes on chicken liver and stinkbait, flatheads are hitting goldfish and bluegil in the river. Small stripers are still biting on all types of meat in the lake entrances and downstream.

Dredging continues accross the river from Fishers Landing  to clear our the old California Cut that was silted over by the flood of 1983.

The annual golf cart parade will be held a Martinez Lake Resort on Saturday, November 24 and the annual parade of light (boats) will be held Saturday, December 15.

Recent Catches:

Tom McAndrews of Escondido, Ca caught 10 bigmouth bass in Martinez Lake up to 3 pounds using goldfish.
 

                                                                                Weekly Fishing Report
                                                                                  November 11, 2001

The Colorado River flow has slowed to 6000 cfs and the visibility if 5 feet. The water has cooled down to 73 degrees in the lakes the high 60's in the river. There are numerous sandbars. The weather is perfect, low 80's daytime amd low 60's at night.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the fishing has slowed down The bass are being caught  mostly in the   lakes  using nightcrawlers or shiners, plastic worms and crankbait.  Most tournament fishermen are flipping in the backwaters using  jigs or black plastic worms with green tails. Many undersized bass are being caught.

The water is very clear in the back waters.

Catfishing is good. Blues and chanel cats are biting in the lakes on chicken liver and stinkbait, flatheads are hitting goldfish and bluegil in the river. Small stripers are still biting on all types of meat in the lake entrances and downstream.

Dredging has started accross the river from Fishers Landing  to clear our the old California Cut that was silted over by the flood of 1983.

The annual golf cart parade will be held a Martinez Lake Resort on Saturday, November 24 and the annual parade of light (boats) will be held Saturday, December 15.

Recent Catches:
 

Jerry Mounts of San Jacinto caught 4 channel cats totaling 16 pounds off the north shore of Martinez Lake using stink bait.

Bob and Ron Bell of San Diego caught a stinger of channel catfish and stripers on chicken liver in the river the largest was 3 pounds.

Tim Roberge of  San Diego caught an 8 pound bigmouth bass off of the dock in Martinez Lake on a night crawler.

Ryan Helfrick of Mesa, AZ caught a stringer of bass and sunfish of the dock at Martinez Lake using night crawlers.

Jason Wooldridge of Mesa, Az caught a stringer of small bass on night crawler off of the docks at Martinez Lake.
 

                                                                                    Weekly Fishing Report
                                                                                       November 4, 2001

The Colorado River flow has slowed to 6300 cfs and the visibility if 5 feet. The water has cooled down to 75 degrees in the lakes and  70 in the river. There are numerous sandbars. The weather is perfect, 85 daytime 60's at night.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the fishing doesn't get much better. The bass are being caught  mostly in the   lakes  using nightcrawlers or shiners, plastic worms and crankbait. Ken says that the big trick is to beat the bluegil out of your bait before the bass hit it. Bluegil have been ranging up to one pound. Most tournament fishermen are flipping in the backwaters using jigs or black plastic worms with green tails. Many undersized bass are being caught.

In the back waters, it is not uncommon the see the shad in schools and being torn apart by bigmouth bass and stripers. The water is very clear in the back waters.

Catfishing is good. Blues and chanel cats are biting in the lakes on chicken liver and stinkbait, flatheads are hitting goldfish and bluegil in the river. Small stripers are still biting on all types of meat in the lake entrances and downstream.

Dredging has started to clear our the old California Cut that was silted over by the flood of 1983.

Recent Catches:

Picachao reports a 52 pound flathead being caught.

Leroy Rogers of Santee California limited out on bass at Face Lake on shiners and nightcrawlers.

Danny George of Poway, Ca. reports that most of his club,The Hidden Valley Bass Club,  limited out on bigmouth bass using a variety of lures in various pot holes along the river. The biggest bass was $4.5 pounds with many small fish caught.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

                                                                     Weekly Fishing Report
                                                                       October 7, 2001

The Colorado River is flowing at the rate of 8300 cfs and the visibility if 6 feet. The water has cooled down to 83 degrees in the lakes and the high 70's in the river. There are numerous sandbars.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the fishing doesn't get much better. The bass are being caught  in the river and  lakes  using nightcrawlers or shiners, plastic worms and crankbait. Ken says that the big trick is to beat the bluegil out of your bait before the bass hit it. Bluegil have been ranging up to one pound.

In the back waters, it is not uncommon the see the shad in schools and being torn apart by bigmouth bass and stripers. The water is very clear in the back waters.

Catfishing is good. Blues and chanel cats are biting in the lakes on chicken liver and stinkbait, flatheads are hitting goldfish and bluegil in the river. Small stripers are still biting on all types of meat in the lake entrances and downstream.

Recent Catches:

Gordon Padoett of San Diego caught 40 bass (and of course released) on a Z SPOOK in Lake Ferguson.
 
 

                                                                                Weekly Fishing Report
                                                                                   October 1, 2001

The Colorado River is flowing at the reduced rate of 9,000 cfs with a 7 foot visibility.  There are many sandbars. The water temperature  in the lakes is up again to 86 degrees and the river is in the low 80's. The weather has been cooling slightly with daytime temperatures between 100 and 105 and the evenings in the high 70's.

                                                                                      - FLASH-
Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the fishing is OUTSTANDING in the river and  lakes for bigmouth bass and bluegil using nightcrawlers or shiners (if you can keep them alive), plastic worms and crankbait. Ken had two guiding trips this last week and they both limited our many times and had trouble keeping the bluegil off the the bass bait and lures. Bluegil have been ranging up to one pound.

In the back waters, it is not uncommon the see the shad in schools and being torn apart by bigmouth bass and stripers. The water is very clear in the back waters.

Catfishing is good. Blues and chanel cats are biting in the lakes on chicken liver and stinkbait, flatheads are hitting goldfish and bluegil in the river. Small stripers are still biting on all types of meat in the lake entrances and downstream edge of the sandbars.

The bass grass is still present in the lakes making fishing difficult. The aquatic growth will dissapear as the water cools.
 
 

The Colorado River is flowing at the reduced rate of 9,000 cfs with a 10 foot visibility. The water temperature  in the lakes is up again to 89 degrees and the river is in the low 80's. The weather has been cooling slightly with daytime temperatures between 100 and 105 and the evenings in the high 70's.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the fishing is good in the river and deep lake holes for bigmouth bass using nightcrawlers, waterdogs (if you can get them), shiners (if you can keep them alive), plastic worms and crankbait.

Catfishing is good. Blues and chanel cats are biting in the lakes on chicken liver and stinkbait, flatheads are hitting goldfish and bluegil in the river. Small stripers are still biting on all types of meat in the lake entrances and downstream edge of the sandbars. Bluegil are plentiful and hitting nightcrawlers and meal worms after you find a school. There was a good catch of bluegil by the docks using mealworms with fish up to 3/4 pounds with a few crappie mixed in.

The visibility has increase to 10 to 12 feet in the lakes with the bass grass still present in the lakes making fishing difficult. The aquatic growth will dissapear as the water cools.

Recent catches:

Two anonymous fishermen knocked the bigmouth bass dead floating the river along the edge using live nightcrawlers and live shiners on dobbers. They caught some 5 and 6 pounders and released 15 fish each.  The river is cooler than the lakes and providing most of the action

The Colorado River is flowing at the reduced rate of 9,000 cfs with a 10 foot visibility. The water temperature  in the lakes is  87 degrees and the river is in the low 80's. The weather has been cooling slightly with daytime temperatures between 100 and 105 and the evenings in the low 80's.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the fishing is good in the river and deep lake holes for bigmouth bass using nightcrawlers, waterdogs (if you can get them), shiners (if you can keep them alive), plastic worms and crankbait.

Catfishing is good. Blues and chanel cats are biting in the lakes on chicken liver and stinkbait, flatheads are hitting goldfish and bluegil in the river. Small stripers are still biting on all types of meat in the lake entrances and downstream edge of the sandbars. Bluegil are plentiful and hitting nightcrawlers and meal worms after you find a school. There was a good catch of bluegil by the docks using mealworms with fish up to 3/4 pounds with a few crappie mixed in.

The visibility has increase to 10 to 12 feet in the lakes with the bass grass still present. The aquatic growth will dissapear as the water cools.

The Colorado River is flowing at the reduced rate of 9,000 cfs with a 6 foot visibility. The water temperature  in the lakes is  89 degrees and the river is 85. The weather has been warm and humid with daytime temperatures between 105 and 110 and the evenings in the high 80's.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the fishing is good in the river and deep lake holes for bigmouth bass using nightcrawlers, waterdogs (if you can get them), shiners (if you can keep them alive), plastic worms and crankbait.

Catfishing is good. Blues and chanel cats are biting in the lakes on chicken liver and stinkbait, flatheads are hitting goldfish and bluegil in the river. Small stripers are still biting on all types of meat in the lake entrances and downstream edge of the sandbars. Bluegil are plentiful and hitting nightcrawlers and meal worms. There was a good catch of bluegil by the docks using mealworms with fish up to 3/4 pounds with a few crappie mixed in.

Recent Catches:

Sydney Johnson 4yrs, Lexie Sheldon 7 yrs, Jessica Sheldon 10 yrs, Whitney Warfield 11yrs, and Chelsea Warfield 13 yrs, all from San Diego, caught large stringers of bluegil with an occasional crappie using meal worms and night crawlers along the shoreline of Martinez Lake.
 
 

The Colorado River is flowing at the reduced rate of 9,000 cfs with a 6 foot visibility. The water temperature  in the lakes is down to 87 degrees (down from 90 degrees last week before the upper end opening of Martinez Lake) and the river is 85. The weather has been warm and humid with daytime temperatures between 105 and 110 and the evenings in the high 80's.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the fishing is good in the river and deep lake holes for bigmouth bass using nightcrawlers, waterdogs (if you can get them), shiners (if you can keep them alive), plastic worms and crankbait.

Catfishing is good. Blues and chanel cats are biting in the lakes on chicken liver and stinkbait, flatheads are hitting goldfish and bluegil in the river. Small stripers are still biting on all types of meat in the lake entrances and downstream edge of the sandbars. Bluegil are plentiful and hitting nightcrawlers and meal worms. There was a good catch of crappie by the docks deep down using worms with fish up to 1-1/4 pounds. Normally crappie bite only in the winter (December and January) but this proves that they are always there, you just have to find them.

Recent Catches:
Patrick Mcgrath of Chula Vista caught a 6 pound big mouth bass on a plastic lizard in Martinez Lake.
 
 

                                                                                      August 19, 2001

The Colorado River is flowing at the reduced rate of 11,000 cfs with a 6 foot visibility. The water temperature  in the lakes is up to 90 degrees and the river is 85. The weather has been warm and humid with daytime temperatures between 105 and 110 and the evenings in the high 80's. The August monsoons are upon us with showers and thunder storms.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the fishing is good in the river and deep lake holes for bigmouth bass using nightcrawlers, waterdogs (if you can get them), shiners (if you can keep them alive), plastic worms and crankbait.

Catfishing is good. Blues and chanel cats are biting in the lakes on chicken liver and stinkbait, flatheads are hitting goldfish and bluegil in the river. Small stripers are still biting on all types of meat in the lake entrances and downstream edge of the sandbars. Bluegil are plentiful and hitting nightcrawlers and meal worms.

The upper end of Martinez Lake has been opened to the river for a week now, with only minor differences showing, it will take time for significant changes.

Recent Catches:

Steven Dotson, 13 yrs of Layton Utah caught a 7.5 pound channel cat and a 2 pound blue cat in martinez lake on cut mackeral
 
 

The Colorado River is flowing at the rate of 12,600 cfs with a 6 foot visibility. The water temperature  in the lakes is up to 90 degrees and the river is 85. The weather has been warm and humid with daytime temperatures between 105 and 110 and the evenings in the high 80's. The August monsoons are upon us with showers and thunder storms.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the fishing is good in the river and deep lake holes for bigmouth bass using nightcrawlers, waterdogs (if you can get them), shiners (if you can keep them alive), plastic worms and crankbait.

Catfishing is good. Blues and chanel cats are biting in the lakes on chicken liver and stinkbait, flatheads are hitting goldfish and bluegil in the river. Small stripers are still biting on all types of meat in the lake entrances and downstream edge of the sandbars. Bluegil are plentiful and hitting nightcrawlers and meal worms.

The best news has occured at Martinez Lake: The upper end of the lake has had a channel cut through the river through the Wildlife Refuge. This none navigable channel funnels over 100 cfs of cool river water into the upper end of the lake and should have some positive effects including: slightly reducing the lake temperature, flushing stagnant water, reducing algea, improving fish hatches, slight increasing the water levl at the upper end and flushing out the sandbar at the main entrance to the lake. This work was accomplished by a group of government agencies working togeather with the Imperial Wildlife Refuge and a group of local residents.
 
 

                                                        Weekly Fishing Report
                                                           August  5, 2001

The Colorado River is flowing at the rate of 13,000 cfs with a visibility of 4 feet, some sandbars just below the surface. The water temperature in the lakes is up to 88 degrees and the river is in the low 80's. The weather is warm with daytime temperatures up to 110 and evenings in the mid 80's.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the fishing is good especially for catfish. The blues and chanels are hitting mackeral in the lakes and entrances and the flatheads are hitting bluegil, goldfish or small carp in the holes in the river at night.

Bass fishing is very good for those who will brave the heat. Most fishing is done before 10 am and after 5 pm. Best bait is waterdogs is you can find them followed by shiners if you can keep them alive. Crank bait amd plastic worms seem to be the best artificial lures. Stripers are still abundant in the river at the entrances but ususally under 4 pounds and caught on chicken liver or any type of meat. An occasional talapia is being caught in the lakes on worms up to 4 pounds. Bluegil are pentiful is you find a school and will bite on meal worms or night crawlers.

Recent catches:

Steven Datson, 15 years,  of Layton, Utah caught a 7.5 pound chanel cat and a 2 pound blue cat on mackeral at night in   Martinez Lake

Erick Elue,  12 years,  and Erin Riley,  14 years both from San Diego, got a stinger of bluegil in Martinez Lake on meal worms and night crawlers.
 
 

The Colorado River is flowing at 12,800 cfs with sandbars just below the surface and 5 foot visibility. The temperature of the water in the lakes is 88 degrees and the river is in the low 80's. The daytime air temperatures are 100+ and the evenings are in the high 70's.

According to Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, the fishing is still good for thoses willing to brave the heat, therefore light fishing pressure. The bass are now found in the cooler deep water of the lakes as well as the cooler river especially the lake entrances. Top water lures are working in the lakes and rivers before dawn. Shiners are the best all round bait in lieu of waterdogs which are in scarce supply this year. Waterdogs are allowed from the middle of the river to the Arizona shore and out lawed in California.

The stripers are biting consisantly on any type of meat at the lake entrances and trailing edges of sandbars. Most stripers are 4 pounds or less. With an Arizona license there is no size or bag limit whereas a California license has numerous limitations.

Bluegil are big and plentiful when you find a school. Crappie are rarely caught this time of the year. An occasional talapia is being caught lately. Catfishing is good with flatheads still biting in the river on goldfish and bluegil. Channel and blue cats are being caught in the river, lakes and off of the docks with chicken livers and worms.

The Colorado River is Flowing at 12,900 cfs with a visibility of 5 to 7 feet with many sandbars just below the surface. The water temperature is 84  degrees in the lakes and 80degrees in the river. The weather is typical summer weather up to 105 in the daytime and the high  70's at night.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the fishing is good for all species except crappie. Bass are hitting surface lures before sunrise and shinners, plastic worms or spinners in the daytime. Bluegil are hitting meal worms and are in big schools with some reaching .75 pounds. Sripers are hitting chicken livers at the lake entrances but usually below 4 pounds.

The catfish are biting well. Blues and channels are hitting stinkbait and flatheads are hitting bluegil and goldfish in the deep holes in the river at night.

For an updated fishing report refer to the Martinez Lake Resort website <martinezlake.com> or call 800-876-7004.

Recent Catches:

Garret Dudley, 7 years old from San Diego, caught a 3 pound bass on a worm off of the seawall in Martinez Lake.

Brett Dudley and Larry Sheldon both of San Diego caught a stringer of bass up to 3 pounds using surface lures and spinner bait in the entrances and the California Cut.

Leny Waller of El Cajon caught a 3 pound tallapia on a worm in Martinez Lake.

James Kuneau of Yuma caught a stringer of flatheads and blue cats up to 4 pounds on chicken liver off the docks in Martinez Lake.
 
 

The Colorado River is flowing at the rate of 12,900 cfs with sandbars just below the surface. The visibility is 5-7 feet and the water temperature is 80 degrees in the river and 85 degrees in the lakes. The weather is normal summer fare, 100+ daytime, high 70's evenings.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the fishing is good with fishing pressure down due to summer heat. The bass are in the deeper sections of the lakes, in the lake entrances and in the river. Best bait are shinners, night crawlers, plastic worms and spinnerbait. Bluegil are plentiful in schools hitting on meal worms. Stripers are hitting chicken livers at the lake entrances. Flathead catfish are hitting goldfish and bluegil with nothing over 30 pounds and blues and channels are being caught on stinkbait.

Recent Catches:

Eddie and "Sea Bass" Bagdasar, both 14 years of  San Diego, caught 2 bass the largest was 7 pounds, 22 bluegil and a mess of small cats all on night crawlers off the docks at Martinez Lake
 
 

The Colorado River is flowing at 12,500 cfs, visibility 5 to 7 feet and temperature in the mid 70's. The lakes are up to 80 degrees. There are many sand bars just below the surface. The daytime temperatures are in the high 90's  and the evenings in the 60's

Ken  Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that most every type of fish is biting except crappie.
Big mouth bass are being caught on live shiners and plastice worms. "Gitzit"s are also effective. The flatheads are hitting bluegil and goldfish with no fish over 30 pounds. Stripers are hitting chicken livers at the lake entrances but are usually small. Big stripers are being caught on rapala type lures in the river, by the entrances just after sunset.

Blue gil have been spotted in schools in the California cut and in the river. Blue catfish and chanel cats are biting in the lakes and river on chicken liver.

Recent catches:

Most fishermen this week have been bashful and don't want their names in the paper. We have seen numerous bass in the 5 pound class, all types of catfish up to ten pounds and a  few blue gil up to a pound. Stripers below 3 pounds are very numerous.
 
 

The Colorado River is flowing at 12,500 cfs with some sandbars above water. The water temperature is 79 degrees in the lakes and mid 70's in the river. The visibility is 5-7 feet in the river and 5 feet in the lakes. The weather is perfect, low 90's daytime and 60's in the evening.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide tells us that the fishing is good for bigmouth bass, stripers, flathead, bluegil, blue cats and channel cats. Best alround bait are shiners. The bass are biting on plastic worms, crankbait and "Gitzits" (a worm with a skirt and leadhead). Stripers are hitting chicken liver at the entrances, flatheads are hitting bluegil and goldfish in the deep holes in the river.

Catfish are biting stinkbait, bluegil are hitting mealworms and crappie are not biting.

Recent Catches:

Lenny Waller of El Cajon, Ca. caught a 23 pound and 12 pound flathead on goldfish in the Picacho area,

Gary Lookabaugh of San Diego caught 8 flathead the biggest being 37 pounds, a channel cat at 7 pounds and a 9,5 pound striper all on blue gil in the Picacho area in four days.

Carl Musgrave of Yuma, Az  caught 4 bass, the largest was 6 pounds on a Zara Spook next to the tules in Martinez Lake.

An unidentified riverside fisherman caught 4 - 4 to 6 pound bass on an 8" plastic worms with a pink tail in the tules  in Martinez Lake.
 
 

The Colorado River is flowing at 12,500 cfs with some sandbars showing. The visibility of the water is 5-7 feet in the river and 5' in the lakes. The water temperature is 74 in lakes and 70 in the river. The weather is perfect, 90's daytime and 60's evening.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the bass, stripers, bluegil and cats are all biting. Bass are biting on shiners, spinners and plastic worms. Top water is working early early am. Stripers are biting chicken liver at the lake entrances or trailing edges of sandbars. Bluegil are hitting meal worms in the river and back waters. Blue  and channel cats are biting chicken livers whereas the flatheads are hitting goldfish and bluegil.

Recent Catches:

Carl Limbrick, Michael Flores, Isaac Seumanu and Christoper Penmaw all from San Diego caught 24 keepers including flatheads, blue catfish and striped bass the largest was 7 pounds. For bait they used bluegil and goldfish for the flatheads, chicken liver for the stripers. blues and channels. They also caught a large srtinger of bluegil on meal worms all in the Taylor Lake area of the river

Bob Morris of Sacramento caught 7 fish in two days including an 8 pound flathead, 4 bass up to 3.5 pounds and a few channel catfish in the Picacho area using goldfish, shiners and chicken liver.

Larry Sheldon of San Diego caught a limit of bass on spinnerbait in the California Cut the largest was 4 pound with a lot of undersize fish thrown back. He also caught a large stringer of bluegil on meat worms.
 
 

The Colorado River is flowing at 12.500 cfs with some sandbars showing. The water temperature is up to 75 degrees in the lakes and 70 in the river. The visibility is 5 to 7 feet in the river and 4 feet in the lakes. Summer has arrived with daytime temp in the 90's and evenings in the 60's.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the fishing has been good for bigmouth bass, striped bass and flathead catfish. The bigmouth bass are biting on shiners, worms, plastic and most crank baits. Best fishing is still in the lakes and lake entrances. The stripers are found at the entrances and hitting chicken liver. Flatheads are hitting bluegil or goldfish in the river at night but mostly under 10 pounds.

Bluegil are pleantiful if you can find them. They are being caught in the California Cut below Fisher's landing and in the river. Crappie are nowhere! Channel cats and blues are hitting stink bait and chicken liver is the river and lakes.

Recent catches:

Bob Slocum and Gary Lookabaugh both of San Diego caught 10 flatheads and blue cats in the Picacho area totaling 70.5 pounds in four days.  They were using live bluegil caught in the river on meal worms. The largest flathead was 11 pounds.
 
 

The Colorado River is flowing at the rate or 13,600 cfs with many sanbars just below the surface and a visibility of 5 to 6 feet. The water temperature has dropped to 66 degrees because of the cold days and nights. The lakes have cleared up but visibility is still only 4 feet. The weather is now warming up to the mid 80's in the daytime and high 50's at night.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the bass fishing is good, they are not jumping in the boat but a full days fishing should yield a legal limit. Best bait are shiners followed by night crawlers and most all artificial lures. Most of the bass are still being caught in the lakes and lake entrances.

Flathead catfish are coming into the best season with largest so far weighing in at 26 pounds. Bluegil and goldfish are the only effective baits. Channel and blue cats are hitting on stink bait and chicken liver. Blue gil are hard to find in the lakes but have been hitting in the California cut. Stripers are still hanging out at the lake entrances and hitting most any type of live or dead natural bait.

Recent catches:

Ken Goodwin, fishing guide, and his wife Cathy, caught a 26 pound flathead on a bluegil in the Picacho area and caught the bluegil on mealworms in a cove of quite water on the river.

Jeramy Griffith 14, of Palm Springs, caught a 10 pound flathead on bluegil in the river below Picacho as well a 4 pound and 3 pound bass by the docks in Martinez Lake.
 
 

The Colorado River   is flowing at 13,650 cfs with a visibility of 5 feet, the lakes have a visibility of 4 feet and are 71 degrees. The weather has been perfect with 90 degree days and 65 degree evenings. There are no sand bars above water below Picacho.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us the the bass fishing has been pretty good with some
3 to 5 pound bass being caught plus lots of small bass. Most bass are being caught  on shiners, worms or spinner bait in the back waters or lake entrances. Small stripers are still plentiful at the lake entrances being caught on chicken liver.

Flathead catfishing is picking up with some fish over 25 pounds but most fish under ten pounds. Mast big fish are being caught  in the Picacho area on live bluegil or goldfish in the holes along the river at night. Chanel and blue catfishing has been fair with stinkbait the best bait.

Bluegil have not been found the lakes but in the side channels on both the California and Arizona Cuts. Crappie have been scarce all winter.

Recent Catches:

Lynn Neuhard of San Diegio cau ght 25 bass in two days on shinners in Martinez Lake ranging from 2 to 4 pounds.

Lenney Waller of ElCajon caught two 4 pound bass in Martinez Lake on night crawlers.

Larry Sheldon of San Diego caught a 2 nd 4 pound bass on spinner bait in the California Cut below Fisher's Landing.
 
 

The Colorado river is flowing at almost 14,000 cfs with few sand bars above water. The water has cooled, with the recent weather, down to 68 degrees. The water visibility is constant at 5 to 6 feet in the river and 4 to 4 feet in the side lakes. The weather has cooled down to low 70's in the daytime and mid 50's as night.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the flathead are now biting. Most flatheads are being caught in the Picacho area on live bluegil or live goldfish in deep holes on the side of the river at night. Bigmouth bass are still biting  but  certainly not a red hot bite. Best bait are shiners followed by night crawlers, plastic worms, crank bait and spinners.

Small stripers are being caught at the lake entrances  on chicken livers. Large stripers are few and far between and being caught on crankbait in the river, rapalas work best. Blue catfish and channel cats are biting on chicken liver and live nightcrawlers. Bluegil and crappie are scarce.

Recent catches:

Carl Thomas of Pamona, Ca caught a stringer of bass on night crawlers up to 2.5 pounds in Martinez Lake.

Gary Lookabaugh of San Diego caught flatheads 23 pounds and 8 pounds on live bluegil in the river by Picacho.
 
 

The Colorado River is flowing at 13,650 cfs (highest normal summer flows are 14,000cfs). The current is strong and the sandbars scarce with the visibility 5 to 6 feeet in the river and 3 to 4 feet in the lakes. The water temperature is up to 73 degrees in the lakes and 70 in the river.  The air temperatue is in the mid to high 80's in the daytime and low 60's at night. The weather is perfect.

Along with perfect weather, the fishing has picked up especially for flathead catfish. Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide (bass or flathead), tells us that he caught 9 flathead in two days above Picacho on goldfish, all under 10 pounds. Ken tells us that the bluegil fishing as well as crappie is nil. Large stripers (5 to 10 pounds) are scarce but small stripers under 3 pounds are plentiful at the lake entrances.

Bigmouth bass are biting well on golden shiners (live bait) and plastice worms in the lakes and lake entrances. Bass will be moving into the river as the water warms up.

Catfishing (blues and channel) is also hot with lots of cats under 8 pounds being caught on chicken liver, worms, stink bait, frozen anchovies and schrimp.

Recent catches:

Carl and Elliot Limbrick and Victor Fuller all from San Diego caught a stringer of 26 striped bass up to 3.5 pounds and 14 catfish up to 6 pounds on night crawlers and Robo worms the the entrance to Martinez Lake.

Two other fishermen from San Diego, too shy to want their names in the paper, caught 30 bass each and only kept the big ones. The also caught 19 catfish between them up to 8 pounds,
 
 

The Colorado River is flowing at 12,500 cfs with some sandbars just below the surface. The flow is scheduled to be reduced to 13,500 cfs the first week of April. The water temperature has soared to 70 degrees in one week. The weather is turning to summer with daytime temperatures up to 90 degrees with evenings still  cool (high 40's to mid 50's). The visibility of the water in the river is 5 to 6 feet whereas the lakes are still murkey green with a 2-3 foot visibility.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the bass fishing has improved with good recent tournament catches.  Best bait for bass are shiners, plastic worms, sprinner bait and crank bait. Good fishermen are averaging one bass per hour with half of them keepers. Most bass are being caught in the lakes  and entrances to the lakes.

The stripers are still biting at the entrances on chicken livers and anchovies. Crappie and blue gil are scarce. Catfishing is slow.

Recent Catches:

Michael and Billy Brian of Cottonwood, Az caught  stringers of 1 to 4 pound bass on plastic worms in Martinez Lake.

The Colorado River level was dropped with the flow close to 6000 cfs due to the heavy rains soaking the fields of  Imperial Valley last week and the anticipated rains due this week (the farmers don't need the water). The heavy projected flow of 11,500 cfs won't take place til the valley dries out. The water temperature is up to 61 degrees and the weather is warming up to the low 70's daytime and low 50's at night. The visibility is still poor in the side lakes (1-2 feet) and the river holding at 5-7 feet. There are many sandbars showing.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the fishing is still good with shiners, nightcrawlers and crankbait working best for bigmouth bass in the lakes and lake entrances.  Stripers are hitting live bait and rapalas at the lake entrances up stream as large and 8 pounds. Crappie are very scarce and bluegil and catfish not biting yet.

Ken Goodwin will have a Martinez Lake Fishing Guide Booth at the Fred Hall Fishing Show in Long Beach this week. Drop by and see him and ask any questions.

The use of waterdogs will be prohibited in California starting  March 15th. Arizona will still allow water dogs but has not determined how or if the California law will be enforced. In the meantime, the winter weather has yielded almost no water dogs on the bait market - we will have to live with shiners.

The Colorado River is flowing at 9000 cfs soon to go up to 11,500 cfs which will mean a rise of 1' or more. The visibility is 6 feet in the river but only 2 feet in the side lakes. The water temperature is holding steady at 58 degrees. The weather has been varied, 70's one  day and low 60's the next depending what blows across the mountains from San Diego.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the fishing has finally picked up with most fish being caught on shiners and crankbait in the lakes and entrances. A recent tournament yielded limits arraign with the biggest fish over 5 pounds and biggest 5 fish stringer 17+ pounds. With the water warming up, the level rising and the weather getting better the bass should be jumping in the boat by mid March.

The stripers are now starting to bite with some 6 to 8 pounders being caught in the river by the entrances on crank bail at sunset. Bluegil and crappie are still scarce and catfish are due to start hitting.
 
 

The Colorado River is flowing at 9000 cfs soon to go up to 11,500 cfs which will mean a rise of 1' or more. The visibility is 6 feet in the river but only 2 feet in the side lakes. The water temparture is holding steady at 58 degrees. The weather has   been varied, 70's one  day and low 60's the next depending what blows accross the mountains from San Diego.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake Fishing Guide, tells us that the fishing has finally picked up with most fish being caught on shiners and crankbait in the lakes and entrances. A recent tournament yeilded limits aroung with the biggest fish over 5 pounds and biggest 5 fish stringer 17+ pounds. With the water warming up, the level rising and the weather getting better the bass should be jumping in the boat by mid March.

The stripers are now starting to bite with some 6 to 8 pounders being caught in the river by the entrances on crank bail at sunset. Bluegil and crappie are still scarce and catfish are due to start hitting.
 
 

The Colorado River is flowing at 8500 cfs with some hidden sandbars just below the surface. The visibility is 5 to 7 feet in the river and only 2 feet in the lakes which are a murkey green color. The weather is improving with the days in the low 70's and the nights in the mid 50's. The water temperature is up to 58 degrees and should bring in better fishing soon. The river flow is projected to increase the first week of march and the level should rise by a foot.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake fishing guide, tells us that the fishing has been poor with very few fish of any kind being caught. The few bass that have been caught were biting on shiners, nightcrawlers or crankbait around the docks and lake entrances. Small stripers (under 1 pound) are being caught at the entrances to the lakes on the river with chicken liver. Crappie, catfish and bluegil have been scarce.
 

                                        Weekly Fishing Report
                                             January 21, 2001

The Colorado River is flowing at 5,500 cfs with many sand bars. The flow in February is projected to be 8,500 cfs which will result in a raise of water level of over one foot. The current visibility is 5 to 7 feet in the river and the lakes are still murky green with 1-2 foot visibility.  The water temperature in the lakes and rivers are in the mid 50's.  The daytime air temperatures are in the high 60's and the evenings are in the high 40's.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake fishing guide, tells us that the fishing is slow. A recent tournament yielded a lot of empty live wells. For those willing to try hard, there is an occasional 3 to 4 pounder usually caught on shiners or night crawlers around the docks. Crappie, bluegil and catfishing is slow. Small stripers (under 1 pound) are still being caught at the entrances with chicken livers.
 
 

                                           Weekly Fishing Report
                                               January 14, 2001

The Colorado River is flowing at 6,000 cfs with many sandbars. The water temperature is 55 degrees in the lakes and mid 50's in the river with visibility of 5 to 7 feet in the river and 2-3 feet in the lakes. There is an algea bloom in the side lakes causing a light green color. The daytime air temperature is in the hight 60's low 70's and the evenings are in the high 40's.
No frost yet this year.

According to Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake fishing guide, the fishing has been poor with very few fish taken. Most fish are small but there have been a few 4 to 6 pounders. Best bait has been shiners and night crawlers in the back waters. Small stripers (under 1 pound) are being caught at the entrances with chicken liver. No sign of crappie or bluegil with very few catfish being caught.

Recent catches:

Grey Reynolds of Couke City, Wa caught a 4.5 catfish on liver and anchovies off the docks in Martinez Lake.
 

                                             Weekly Fishing Report
                                                   January 7, 2001

The Colorado River is barely flowing at 2000 cfs but will be back up to 5000cfs this week. There are many many sandbars making navigation very difficult. The water temperature is up to 54 degrees and the river visibility is 5-7 feet. The visibility in the backwaters is 2-4 feet and still murkey. The weather is perfect for winter, low 70's daytime and low 50's at night, clear skies and occasional breeze.

Ken Goodwin, Martinez Lake fishing guide, tells us that the fishing is fair with low cold water. Most bass are below 3 pounds and being  caught on nightcrawlers, shiners, plastic worms, spinners or crankbait. Small stripers are abundant (less that one pound) at the entrances and being caught on worms and chicken liver. Bluegil, crappie and cat fish are not biting.

Recent catches:

Zion Jones of Tucson, Az caught a 3 pound bass on worms at the martinez lake docks.
 

                                          Weekly Fishing Report
                                             December 31, 2000

The Colorado River is flowing at 6500 cfs with many visible sand bars. The water is cold in the river and lakes, low 60s. The river is clear with 5 to 7 feet visibility but the lakes are still light green, murkey and 1 to 3 feet visibility. The daytime temperatures are in the low 70's and evenings in the mid 40's. The weather has been clear, sunny and perfect for mid day fishing, the mornings are a bit chilly.

Ken Goodwin, the Martinez Lake fishing guide tells us that the fishing is fair to good for those that want to work. The bigmouth bass are biting as are the stripers. Catfishing is slow this time of the year and the crappie and bluegil are very hard to find. Most bass are being caught in the lakes and around the docks.

Recent catches:

Carl Limbrick of San Diego caught and released 16 bigmouth bass  and stripers in the backwaters from Squaw Lake up to Ferguson. He caught the bigmouths on nightcrawlers and the stripers on chicken livers.

Doug Bell of Phoenix caught 9 bigmouth bass in the backwaters on shiners, the bigest was 3.5 pounds.

Stephen Denna of Napa, Ca caught a 3 pound bass on a green and yellow rattle trap in martinez lake.

Keith Bell of Repubhs, Wa caught 10 bass up to 2.5 pounds  on worms and shiners in martinez lake.