Kelsey Bass Ranch Fishing Reports

2/15/08 From Jack Alpers..."Lee and I fished 4 hours today with 21 fish coming to the net up to 4 lbs, most 2 lbs. Water was 50 degrees. All on plastic.

1/18/08 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake on the morning of 1/16/08. Water temperature was 49 degrees. The lake is about 16 inches from being full. Caught 22 fish in the 4 hours I fished all on crank baits. Fish seemed to be scattered all over the deeper portions of the lake."

11/15/07 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 11/15/07. Water temperature was a constant 62 degrees. The lake is down about 2 feet from full. Creek inlet cove is muddy in color from the last storm but the rest of the lake is fairly clear. Caught 15 fish on cranks and worms. Fish are bunched up. Only found a couple of locations on the lake that held fish that were in the eating mood. Two bald eagles were at the lake!"

9/27/07 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 9/26/07. Water temperature was 70-71 degrees. The lake level is down 3.5 feet from full. Weeds have chocked off the south end and the creek inlet cove. The combination of low water, weeds and alge colored water have made the fishing tough. Caught 9 fish on top water, jerk baits, cranks and worms."

8/9/07 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 8/7/07. Water temperature ranged from 74 to 77 degrees. The south end and the inlet cove on the west are choked full of weeds. The water level is down 3 plus feet. Caught 20 fish, half on top water, and half on worms. All the worm bites but one were in deep water and the top water fish came in 2-4 feet."

7/4/07 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 7/3/07. Water temperature ranged from 78 to 81 degrees. Water has a lot of alge and weeds are growing fast. Water level was down nearly 2 feet. Caught 41 fish mostly on top water and worms along weed edges. A few fish caught in open water on shallow cranks."

6/27/07 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 6/27/07. Water temperature started at 77 and rose to 80 degrees at noon. Fish extremely active and aggressive all over the lake.Caught 80 fish on top water, shallow cranks and worms. Largest fish was 5.2 lbs on a crank."

6/26/07From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing on June 7, caught 30 fish. Went fishing on June 21 and caught 22 fish. Most recent water temp was 80 degrees."

6/15/07 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 6/12/07. Water temperature started at 72 and was 75 degrees at noon. Caught 40 fish on topwater, cranks and worms. Same pattern as last week."

6/6/07 From Carmin Rosato..." Fished the lake the morning of 6/6/07. Water temperature started at 69 and was 72 at noon. Caught 55 fish on topwater, cranks and worms. Most fish were along and in weed beds but some fish in mid lake taking crank baits."

6/1/07 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 5/30/07. Water temperature started at 73 and was 76 by noon. Caught 50 fish on topwater, cranks and worms. Nothing over 3lbs and a lot of skinny fish."

5/24/07 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 5/23/07. Water temperature started at 69 and was 73 degrees at noon. Water is clear down to about 5 feet. Caught 51 fish on top water, cranks, jigs, jerk baits and worms. Had a good dragon fly bite from 11am to noon."

5/17/07 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 5/16/07 with Rick Gong. Water temperature started at 69 and was up to 72 by noon. Water is quite clear. We caught 61 fish on topwater, cranks and worms. Most fish were in or along weed beds."

5/11/07 From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing on May 10. Caught 33 with the largest going 4# 9oz."

5/6/07 From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing on May 3 between storms. Water temp 68 degrees. Caught 25 dragging plastics. Nice fish! Got blown off about 11:30."

5/3/07 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 5/2/07. Water temperature started at 69 and was 71 at noon. Water was quite clear but all the weeds and structure have a green slimy alge covering. Caught 65 fish on top water, cranks, worms and jigs before the big thunder storm suggested I leave."

4/23/07 From Jack Alpers..."Fished with Lee Grutzmacher...30+ bass to 3 lbs....story of the day....2 pound 14oz redear caught near the pump at east side....simply beautiful....made my year...all on plastic worms, no weight."

4/17/07 From Dave Kockis..."Went fishing on April 13. The post-spawn and cold front affected the bite. Caught 13 mostly on plastics. Caught some on cranks."

4/15/07 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of April 13th with Rick Gong. The storm/cold front dropped the water temperature 6 degrees and clarity dropped to 1.5 feet. Most fish moved to deeper water. We caught 47 fish mostly on plastics with a few on cranks. At mid day small fish were jumping for dragon flies in shallow water."

4/8/07 From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing on on April 5th. The wind,the cloud cover and fish combined to make it an awsome day. I caught 66 mostly on brush hogs. But also caught 10 on top water. Caught several spawned out females that may have gone 5-6 pounds prior to the spawn. The fish are very aggressive."

4/5/07 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 4/4/07with a friend. Water temperature ranged from 65 first thing in AM to 70 degrees at noon. Fish are very active and many beds already have swarms of hatched fish. We caught well over a hundred bass mostly on worms with a few on cranks and top water."

3/29/07 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 3/28/07. The cold storm dropped the water temperature down to 58 in the morning and to around 62 degrees at noon. The lake is full with some water going over the spillway. The storm stained the lake with visibility down to perhaps 2 feet. Caught 45 fish on cranks and worms."

3/23/07 From Jerry Liles..."We got to the lake Thursday morning at 7:00a.m.-there was already another fisherman on the lake before us! But no problem,we fished until 3:00 or so-never even stopping for lunch. We caught fish all day-lost count. Mostly in an area we call"the flats" (right across from the dock to the southeast a bit). My friend Robert got "hooked" on fishing with a rubber worm-but he also caught several on hard baits as well. We both had a really nice day-and look forward to many more."

3/23/07 From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing March 22. Great day on the lake! Water is high and warm. Caught 27 all on jigs and Brush Hogs. Mostly males off beds but caught a couple of small (3#) females."

3/20/07 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 3/20/07. Water temperature started at 65 and rose to 68 degrees at noon. Water visibility is close to 5 feet and the pump is adding water to the lake with 4-5 inches until it starts to spill. Caught 50 fish on cranks and worms."

3/8/07 From Carmin Rosato..."Lake status as of 3/7/07. Water temperature has come up 10 degrees in the past week so it's in the mid sixties by late morning. Water has cleared up with visibility of about 5 feet. The bass are in the late stages of pre-apawn. There are beds all over the lake with lots of small males around the beds. Saw a couple of large females on beds, but for the most part the females are still staging out a ways from the beds."

3/3/07 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 3/1. Water temperature started at 51 and rose to 54 degrees by noon, The storm brought the lake level up to about 10 inches below the spillway. It also stained the water quite a bit and scattered the fish. Caught 35 fish, in 4 to 10 feet of water all on hard baits."

2/25/07 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the mornings of the 14th, 16th, 21st and 24th. In spite of cold fronts and drops in water temperature, averaged 60 fish per trip mostly on hard baits in both deep and shallow areas. Largest fish was 7.3 lbs on a shallow crank in 2 feet of water."

2/18/07 From Jerry Liles..."Fished the lake with my son Taylor and my friend Robert for most of the day to about 2:00-when the boat batteries died. We caught about 20 fish. All were from about 1 1/2 to about 4 1/2 pounds. The lake is a little low and weeds are starting to get a bit thick. We had a great day fishing!"

2/17/07 From Al Smatsky..."It was my first visit to the Kelsey Bass Ranch of the year. Could not have picked a better day to go, temp around 70 degrees, with no wind! The lake visability is around 3' due to recent rain storm Lake level is still down several feet but should improve with each passing storm. Surface temperature is 60 degrees, slightly warmer along the shoreline. Good black bass fishing using sink-tip lines and leech type patterns in 4 to 9 feet of water. I'm sure your favorite sub surface pattern will be just as effective! Right now it it is best to fish from a pontoon/belly boat or small boat since the bass are still out in the main body of the lake. Expect conditions will change dramatically over the next few weeks with warmer weather. For information regarding daily access contact Excellent Adventures".

2/8/07 From Don Dirks..." I fished KBR on Mon. Feb. 5th. I fished from 10:30 until 2:30. The weather was good. The lake has warmed up some to 51 to 53 when I left. I caught 22 fish. On crank baits and plastic. The largest 5 weighed 15 lbs."

1/24/07 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 1/24. Water temperature was 45 to 46 degrees. Lake is a little more then a foot below spillway level. Caught 7 fish 2.5 to 3.0 lb. in one deep hole on a deep diving crankbait. Could not find fish anywhere else."

11/9/06 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 11/7. Water temperature was 63 to 67 degrees. Caught 20 fish on poppers, cranks and worms, with the latter being most productive along the weed edges."

10/31/06From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake this morning. Water temperature was 62 to 63 degrees. Lake level is about a foot below the spillway. Caught 25 fish on top water, cranks and worms. Fish were scattered all over the lake."

10/29/06 From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing on 10/26 for 4 hours. Caught 11 nice fish averaging 3 pounds. Most were caught deep cranking a blue and chart Frenzy in deep water ripping it through the weeds."

10/19/06 From Carmin Rosato...'Fished the lake the mornings of 10/11 and 10/18.Caught 26 and 28 fish on topwater poppers, cranks, worms and jigs. Most fish seem to be associated with edges of weed beds in deeper areas of the lake. Smaller fish are also along shoreline weeds. The lake level rose about 6 inches this past week and the temperature has dropped this week to 62 degees at the south inlet and 66 on the north end."

10/12/06 From Dave Kochis..."Caught 19 coming on plastics,cranks and top water."

9/28/06 From Dave Kochis..."Caught 23 fish equally divided between topwater,cranking and plastics. The fish were scattered. Water temperature 74 degrees."

9/21/06 From Dave Kochis..."Caught 10 mostly on plastics. Did not see any fish activity. Water temperature 74 degrees."

9/16/06 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 9/14. Water temperature was 77 degrees. Caught 40 fish on topwater, cranks and worms. Most of the fish were caught on worms along the weed beds along the shore as well as those in mid lake. Largest fish was 3.1 lbs on a worm."

8/25/06 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 8/23. Water temperature 78 to 80 degrees. Caught 45 fish on topwater,cranks and worms. Most of the fish were caught on small cranks and spinners out in mid lake where one to two pound bass are chasing schools of tiny 1 inch shad."

8/17/06 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 8/16. Water temperature ranged from 78 to 80 degrees. Caught 41 fish with most on cranks and worms and a few on top water poppers. There are schools of bass chasing shad out in open water that are taking shallow cranks and jerk baits. Largest fish was 5.5 lbs on a red worm."

8/5/06 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 8/4. Water temperature ranged from 79 to 81 degrees. Caught 31 fish on top water and cranks. The largest fish was 7.0 lbs on a topwater popper."

7/21/06 From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing on 7/20. Caught 40. Saw same bite described by Carmin."

7/19/06 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake this morning. Water temperature was 83 to 86 degrees. Caught 65 fish mostly on top water poppers next to weed beds. Worms worked well from about 9:30 until 11:00AM when I left due to the extreme heat. The worm bite turned on when the dragon flies became active. The bass were jumping for the dragon flies all over the lake in and adjacent to weeds."

7/15/06 From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing on July 13. Caught 21 fish including a 4#2oz and a 4#6oz. The fish are in the weeds. Used the"hog" and the "frog."

7/13/06 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 7/12. Water temperature 77 to 80 degrees.Caught 48 fish on top water, cranks and worms. Largest fish was 3.9 lbs on a topwater popper. There is a good worm bite around the weed beds in mid lake and along the edges of the shoreline weeds."

7/11/06 From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing on July 6. It was a tough bite. Caught 6 fish mostly on jigs. Nothing on cranks or top water. The front that passed must have shut off the fish."

7/8/06 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 7/5. Water temperature was 77 to 80 degrees. The alge bloom seems to be clearing as water clarity is about 3 feet. Caught 40 fish on top water, worms and cranks. Largest fish was 4.1 lbs on a crank."

6/30/06 From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing on 6/29. Caught 30 on a variety of baits. The hottest lures were the buzz bait and the jig. But caught them also on Brush Hogs, cranks and the Frog."

6/28/06 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 6/28. Water temperature was 82-83 degrees and the lake is down about a foot from spillway.Caught 45 fish mostly on cranks and worms with a few on top water. Largest fish was 3.2 lbs on a worm. Caught two 2.5 lb bass on one crank at the same time."

6/20/06 From Tony Alvarez..."My son Zach and I fished the lake Father's Day. Heavy alge bloom combined with thick vegetation looked a bit intimidating, but found action spread out all over the lake. Picked up a fish here and there mostly on worms and lizards. Several fish out in open water on shallow running cranks. Only one blow up on topwater(frog). Certainly not the numbers Dave and Carmin get, but an enjoyable Father's Day with my best fishin' buddy."

6/20/06 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 6/13 for a few hours. Water temperature was 75 to 77 degrees. Water level was 8 inches below spillway. Weeds and alge starting to take over. Caught 22 fish on topwater, cranks and jigs. Fish were scattered all of the lake. The cold front and full moon did not help! Largest fish was 5.2lbs on a crank in mid lake."

5/27/06 From Carmin Rosato...NOTE--For the past three months all reports submitted have been rejected by our ISP due to a spam change they made. This has now been corrected. So members please submit your reports for posting. Thanks.

5/26/06 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of of 5/24 with a friend. Last weeks rain raised the lake to spillway level and dropped the water temperature 6 degrees. We caught 75 fish on topwater and cranks until the wind blew us off the lake."

5/21/06 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 5/19 with a friend. Water temperature ranged from 76 to 80 degrees.We caught 118 fish in 4 hours of fishing on top water, jerkbaits and crank baits. Largest fish was 4.9 lbs. Four others were just over 4 lbs. NOTE: The island buoy-a white 2gallon jug, has been positioned at the northwest corner of the island."

5/21/06 From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing on 5/18 and it was excellent. Caught 47 fish on all different types of lures : top water, cranking,jigging, plastics and scum frog. The frog was HOT. My fishing reports have not been published(There is a web site problem and they have never been received. Ed. Note) so I would like to recap them as this has been one of the best springs I've over the last 10 years of fishing at Kelsey. If you are a member and not fishing, you're missing out on some great fishing! This year I have fished 5 times and caught 180 fish. They were all nice tournment sized fish. And they were caught on different types of lures. The big fish are coming back to Kelsey. Last October I caught a 10# 2oz toad. What a fight!"

5/10/06 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the mornings of 5/2 and 5/10. Water temperature ranged from 74 to 78 degrees. The water has cleared quite a bit with lure visibility at about 4 feet. Lake level is down about 5-6 inches from spillway. Today I spotted 40 or 50 bass hatches all around the lake close to weed edges. Unfortunately hungry bass were feeding on most all the fry. Averaged close to 70 fish each of the mornings on jigs, cranks and top water. Largest fish today was 4.7 lbs on top water"

4/19/06 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 4/18/06. Water temperature ranged from 61 to 68 degrees. The water is still stained with mud as well as an alge bloom on top. Lure visibility is 2 to 3 feet. The bite is awsome all over the lake but most of my fish were caught in 2 to 3 feet of water. Caught fish on jigs, cranks,spinner baits and swim baits. Largest fish was 5.5lbs on a crank. Caught 3 others over 4lbs."

4/7/06 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 4/6. Water temperature ranged from 57 to 60 degrees. The lake all muddy from the past storm with essentially no clarity. Caught 27 fish on cranks, jigs and spinnerbaits all in 2 to 4 feet of water. Largest fish was 5.1 lbs on a crankbait."

3/31/06 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 3/30. Water temperature was 55 to 57 degrees and water clarity was 0 to 1.5 feet. Cranks and jigs still producing. Fish were bunched up in groups on the wind blown shores. Largest fish was 3.6 lbs on a crank bait."

3/28/06 From Carmin Rosato..." Fished the lake the mornings of 3/15 and 3/23. Water temperature was 56 to 60 degrees and the water clarity was about 2 feet in the best areas and close to zero at the creek inlet on the 23rd. Most fish were in 3 to 6 feet of water. Caught over 50 fish on both days with cranks, jerkbaits and jigs. Largest fish on the 15th was just under 8 lbs and on the 23rd right at 4 lbs. The lake is flowing over the spillway."

2/23/06 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 2/23/06. Water temperature ranged from 53 to 56 degrees. The water clarity improved to close to 5 feet over the last two weeks. Fishing action slowed quite a bit in two weeks. Caught 23 fish on crank baits, jigs and jerk baits. Big fish was a beautiful 7 lb bass caught on a crank bait off the island."

2/10/06 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 2/8/06. Water temperature ranged fron 54 to 57 degrees. Lake level is 5 to 6 inches below spillway. Water clarity is about 1 to 1.5 feet. Fish are staging in the deeper water but just off the weed lines. Lots of smaller males. Caught 56 fish on spinner baits, jerk baits, jigs and cranks with only half a dozen over 3 lbs."

1/5/06 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 1/4/06. Water temperature was 52-53 degrees. Lake level has risen to about 10 inches below spillway and is muddy in the central portion of the lake including inlet creek cove. Caught 17 fish on cranks, with 3 of them just over 3.5 lbs. All the fish came close to the shoreline weeds."

12/29/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 12/29/05. Water temperature started at 53 degrees and got up to 55 by noon. Water has some stain from decaying weeds and wind, but no muddy color as yet. Caught 24 fish on cranks and hula jigs. Largest fish was 4.6 lbs on a crank. All the fish came along the shore line weeds. Could not get a bite in the middle areas of the lake."

12/21/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 12/20/05. Water temperature was 52 degrees. The water was a little stained from the recent rain and wind. Caught 19 fish with all but one on cranks in deeper water. Largest fish was 4.2 lbs."

12/18/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 12/14/05. Fog the first couple of hours then overcast. Caught 30 fish mostly on cranks with 5 over 4 lbs, 17 over 3 lbs and 5 over 2 lbs. No where else in Northern California can you get this quality and quantity of bass this time of year!!"

12/08/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 12/7/05. Overcast all morning. Outside temperature started at 39 degrees. Beware of early morning frost on the dock!! Water temperature 50-51 degrees down 8 degrees in 2 weeks. Caught 21 fish, 17 on cranks and 4 on jigs all in the deeper areas of the lake. Largest fish was 4.1 lb on a crank."

11/23/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 11/23/05. Slight breeze and overcast most of the morning. Water temperature 58-59 degrees. Caught 43 fish all on cranks. Caught 4 over 4 lbs."

11/19/05 From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing on 11/19. Water temperature was 59. Fishing was slow until I found a school. Caught 12, all 2+ pound fish. Patience is required this time of year."

11/19/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 11//16/05. The lake was very quiet with hardly a breeze. Water temperature started at 59 and rose to 61 at noon. Caught 30 fish--26 on cranks,2 on jigs and 2 on jerk baits. Largest fish was 3.5 lbs on a crank. Counted 70 Great white pelicans on the lake."

11/12/05 From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing on 11/10. The fishing was slow today. Caught 9, all on cranks. The Bald Eagles have landed. Winter has officially arrived at Kelsey."

11/10/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 11/9/05. Cold and strong SE winds most of the morning. Water temperature ranged between 59 and 61 degrees. Caught 41 fish all on crank baits over weed beds. Largest fish was 4.4 lbs."

11/07/05 From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing on 11/3. Caught 24 fish with 1 coming on a plastic worm, 1 on top water and 22 on a crank. The fish are in the offshore weeds. Water temp is 62 degrees."

11/07/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 11/2/05. Overcast and windy all morning. Water temperature 63 degrees. Caught 50 fish, with 4 on topwater, 9 on spider jigs and the balance on crank baits. Most fish were caught on wind blown areas of the lake above weed beds. Largest fish was 3.5 lbs on a crankbait."

11/21/05 From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing on 10/28. Had a blockbuster day. Caught a 10#2oz bass, a 3 foot carp and a dinner plate size blue gil. Three trophy fish in 3 different species all within an hour. Only at Kelsey!!"

10/27/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 10/26/05. Water temperature holding between 64 and 68 degrees. Caught 21 fish, 4 on top water, 5 on jigs and the balance on crank baits. Largest fish was 2.5 lbs on a crank."

10/22/05 From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing on 10/20. Caught 14 including 2 on top water and 1 on a crank. All the rest were on deep plastics. I couldn't get bit on a crank. That was quite a change from the last several weeks."

10/20/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 10/19/05. Water temperature ranged from 64 to 68 degrees. Caught 29 fish, 5 on topwater and the balance on crank baits. Largest fish was 3.2 lbs on a crank bait. The lake level is now within about two feet of the spillway so there is lots of water to fish though most of it is stained from decaying vegetation."

10/16/05 From Dave Kochis..." Went fishing on 10/13. After an early morning top water bite, catching was slow as the fish were scattered. I was unable to find any concentrations of active fish. I caught 11 total with the largest going just over 3 pounds."

10/14/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 10/12/05. Water temperature ranged from 64 at the inlet to 68 degrees in the upper ends. Caught 22 fish, half on top water and half on crank baits. Largest fish was 3.6 lbs caught on top water. The lake is overloaded with coots, greebes,geese and pelicans."

10/7/03 From Dave Kochis10/4/05..."Went fishing on 10/6. It was a warm beautiful calm day. The fish were scattered and suspended over the whole lake. Found no concentrations of fish. The top water bite was off. Caught 19 with 17 on deep cranking and 2 on top water. They were all nice fish up to 3 pounds. You had to rip the crankbait through submerged weeds."

10/5/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake for 4 hours the morning of 10/4/05. The water temperature ranged from 64 to 68 degrees, a drop of 16 degrees in two weeks. Had high winds from the NW the whole time. Outside temperature started at 44 degrees. Caught 15 fish, all but one on crank baits. Fish were scattered and suspended by the cold front moving through."

10/3/05 From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing on 9/30 after a 6 week absence. The lake had changed alot with the water temp dropping 10 degrees. The fish were very much in a fall pattern. The fish were concentrated and schooling. You had to find them. I caught 32 with half on top water and half on cranks baits. The majority of fish came off two points."

9/27/05 From Al Smatsky..."Most of you heard that Dave(flyfisherman) caught 18 bass before lunch at our BBQ on 9/24/05. He called last night to give me a report on what happened after all of you left on Saturday. He said it was slow mid afternoon and he thought he would not catch another bass. Around 5 PM the action picked up and was non stop until dark. He caught lots of fish on poppers as the sun was going down. He said he had one good fish that broke him off. He figured that he landed around 60 bass on Saturday"

9/21/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of of 9/21/05. Water temperature ranged from 80 to 83 degrees. Caught 22 fish, half on top water and the balance on crank baits. Largest fish was 4.7 lbs on a crank bait."

9/17/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 9/15/05. Water temperature ranged from 78 to 82 degrees. There are lots of decaying weed beds and floating decaying weeds on the lake making fishing access a little tough. Most of the water is stained from the decaying weeds. Caught 25 fish, with 10 on top water, 12 on cranks and 3 on worms. Largest fish was 2.4lbs."

8/24/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 8/18/05. Caught 25 fish most on topwater and the balance on crank baits. There is lots of forage in the weed beds so the bite is getting tougher. Not much of a dragon fly bite due to all the other bait around. The combination of lower water levels and weed growth has cut the lake in half from a accessability standpoint. Water temperature was 78 to 80 degrees. Largest fish was 3.2 lbs"

8/12/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 8/11/05. The lake has a big time alge bloom. Water visibility is about a foot. Had a very limited top water bite and virtually no dragonfly bite. Caught 9 on top water and another 20 on hardbaits. Largest fish went 4.1 lbs. Between the alge and the weeds, it is starting to get a little tough. Saw 4 dead bass. Guess we still have members that do not practice proper release methods."

8/9/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 8/9/05. Water temperature ranged from 79 to 82 degrees. Had a decent top water bite the first hour or so, then a good crank bait bite to about 10am. Caught 42 fish. Largest fish 3.1 lbs. Caught a 1.5 lb bluegill on a crank bait. Lake is starting another alge bloom."

8/3/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 8/3/05 with a friend. Water temperature ranged from 78 degrees at the inlet to 82 degrees on the north end. Had a good top water bite the first couple of hours. The wind came up and shut the top water bite down. Had a good crank bite until around 10:30am then the bite turned off. Caught 86 fish with the largest fish going 3.6 pounds. The lake level is down about 3 feet from the spillway."

7/31/05 From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing on 7/29. Had a great day. Caught 45 with most on top water. The remainder on plastics. Top five went 17 1/2 pounds."

7/27/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 7/27/05 with a friend. Water temperature was 82 to 83 degrees. We caught over a hundred fish on top water and a few on crankbaits. The majority of fish are running between 2 and 3 lbs, with a few up to 3.5lbs."

7/23/05 From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing on 7/21. Weather stormy and clear, windy and calm, cool and hot. The fish should have been confused but they bit anyway. Caught 38 with most coming on plastics. Caught several on top water and cranked up one. Neat day"

7/20/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 7/20/05. Water temperature 82 to 83 degrees. Caught 86 fish all on top water from 5:30 to 11:00AM. This is the best fishing in the 5 years I have fished Kelsey. All the fish I have weighed and measured have equaled or exceeded the "standard weight" which says there is currently plenty of forage fish for the bass."

7/16/05 From Dave Kochis..."Went fishing on 7/15 after a 2 months absence recovering from shoulder surgery, not fishing related. The bite was hot. Caught 45 mostlly on top water. The dragonfly bite was incredible. My recovering shoulder was sore at the end of the day hauling the fish into the boat for release. Lost as many as I boated. Water temperature was 84 to 86 degrees."

7/15/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 7/13/05. Water temperature ranged from 81 to 83 degrees. Had a great top water bite up until 10:30am pretty much all over the lake. The heat drove me off at 11am. Caught 35 fish on top water and another 30 on crankbaits. There was good dragon fly action and lots of bass jumping for the dragon flies. Did not try any plastics as the top water bite was just so good. Largest fish was 3.5lbs."

7/6/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 7/6/05. Water temperature ranged from 80 to 82 degrees at 11AM. Caught a dozen on top water and 33 more on crank baits. Left at 11am. The fish are feeding on both bass fry and small bluegil/sunfish over the weed beds. Not much doing in the shallow shore weeds. Largest fish was 4.4lbs on top water."

6/15/05 From Carmin Rosato..."Fished the lake the morning of 6/15/05. Water temperature 75 degrees. Caught 24 fish on top water and another 23 on cranks and spinner baits off weed lines. Largest fish was 4.6lbs on top water."

12/24/04 From Carmin Rosato... "Fished the lake the morning of 12/22. Overcast/fog all morning. Water temperature 49 degrees. Caught 14 fish all on hard baits. Largest fish 3.2 lbs. "

12/16/04 From Carmin Rosato... "Fished the lake the morning of 12/15. Water temperature 52 degrees. Lots of loose weed floating on top from the last storms. Caught 19 fish, all on hard baits. Largest fish 3.6 lbs. All fish in deeper water. Lots of fish suspended 3 to 5 feet down over deep water."

11/30/04 From Carmin Rosato... “Fished the lake the morning of 11/30. Air temperature at the lake started at 32 and reached 51 degrees at noon. Water temperature started at 49 and reached 51 at noon. Lots of geese and coots on the water. Some grebes and a few ducks plus one eagle. Caught 24 fish all on hard baits. Largest fish was 3.1 lbs."

11/30/04 From Carmin Rosato... "Fished the lake the morning of 11/23. Outside temperature was in the high 30’s and the water temperature started at 53 and reached 55 degrees at noon. Caught 22 fish all on hard baits. Largest fish was 3.6 lbs. The water is up somewhat, but the backs of all coves and the entire south end are all choked with weeds.”

11/12/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing on Nov 8. I was hoping to get a decent weather day but at least it didn't rain while I was on the lake. The bald eagle is back. That confirms it is winter again. The lake water temp had dropped to 57 degrees. I caught 8 fish ripping 6 and catching 2 on Senkos. Like the bald eagle, it's time for my wife and I to head south for the winter. Maybe I can get one more trip in before leaving. This was my 8th full year of fishing Kelsey. In terms of numbers caught(619)it was my second best year. The most(800) were caught in 2001. And the biggest (12# 13 oz) caught in 2000."

10/25/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing on 10/21. Had a clear drive up but when I got to the Lake, it was completely fogged in. I fished the lake but the visability was not greater than 100 feet until 9:30 when it began to clear. I have fished that lake almost 200 times but it sure looked different in the fog. I caught 12 ripping a Lucky Craft Flash Minnow through the weeds. I could not get bit on a Senko."

10/15/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing on 10/14. Had a great weather day and a great rip bite. Caught 17 on rip baits, 1 on top water, 1 on a crank and 1 on a Senko. Top five went 14 1/2 pounds with the largest going 3# 1 oz."

10/10/04 From Carmin Rosato... "Fished the lake the morning of 10/6. Clear day with small breeze from the west. Water temperature was 70-71 degrees. Caught 32 fish all on various hard baits. Caught a 8.6 lb and a 5.1 lb on top water. The 8.6 lb bass is my best at Kelsey. It had the head of a 12 lb fish with a long body. It appeared healthy and unmarked in spite of its rather thin body."

SEPTEMBER 2004

09/11/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing on 9/9. Left at noon as it was getting mighty hot. The fishing was hot also. Caught 32 with the top five going 11# 7 oz. The biggest went 2# 10 oz. Nothing big but alot of 2 1/2 pounders."

09/09/04 From Don Dirks... "I went fishing 9-08-04. Started right after daylite. The first 45 min were very slow. The old adage the early bird gets the worm don't always prove to be true. I caught 12--14 fish.3-4 on surface. the rest on plastic or cranks. Nothing big.2.5 or so the biggest.. They did not jump in the boat. I fished 4 hrs. then it got too hot. The thing I like about KBR is even when it is very hot you can usually have some top water action early. I found a floater with a sinko and a hook in its throat. You have to be a line watcher with sinkos. Sometimes they just pick up your sinko and swim off. With the weeds heaver line is a must."

09/08/04 From Dave Kochis... Went fishing Sept 2. Had a good early morning bite until the wind suddenly came up about 10:30. It killed the bite. Caught 20 all on Senkos. Could not get bite on topwater, cranks or frogs. Top five went 11 pounds. The biggest went 2# 10 oz."

AUGUST 2004

08/25/04 From Carmin Rosato... "Fished the lake the morning of the 24th. Water temperature was 76 warming to 79 at noon. Had a good top water bite until the wind came up. Caught 21 fish, 10 on top water and the balance on cranks/jerk baits. Largest fish 3.4 lbs."

08/23/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing on 8/19. It was a slow day with a lot of small fish. Caught 18 with the top five going just under 11 pounds. Caught one on topwater, one on the frog, one on a drop shot, one on a crank and the rest on Senkos."

08/17/04 From Carmin Rosato... "Fished the lake the morning of 8/17. Water temperature started at 77 and got to 79 by noon. Caught 26 mostly on hard baits. Largest fish was 3.5 lbs."

08/13/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing 8/12. Caught 31 with the top five going 12# 14 oz. Had 2 over three pounds. All were caught on Senkos with several blow ups on the frog. Couldn't hook them. Left early as it was hot!!"

08/05/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing on 8/5. The day started out slow but the catching picked up in the later morning. Caught 21 all on Senkos. Could not buy a bite on top water, cranks or frogs. Top five went 13# 1oz. The biggest went 3# 1 oz. The bigger fish were all caught off shore."

Date unk... from Jonathon DeLong... "I was fishing a black\blue-tailed craw on a coralina rig when I caught my 7lb.large mouth bass on the shady side of the dock."

JULY 2004

07/30/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing on 7/29. Caught 27 with the largest going 3# 1 oz. The top five went 12# 6 oz. With the exception of one on a crank, the rest came on Senkos. Got several blow ups on the frog but they were merely knocking it out of the way. I could not hook them."

07/25/04 From Dave Kochis... "Fished 7/22. With a slight breeze, it was a pleasantly hot day. Caught 31 with 8 on a Pop R and the rest on Senkos. Got several blow-ups on the frog but couldn't hook them. Did not try a crank. The top five went 12# 8 oz. The biggest went 3#."

07/21/04 From Carmin Rosato... "Fished the lake the morning of July 21st. No breeze until shortly before 11AM when I left and it was 95 in the shade! Water temperature ranged from 77 to 81. Fish were quite cooperative. Caught 42 fish, 10 on top water, 10 on cranks and 22 on senkos. Best fish 4-1."

07/09/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing July 8. Absolutely beautiful weather day. Light breezes and water temp at 81 degrees. Caught 31 fish with the top five going 14# 7oz. Caught 3 over 3#. Caught one on a Sag Proof frog (got several blow-ups) and the rest on Senkos."

07/02/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing July 1. Caught 33 fish with the top five going 14# 3. The big fish was 4# 1. Caught only one on top water. The remainder were on Senkos. Had a great Dragonfly bite."

07/02/04 From Carmin Rosato... "Fished the lake the morning of 6/30. It was a nice cool morning but the wind made it tough to feel the bite. Caught 25 fish with a few each on top water and cranks and the balance on senkos. Water temperature was 76 to 79 degrees. There were half a dozen of the great white pelicans on the lake. Lake level is down about a foot."

JUNE 2004

06/28/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing on June 25. Caught 20 including 3 on top water, 1 on a snag proof frog and the rest on Senkos. Biggest fish went 3# 4oz. Top five went 14# 2oz. "

06/24/04 From Carmin Rosato... "Fished the lake the morning of 6/23. Nice breeze all morning. Water temperature was 77 to 81 degrees. Caught 30 fish, 8 on top water and the balance on senkos. Largest fish was 3.6 lbs. "

06/24/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing on June 17th. The fish were active and the weather was beautiful. It was breezy enough to keep the temperature down to a comfortable shirt sleeve temperature. Caught 36 with 8 coming on top water. The rest were on Senkos. The off-shore surface weeds have really grown over the last week. In the past, the off-shore weeds have been the most productive for me."

06/24/04 From Carmin Rosato... "Fished the lake the morning of 6/16. Water temperature was 77 to 80 degrees. Slight breeze all morning but it got pretty warm out there. Caught 37 fish, 15 on top water and the balance on senkos. Largest fish was 3-6."

06/11/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing on June 10th. Water temp had dropped to about 74 degrees. Had some wind to content with. Still caught 15 with 7 on top water and 8 on Senkos. Flipped several out of the trees. Fish were tight to cover. No crank fish."

06/11/04 From Carmin Rosato... "Fished the lake the morning of June 9th. Had a stiff south wind first thing then it changed to a stiff west wind. Water temperature was 72 first thing and got as high as 77 by mid day. Caught 40 fish, a few on top water and cranks and the majority on senkos."

06/04/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing on June 3. Water temp 76 to 80 degrees. Caught 31 with top five going 14# 4 oz. Caught all but one on Senkos. Caught the other on s Snag Proof frog."

05/31/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing on May 27. Caught 28 fish: 2 on top water, 7 cranking and the rest on Senkos. Weather was perfect shirt sleeve weather. Enjoyed watching the wild-life including the 7th and 8th grade boys from Hilmar Middle School during their annual "Let's Go Fishing Day". A neat time. Jon, thanks for making the lake available to them."

05/27/04 From Carmin Rosato... " Fished the lake the morning of May 26. Water temperature started at 70 and got to 77 at mid day in the shallow coves. No wind til mid morning and light after that. Caught 33 fish all but one on senkos. Largest fish 3 lbs."

05/21/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing on May 20. Caught 15 with top five going 14# 4 oz and largest fish going 3#. Two on top water, 4 on cranks and the rest on Senkos."

05/18/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing on May 12th. The fishing was a little tougher than normal (caught 8), but cranked up a 6 1/2 pounder. So it was a great day."

05/15/04 From Carmin Rosato... "Fished the lake on May 12th. Water temperatue ranged from 68 to 72 degrees. Breezy in the morning and quite windy by mid day. Caught 30 fish; 2 topwater, 8 on cranks and the balance on senkos. "

05/09/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing on May 6th. Caught 21. Had a great top water bite. Then the lake went dead until 11:00 AM when someone turned on the switch. Had a hot Senko bite all over the lake. Got blown off at 1:00 AM. Big Fish went 4 pounds."

05/09/04 From Carmin Rosato... "Fished the lake on May 5th. Pleasant day to fish with a nice breeze to keep it cool. Water temperature 72-77 degrees. Full moon seemed to turn off the morning top water bite. A few slappers but no takers. Caught 38 fish with all but 2 on senkos shallow in the weeds."

4/29/04 From Carmin Rosato... "Fished the lake the morning of 4/28. Water temperature range was 71 to 73 degrees. Caught 44 fish on topwater, cranks and plastic. Most fish were shallow and in the weeds. Had a dragon fly bite in mid morning until the wind blew them and me off the lake."

4/26/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing on 4/22. It was windy all day and eventually was blown off about noon. As long as I was able to fish, the catching was good. Caught 18 with half on top water and half on cranks. Had a tough time feeling Senko bites. Caught a 5 1/2 cranking. It was a female that had not spawned out yet."

4/20/04 From Carmin Rosato... "Fished the lake the morning of April 20th. Water temperature 63 to 67 degrees. Overcast all day with nice breeze from the west after 10 am. Caught 28 fish, a few on top water, a few on cranks and the rest on senkos."

4/11/04 From Dave Kochis... "Dear Jon: Although insignificant to the universe at large, I thought you might be interested in knowing that I caught my 3000th bass yesterday [April 8]. Actually I finished the day with 3005 bass. 3000 fish equate to 600 legal limits of bass. Assuming the average weight is 2 pounds, we talking 3 tons of bass. And if you laid them end to end, they'd extend about 0.9 of a mile. For Kelsey that means 3000 fish were given extra-curricular physical training (straining against the rod), many were photographed (albeit naked), and all were given a chance to experience that great atmosphere around Kelsey. That means you've got healthier, more psychologically adjusted (better self esteem) fish than before. And I'm more psychologically healthy with the frequent additude adjustment trips to Kelsey. On the downside however it took 7 years, 163 trips, 36,512 miles and 815 hours driving to accomplish this objective! UGH! Was it worth it? YOU BET!!! Thanks for a great lake!!"

4/08/04 From Carmin Rosato... "Fished the lake on 4/8. It was a nice warm sunny day with only a little wind in late morning. Caught 35 fish today including a 16 inch trout. Had a good topwater bite first thing and followed that with a crank bait bite off the points. The rest of the day was senkos in the weeds up shallow. Water temperature range today was 64 to 69 degrees."

4/01/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing on April Fool's Day. Got blown off the lake at noon but not before catching 17 fish. Had a great top water bite in the morning before the big winds started. Water temps 62 to 64 degrees."

4/01/04 From Carmin Rosato... "Fished the lake on 3/31. Mostly overcast and quite windy. Water temperature ran 62 to 66 degrees at mid day which is 6 to 8 degrees below what it was 10 days ago. Saw about a dozen swarms of fish fry in different coves. So the spawn is over for some of the fish. Caught 18 fish, 1 on topwater, 2 on cranks and the balance on senkos in very shallow water and nothing over 3 lbs."

3/31/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing on 3/18. Caught 21 fish with the top five going 11# 8 oz. The fish were a lot more aggressive than they were during the Member's Tourney 3/13. I caught most on Senkos with several on a Hum Dinger. Rigging the Senko "wacky" style seemed to be the most productive. The fish were either very shallow or on a shelf adjacent to shallow water. I saw no beds and the fish showed no indications of bedding injuries but the fish are definitely moving up.I tried top water first thing but they appeared to be small and were merely pushing the Pop-R aside. I caught nothing cranking. I got a good "dragon fly" bite at the usual 10:00 AM time frame. When you throw that Senko in, (when the fish jumps after the dragon fly) let it set for a minute and carefully watch the line. They are very good at subtly picking it up without you even knowing it."

3/31/04 From Dave Kochis... "Went fishing on March 25 just ahead of the rain. Caught 15. The water temp had dropped about 5 degrees from last week. The fishing started off very slow with a couple on a Senko, three on a Pop-R and one on a rip bait. Fortunately the lake really turned on at 11:15. The weather was very overcast and calm at that time. I caught 9 on a Pop-R in about an hour. They became very aggressive. Several were classic catches. While moving the top water lure slowly past a stick up, BAM, the explosion could be heard all the way to Snelling. To me, top water catches like that are the best part of bass fishing. Definitely gets the heart pumping. Great time."

3/18/04 From Carmin Rosato... "Fished the lake the morning of 3/17. Surface temperature started at 68 and got to 74 in the warmest cove at mid day. Guess it got too warm for the eagles as I have not seen them for a week. Caught over 50 fish on cutworms, senkos and kinamis."

3/3/04 From Carmin Rosato... "Fished the lake the morning of 3/3. The lake has come up another 6 inches since Sat. Water is still flowing in from the "creek". Lake level is about six inches below spillway. Lake is still quite muddy but has improved in the past few days. Water temperature started out this morning at 52 and got up to 56 by mid day. Five boats on the lake today. Caught 22 fish on jigs, plastic, cranks and spinner baits. Small males starting to move up."