Went to Calaveras for the first time Wednesday. Put in at the ramp with the canoe and paddled to the rip rap at the dam. Worked my way down the rip rap for cats with DK's on a couple of slip rigs. Ended up with about 7 channels, 13-14", nothing big, in about two hours. Kind of slow. The whole time I was serenaded by the sucking of air by thousands of plecostamus. Made it to the trees on the opposite bank, threw the DK's and some ultralight stuff. Only one cat after an hour and a few bream, big ones though. Coming into the first cove, I noticed some big grey, pink lipped fish under the trees. Realized they were tilapia. So I decided to get out and start wading/stalking with the cast net. Worked the whole cove and kept 10 tilapia about 2-3 pounds, and a bunch of gizzard shad for bait. Tons of small bream and tilapia as by catch in the net. No shortage of bream on that lake. Or tilapia. Made it to the 181 cove and saw the culvert in the back. Saw the swallows, know that cats love bird poop, so threw some DK's in there. Left an hour later with 17 cats and my limit. Nothing big, 13"s a couple 14". Hopped back out of the canoe and started throwing the cast net again up the left side of the cove. Caught a few more good sized tilapia. Caught some more bream on ultralight. Beetle spin grubs without the spin on a 1/32 oz jighead. They love it. Hit the motherload of 3 inch gizzard shad on one of the casts. Lots of cat bait for future trips. An hour later, I was wishing I had kept some alive. About 3pm I started paddling back to the ramp, but stopped by the famous wall on the way. Only a few boats there so I decided to pull up and make a few casts. Started vertical jigging a gold spoon right off the bat, and had a hook up. Stripped about 10 yards off and hook pulled. Then nothing for another 20 minutes. Then the guys on the left side started pulling in reds. 20 inch plus. So I rig up a flutter jighead and a dead shad. Bam, red on. Few minutes later get a 23 incher in the cooler. Awesome. Lose one a few casts later, then nothing. So I start throwing the net, manage one gizzard shad. Rig him up, toss him about ten yards out, doesn't even sink 5 feet and wham! 24 inch red in the cooler. And then that was it....the bite kind of fell of for everyone, so I left about 5pm. No doubt I will have an assortment of live baits next time. Oh...and while I was throwing the net. Pulled in two guesstimated 5 pound hybrids on one cast. Let em go of course, but pretty cool. All in all brought home a bunch of meat, and a pretty awesome day for my first trip to the lake. I'm worn out still from all the paddling and throwing the net.

Man are you are ruined now! That is an awesome day by anyones standards, and I am speaking from a little bit authority since I've been fishing that lake since just after it opened, many, many, years ago.

A mixed bag of good eating fish, and for a first time trip, you ought to write a "how to" book for the new fishermen to the lake, and how to fish it!

Usually someone fishing the lake the first time does fair, but it takes a couple more trips to even dream about having the day you did!

Congratulations, and that was a great report!

I can tell you Jimbo, that I felt like I already knew what to look for after reading all the great reports on this forum for the past six months. I knew about the trees, slip rigs and punch bait and the reds at the wall. And I know many of those reports I read came from you. So a big thanks to you also! By the way, I wanted to mention to anyone reading this. If you have kids and want to put them on some fun fishing, take some crickets or red wigglers to the shoreline on the opposite side of the lake, and catch a mess of bream. I got a feeling that they don't get a whole lot of attention on this lake, unless its being used for bait.

I actually have some more questions. The wall....what is that long corridor of water used for? Where do the fish get in at? Are there inlets in the base of the wall? These were all questions I was wondering about while sitting there...lol. Also, do the reds every go shallow on the lake like they do in saltwater? Schooling on the flats around the trees and shoreline? Where are the warm water outlets? Thanks!

Kyle, I'm glad I was of some help. I like to see reports from guys who take those pointers and turn them into success stories, since I don't get out as much as I've done in the past, and I just love to hear the reports and see the results.

From what I know of the wall it was nicknamed the "crappie wall" years ago when the lake used to be one of the best crappie lakes in our area bar none. What happened to the crappie? A lot of reasons, but rather than go into all that they are probably far and few between if any are left at all I haven't caught on in years.

That wall is the cold or cool water inlet to the plant, and I don't know for sure but I'd say there is some openings at the base of that wall, and probably some steel bars or some such that block the opening to prevent something larger than a fish to enter that might tear up the turbines or pumps. There is another inlet to the right if you are facing the wall and go all the way to the back of that arm of the lake past the power lines, that go over that arm of the lake.

To the left is the arm that has the railroad bridge or "swallow bridge" as they call it, and another good area to give a try if you get up there someday.

Under the bridge and a hard right will take you to the bouy line where the hot water discharge is.

It's a good area in the colder months which we don't seem to have anymore, but that's the "hotpond" as they call it.

I wouldn't want to row to those destinations but a small motor would take you there better than human power, since they are a pretty good ways back there.

The reds in the spring time around March or April will move more toward the banks and kind of cruise along and you can catch them from the bank, but as far as anyone fishing and catching them "tailing" in shallow water like the coast I haven't ever heard of or seen anyone doing that!

Texas Alien "Don" has a website that he has a map posted of the lake and you can see these areas pretty redily. Here is the link!

http://texasalien.com/images/callybig2.jpg

Keep on catchen and give some more reports! Good fishin, Jimbo

what is the fish in the 3rd photo?

It's called a plecostamous. It's a socalled vegetarian catfish, that is placed in aquariums to help keep them clean, and the lake is full of them which I'm sure they got into the lake from the S. A. river that is used to supply the water for the lake from being pumped in.

I used to think the talapia where a curse, but I was sooooooo wrong!

I haven't seen anything harmful yet, and nothing beneficial so I'll just have to wait to see what the experts say about them.

So far I've only noticed their numbers have increased dramatically which can't be a good thing!

I hate that sucking air sound they make, and to me there is no better comparison than a bad roach infestation.

Great report... I really need to get back down there soon. Only 75 miles from home.