my first 2026 Lake outing.

it was mostly a recon mission.  my favorite lake. 

water was COLD.  40 deg.  what shocked me was the fog.  I have been in fog before, but this was next level.  I could see 20-30 feet ONLY.  I knew where I was going so I eased out.  I was literally the only human on the water.   I had to ease my kayak past the barricade, so definitely boat less.  my truck was the only vehicle in the lot. 

I wore my drysuit and layers and was still shivering.  (thinking about the recent kayaker drowning and wondering if he was wearing something similar).  I fall in...well, lets not fall, but I had drysuit on.

the fog!!  I would head out on a bearing, look at my fish finder and it would spin around randomly.  WTF!?   it took minutes before was lost.  woefully lost!  I tried to head in to eat my two Steaming hot pork tamales in a thermos in my truck.   NOPE.  lost.  I turned on Navionics on my cell phone  and it saved me.  I rebooted my fish finder and it behaved after that.

I found my truck, and tamales, and waited an hour before heading back out. the fog cleared for the most part.

and Ocean fishing hurts bass casting.  casting a lure is a perishable skill.  my first few casts and it was , "whoa!  and where are you going?"  I got the feel back and was hitting my targets.

total skunk!!  hahha..

Fog is a "whoa" kinda thing, like it's alive.
Cold fog is bone chilling.
So 19 guys before me didn't ask....
Where?

not comfortable saying my under the radar lake. 

My first outing of 2026 was Berry on Sunday and weather was nice if not a bit chilly.
I got a late start around 10:45 and decided on no wetsuit since forecast was for a high of 60. Water temp was 54-55.
It got a bit breezy after 2pm on the main lake so headed back in to Markley. Total skunk, 2 bites that didn't stick.
I think January is the worst fishing month. Maybe freshly stocked trout lakes if you're into that.

January sucks.

the only lake that seems to hit near me is Spring Lake in Santa Rosa.  a Neko Rig gets bit in the deeper sections.   that lake was my "training Wheels" lake and i dont go often anymore. 

the spotted bass get reliable in Feb at Shasta. 

 :smt064Ok
Sorry to make ya uncomfortable