Pinto Lake in Wattsonville- Is it cool?

I think I might try kayak fishing at Pinto Lake tomorrow in Wattsonville.  Has anyone been kayaking there and is it a cool place to go?   From reading the website, it sounds like a great place for kayaks since boats are limited to 5 mph.   I have zero experience bass fishing, but I am going to try my luck anyway tomorrow.  Thanks for reading my post!

T.J.

I have a friend that fishes there a lot. He does well in the spring and summer time. He lives 5 minutes away from Pinto


Jeff

Pinto is a great lake to fish. Call ahead though because they only do mussel inspections.certain times of the week. There are some big bass and huge carp that are fun to catch. They also stock the lake with planters. Good luck.

Pinto is a great lake. There are some pretty big bass in there. They also stock with trout but I personally wouldn't eat anything out of that lake.

If you are going for bass I would fish plastics really slow on the edge of cover. This lake is really shallow pretty much all over. There is one low spot that I think bottoms out at 30ft or something. Good luck.

Thanks for all of the replies.  I just got back from Pinto and had a GREAT time.  I did not catch any fish, but it was a very nice and sunny day there, no wind either.    The north side of the lake was really cool.  There were small water ways between all of the cattails that you can paddle in and out of.   I even saw 3 turtles, one was pretty large, I'd say his shell was about 14 inches long.  The picture I took of him was kinda far away, but I have attached it anyway.   Thanks again!
T.J.

Glad you got out on the water. This is a tough time of year for bass fishing. What did you try?

-FF

Thanks for the info & report TJ!
What was the mussel inspection like and how much did it cost?
Thanks!

What was the mussel inspection like and how much did it cost?

[/quote

http://www.pintolake.com/

Bro, the Mussell inspection was rediculous!   I felt like they were violating my Yak!    But seriously, they will reject you if you have 1 single drop of water or dampness on any gear.   They made me stand my kayak up for 15 minutes and watch for any signs of dripping water inside.  They also said if the boat gets damp on the way up from rain or fog, they will not even consider letting boats launch.
So beware, you'll probably have to blow dry the inside of your kayak to make it bone dry.  Luckily my garage is very dry from the water heater and dryer, so my yak and rigging was dry.
The fee for launch, parking and inspection was $8.

Even though it felt like I was going through the TSA security check at the airport, I would definitely go back.  I sure liked the narrow waterways on the north side of the lake.

T.J.

Thanks for the info & report TJ!
What was the mussel inspection like and how much did it cost?
Thanks!

Thanks TJ, that’s the kind of info I was looking for! I heard they were mussel nazis over there but haven’t fished Pinto since summer 09, so I haven’t had my yak violated yet lol...man that story cracked me up!    Unfortunately, my yak is always wet, so hopefully I get my $ back after I fail the inspection.

You gotta watchout for the crazy locals there too. Pinto is the place where I met this weird guy named FishMaster1 haha.
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,12576.msg118063.html#msg118063
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,12395.msg116307.html#msg116307