Folsom - Thunder and lightning and wind

A little late with this report but got a few hours free on Saturday morning ... looked like all the cells were going to skirt around the lake so decided to gamble. OTW at 6:30 ... a little breezy but fishable. Saw a lot of lightning in the distance early on ... then all calmed down. Caught a couple of bass in the 2-3 pound range ... then all heck broke loose. Wind changed direction 3 times each time kicking up about 1.5 to 2 feet waves ... after battling about 2 hours decided to give up. Got home in time to see the B-2 take a couple of passes over my house making runs against the Air Show at Mather.

Thanks for the report.  A late report is still better than no report! 

Did you fish Browns Ravine? Crackbaits or softbaits?

I live in EDH also.  The weather change may keep some of the skiers at home.

Yes, I went out of Browns Ravine ... gotta love a place where i can roll out of bed at 6 and be on the water at 6:30. I tossed a bunch of crank baits ... but when i slowed down and drifted a worm I got their attention.

Looking forward to the 5mph rule to go into effect. We should hook up some time

Send me a Personal Message.
I've fished cameron park lake often earlier this summer.  Might be fun to hit that again.

mm

When the lake starts to cool down, the action might pick up maybe? Is the 5 mph rule seasonal after water skiing season?

I should mention, graphite fishing rods are great conductors and have acted as lightning rods out on lakes--killed quite a few people over the years. And any time you see lighting--no matter how far away--stats say you are at risk. Many lighting deaths occur on the first strike in the area--which is why people were still out and about--they thought it was too far away to hit them. Good news is CA sees maybe one a year. Florida, Texas are by far #1 and #2. Always a good idea to get off the lake nonetheless any time you see lightning or hear thunder. You don't want to be the exception. Ranked by population California is 4th from last  with only Alaska, Hawaii and Rhode Island safer (see the Lightning Deaths in the United States Weighted by Population, 1990 to 2003 in the link below).

http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_lls/fatalities_us.html

Yes, I got a little reminder of the unpredictable nature of lightning later that afternoon.

Bright blue sky ... watching the planes in my backyard ... and almost simultaneously heard a loud Crack and saw the lightning almost overhead. Hadn't seen any lightning or heard thunder for a couple of hours prior to that point.

forgot to explain the 5mph rule ... it is triggered by the level of the lake.

"The lake should not reach elevation 400' until after September 20th. At that elevation the entire lake will go to 5 mph." from the Folsom Lake Marina website. 

Thanks for the report...fighting the wind is no fun...only while fish are biting!!!

Great post.   

This post has a few different kinds of excellent information - lightning, water level policy, what the fish bit...  It also has a quick back and forth communication between two new members about hooking up (priceless).  Nice one.