Clear Lake is California's largest natural body of water, and the bite is often best at one end or the other. There are numerous public ramps available, and it's advisable to launch near the spot you want to fish.

Popular lures, all in over-sized versions, include black-and-red frog imitations, hitch-pattern swimbaits, and crankbaits, ripbaits and topwater plugs that resemble shad. Bulky jigs and soft plastics also take their share of fish. Cast to any cover that looks good.

For information, call Lakeshore Bait & Tackle at (707) 994-3474.

Lake Sonoma
Look for largemouth bass around submerged wood. You'll often find forests of it at Sonoma, where most of the trees were left standing when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built and filled the lake.

The secret to a successful trip here is to bring plenty of gear because you'll definitely lose it in the branches.

When you locate a group of trees, work the outer branches first with reaction-type lures with protected hooks -- spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and diving crankbaits are ideal. Then move to the heart of the stand with weedless spoons, jigs and soft plastics.

For information, call the Outdoor Pro Shop at (707) 588-8033.

Lake Berryessa
Because of its healthy populations of largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, and Berryessa's close proximity to the Bay Area, this lake gets its share of pressure. But even with the pounding it takes, it remains a top destination.

For trophy fish, you'll want to target largemouths during both spring and fall. Heaving big trout-pattern swimbaits to shallow brush and wood is your best bet for a wallhanger -- long casts will avoid spooking fish.

You'll catch plenty of quality bronzebacks working Texas-rigged soft plastics over and around submerged islands and humps.

Spots can be found throughout the year wherever there's rock with deep water nearby. Drop-shotting and cranking takes most of these voracious feeders here.

For information, call Fisherman's Warehouse at (916) 362-1200.

Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
The Delta's maze of twisting waterways and flooded tracts continues to produce largemouths that earn the reputation as one of the best bass fisheries in the nation. Not only in terms of the number of quality fish it pumps out, but the size of its trophies, too.

These tidal waters are suited to anyone who enjoys fishing structure with stout gear. And although every inch of the systems looks like it holds bass, that's certainly not the case -- move around often until you locate fish.

Work crawdad-imitating crankbaits along riprap levees, weave chartreuse and orange spinnerbaits through sparse tules, and pitch creature-style plastics to holes in submerged vegetation.

For information, call Hook, Line & Sinker at (925) 625-2441.

CENTRAL VALLEY
Hot and dry is the best way to describe this part of the state -- a perfect environment for growing black bass during good-water years. Unfortunately, the fisheries in this region are also the first to suffer from a drought. Call about conditions before you go.

Lake Oroville
Anglers who have fished Oroville for years will tell you that it used to be plagued by too many stunted smallmouths and Northern-strain spots. But thanks to plants of Alabama spotted bass, and a 12- to 15-inch slot limit, this lake is now considered one of the best.

The draw here has always been numbers, with 50- to 100-bass days possible at any time of the year.

You'll enjoy nonstop action by fishing deep rockpiles near running water. Use worms on dartheads during late winter and spring. Move closer to the main lake as the year progresses with the same offering.

For information, call Oroville Outdoors at (530) 533-4990.