Professional bass fisherman Gary Dobyns mixes it up at Lake Berryessa, catching largemouth and smallmouth bass, virtually on subsequent casts. Photo by Chris Shaffer.

At Lake Berryessa, fishing pressure is never really a problem. However, anglers who arrive after a handful of bass tournaments are held in January, February and early March -- and before mid-June when the lake gets gobbled up by water-skiers, wake boarders and boaters -- can experience the best bass fishing Northern California offers.

Scott Green should know. As one of the most respected bass anglers in California and also the manager of Outdoor Pro Shop in Rohnert Park, Green has spent countless hours on Berryessa. That is, countless hours catching dozens of bass without competing with other boats or anglers.

Gary Dobyns, a national bass fishing icon and the all-time leading money winner in the West, has had similar experiences. "Berryessa is an awesome fishery, but a lot of guys don't fish it because they just don't have time to. Most guys are practicing for tournaments on Clear Lake, Shasta, Oroville and the Delta," he said. "But it's one heck of a fishery."

Berryessa is one of Northern Cal's last waters where anglers have a legitimate shot at catching spotted, largemouth and smallmouth bass in the same day -- or on consecutive casts. Next to Trinity and Almanor, it's one of the top three smallmouth waters in the north of the state.

However, its claim to fame is that it also harbors trophy bass of all kinds: smallmouth, largemouth and spots.

"It's an awesome lake with huge fish. It's got giants. There are bass in there up to 17 pounds," Dobyns added. "There are a lot of fish there, and it doesn't get much pressure. It's a fun place to go."

Bass anglers have always looked at Berryessa as a secondary fishery. Nonetheless, it has a stable population of largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass. All species flourish together, yet aside from trout and kokanee anglers, Berryessa doesn't get much in the way of fishing pressure.

"I don't know what it is, but I guess if they don't give away boats on a lake, no one pays attention to it," Green said. "And they don't give away many boats there."

The lack of tournaments is blamed on poor facilities. Not poor for boaters and anglers, but rather for the facilities necessary to serve a main event.

"There are no local communities to host it, but it would be a great place to have Pro Ams," Green said. "There's no way Lake Berryessa is going to put out the money for that to happen, though."

But while many anglers avoid the lake due to the lack of professional and amateur bass tournaments being held there, that can be a great thing for non-tournament, weekend anglers. Berryessa is one of the few lakes in Northern California where you can pretty much be guaranteed that if you fish in May and June, you'll be able to leave with a grand slam -- that is, catch largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. Unlike at Oroville, you aren't going to catch limits of dinks, either.