I’ll cut right to the chase this week – the bass bite is on. Crappie are still pretty much a no-show. Catfish are biting reasonably well. And, the weather is supposed to hold through the weekend. The water’s in the low 50s. Daytime high temps are running in the low to mid 60s but our nights (and mornings) are down around the 30-degree mark. Here are your details …

The bass are biting well on minnows in the morning hours while it is still rather chilly out. Once the sun has made its appearance, the bass are taking a variety of artificials. The noon hour seems to be about the time the bite picks up for jigs, plastics, spinner baits, jerk baits and swim baits. By mid-afternoon anglers are catching bass readily.

One key rig this week – the mighty Senko rigged weightless either whacky or Texas. Position your boat in 10 to 15 feet of water and cast to the bank. Be thorough! We’re not talking so much about a strong reaction bite so you need to move slower than you would other times of the year.

Spend the day on the lake and you’ll likely be in the 20- to 30-fish range with some fish to 7 or 8 pounds and many, many clones in the 2- to 3-pound class. And, good news for shore anglers, the bass are in at Redbud and Highlands Parks here in town.

The crappie … That report hasn’t changed since last week. Still hearing of a few honorable mentions, but we have seen evidence of a strong bite anywhere on the lake. Perhaps we’ll see them for a warm water bite this year …

The cats are still doing their thing … Mackerel, nightcrawlers and most of the other good stinky stuff should work. Shoreline anglers have been doing pretty well here along the City of Clearlake this week. Nothing tricky here. Just soak some good bait and wait for a bite.

Wow, the response for our first Hunter Safety class here in Clearlake was great. (Actually, it was a little overwhelming!) With nearly 40 people in the class, we had to cut it off for this go around. We’ve set dates for another class to be held May 5, 7, and 10 at the Clearlake Fire Headquarters on Olympic Drive. Come to the store to sign up. Fee is just $10. We’ll be limiting the seats in this next class to a more manageable 25 to 30 people so sign up early. Dads or moms who are licensed hunters may accompany a youth through the class. Look for more details, including times, on our “Events and Classes” page at www.994Fish.com.

Seats and sponsorships are still available for the Lake Friends of the NRA Dinner and Auction being held on April 19. Dinner tickets are $50. Sponsorship opportunities start at $375. The guns for this event have started to come in to the store now. WOW! They’ve got some beautiful stuff this year. Stop by the shop and see for yourself as we have some of them on display.

And while you’re here, get your prime rib dinner tickets while we still have seats available. This year’s event is being held at the Middletown Lions Club. I hope you’ll come out to support this great cause.

Bob Rider owns Lakeshore Bait & Tackle in Clearlake. Visit his Web site at www.994fish.com or call him at 994-FISH (3474).

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