The Rider Report: Hope for bite despite hot weather

Wow, it's hot! The weather that is. There’s hope for a cooler weekend in the forecast. The bassin’ is a bit tough – although not bad in the early morning hours, bluegill are finally making a good appearance, and the catfish action remains good. Here’s what to expect …


Bassers are finding top water action first thing in the morning to be pretty good. Mid-day action is downright slow. Most folks are switching to minnows or finesse rigs and moving to deeper water to find fish during the hottest hours of the day.


We have heard a couple of things with consistency lately:

  1. Avoid areas with heavy baitfish populations during the day – you won’t get bit.

  2. Avoid areas where weeds are in decay – the oxygen level drops substantially in these areas and the bass find it uncomfortable so the move out and away.

  3. You’ll find areas marked with red buoys – these are marking locations where they’ve found hydrilla. Stay away from these marked areas for a couple of reasons. Reason No. 1 – your prop chops hydrilla and it’ll spread. That’s bad news. Reason No. 2 – the hydrilla project folks have been poisoning the hydrilla. The fish don’t like it and they leave. Keep these issues in mind as you’re moving around our phenomenal lake and you’ll do better than most.


Crappie anglers are still plugging away. They’re not finding much action, but the hopes of finding a few nice slabs keep ‘em trying. We’ve heard of a few nice fish being caught in deep water areas during the hours of darkness.


The biggest development on the lake this week is the return of the bluegill to the local docks. Our local bluegill fishermen have been having a ball with mini-crawlers, red worms, and night crawlers all day long.


Catfish action has continued to be pretty good. Shore anglers and boaters are enjoying a steady bite on a variety of common baits – the marshmallow/shrimp combination, mackerel, anchovies, livers, clams, etc. Jago Bay, Rattlesnake Island, Cache Creek and Henderson Point have all seen action this last week.


Enjoy your Labor Day weekend. Play safe and have fun. Drop on by the shop when you have a chance and let me know you read our report.


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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