Brrr … A winter type cool-down has brought about a slight change in the bass bite. Crappie are getting busy again. Catfish action continues. And, stay tuned for the Christmas in Clearlake promo – someone’s going to win a $1,000 shopping spree! Here’s the report …

Bass are pushing baitfish up against the shoreline in the morning hours. Anglers using jumbo minnows are doing very well with reports up to about 20 fish during this early morning frenzy. As the morning wears on, the bite shifts – and here’s the change – to deeper standing docks and dock ends. They’ve been moving to deeper water and lingering over rock piles.

Certainly, they still are, but finding willing-to-bite bass at the ends of docks in 15 to 20 feet of water is a shift. It is the kind of shift that’ll allow a persistent angler to continue the bite into mid-day.

Now our guys throwing artificials are still having a tough time of it. Many seasoned anglers are struggling to put together a limit. Try your soft and hard jerk baits up close to shore in the morning and shift to lipless cranks and deeper running cranks during late morning and early afternoon. Keep a jig rod and a drop shot rod handy, too. Work the tops and edges of submerged rock piles as well as steep drop-offs. The water is getting colder by the day, so slow down – way down.

Crappie are biting reasonably well at most of our known crappie hot spots. Kono Tayee and Shag Rock are getting a lot of attention (especially on the weekends). Konocti has produced with an on-again, off-again bite. If you are willing to put in the time and wait for the action to turn on, you’ll do fine there. If you’re impatient, Konocti probably isn’t the place for you.

The word is that the crappie are making an appearance there a couple times a day – with no particular pattern established yet. Savvy anglers would speculate that morning and evening times are most productive – but we’ll have to wait and see. Most anglers are finding the bite to be best on live minnows. Some folks are experimenting with jigs in different varieties, but no pattern has emerged yet.

Catfish are liking the big jumbo minnows they’ve been offered the last few weeks. All of the regular baits seem to be working too. Most folks fishing for other species are finding themselves with catfish on the end of their line. Drifting Bass Alley, Rattlesnake or other popular catfish holes is a winner.

Our local Clearlake Chamber of Commerce is running a wonderful shop local campaign for Christmas. It works like this – shop our local participating merchants and ask for your FREE entry forms. Add your name and phone number then drop your form into box and you’re entered. On Dec. 20, they’ll draw one winner for a $1,000 Chamber Bucks giveaway. Chamber Bucks then spend like cash at any of the merchants that participated in the program.

Every purchase you make here at Lakeshore Bait and Tackle gets you an entry. Could you use an extra $1,000 bucks to spend right before Christmas? I know I could … Just look for the Christmas in Clearlake signs – they’re all over town.

Bob Rider owns Lakeshore Bait and Tackle, 14913-D Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake, telephone 994-FISH (3474) or visit them online at www.994Fish.com.

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