Recreation
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
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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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
Bass and crappie are both picking up, catfish are still biting and the weather looks like it’ll hold for the weekend. The water temp is right at 50 degrees throughout much of the lake with daytime air temps rising slowly.
The bass report reads a lot like it did last week. Good fishing with minnows from 2 feet to 20 feet. Jigs, spinner baits, rip baits and drop shotting are all getting a fair amount of attention this week. Early signs of a swim bait bite are developing as well.
The north end of the lake is reported to be doing better than the south for shallow water anglers fishing tules. The overall bite is soft with many hookups being “skin” hookups rather than an engulfed full-mouth hookup. We’re hearing lots of reports of guys catching a lot of fish, but missing many more. I think that part of the key is paying close attention to what your lure is doing and slow down a bit.
We’ve seen some awesome fish this week so be sure to visit our Fish Braggin’ page at www.994Fish.com to see some great pics.
Now the word on crappie is rather interesting … We’re getting veiled reports of fish being caught in Jago Bay and in the Clearlake Oaks Keys. What do I mean by veiled? Nobody will be all that specific about exactly where. It could be that these guys have seen how mobbed the popular spots get and are just being cautious to protect a good hole. Or, well, we haven’t seen fish here in the store. Just a few guys with reports. I haven’t been able to corroborate them with live, slimy, finned specimens. So there’s the grain of salt theory, too.
What is different, is that we’re hearing reports from a few guys, not one or two guys, and that may lend some credibility to this scenario. So for now, I’ll rest on this: It looks like we may have an increase in crappie activity. What we need is for some folks to get out and check things out over the weekend and report back in.
Cats are still bending a few rods. Most folks going out specifically for cats are catching some. Bass Alley and Indian Island have been in the reports this week. Most guys seem to prefer mackerel as their main offering.
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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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
My goodness, we got into some minnow action this past week. (A fact that the minnow hatchery folks are taking to the bank.) It took three shipments of minnows to get us through the President’s Day weekend. The bass fishing surged with bass to nearly 11 pounds being reported as shallow as – are you ready for this? – 2 feet.
The reports would have us suggesting that you can find bass from 2 to nearly 20 feet. Rocky Point, County Park and State Park all at the north end of the lake have yielded good results for many anglers. Indian Island and Rattlesnake Island have also come up in conversation repeatedly. The key for most? Tules.
Besides minnows (and they’re No. 1 for sure) we’re getting wind of jig and drop shot bites developing well. Jerk baits and the very beginnings of a swim bait bite are also on the scene this week.
Now, my admonition … This current series of storms is likely to set us back some, but not to the tough bite we were experiencing a few weeks ago when the weather was really cold. The warming days following this spot of unfavorable weather should really get things moving. And another side note: All of the bass we’re seeing are fat, healthy fish. I don’t know about you, but my nerves are just jumping over the thought of the spring bass bite here on Clear Lake.
Now, for a dose of stark reality - the crappie scene is still suffering this week. We have had isolated reports of crappie being caught here and there, mostly from private docks in deeper water on live bait. None of the reports have given us a good picture of where or when to fish for the slabs. Keep up the hunt and keep us posted – they’re bound to show up some time.
Catfish action has been steady. We weighed a nice 19-pound, 8-ounce cat that the Koerlins nailed on mackerel. Others are catching whiskerfish on everything from our freezer – shrimp, clams, anchovies, mackerel, shad, etc. The quantity numbers aren’t super, but most folks fishing for cats are catching them. And the shore anglers have done just as well as boaters for catfish lately.
And speaking of catfish… It’s never too early to start talking up the annual Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Business Association Catfish Derby. This annual event draws on the order of 500 anglers with the top prizes being a boat, motor and trailer combo in the adult category and a youth-sized ATV for the kids division. This year’s event is being held May 16, 17 and 18. Questions? Give us a call or come on by. We’ve got your entry forms here in the shop.
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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- Details
- Written by: Lake County News Reports
The fishing is ultra-tough this week. Bass tournament guys are striking out and crappie anglers are simply unable to locate the slabs.
There are few details beyond that … The good news is the lake level is up nearly 2 feet from just a few weeks ago. The gage height in Lakeport was at 3.20 feet and rising when I checked Friday afternoon.
We had a pretty good bass bite on last Thursday and Friday for those anglers fishing live jumbo minnows. That bite started to taper off quickly again as we went into Saturday and was difficult again before the end of the weekend.
Bass guys tossing artificial lures – of nearly any variety – flat out struck out. The weather has been so bad in the latter part of this week, there aren’t any reports to work off of. Your best bet is likely to wait until the lake is fishable again and see what the recent rains have done for us. Water clarity, temperature, food source and water level will all be effected.
The crappie report hasn’t changed any from last week’s report. Tough as nails. Can’t find ‘em. Keep trying and let us know ASAP when you’re onto ‘em. We’ll keep fresh bait in the tank and product on the shelves so we can get you outfitted when they come back! (Now how’s that for an honest report, eh?)
The only upshot to this report may be the catfish. A few anglers have had a bit of luck bank fishing for cats with nightcrawlers, mackerel, and anchovies. Look for areas surrounding inlets for actively feeding catfish.
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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