Fishing Reports Archive
Updated 3/23/10
What a week! We want to thank all the pro's for their support of this community and all of the retail establishments enjoyed having you as our guests, and wish you well. For the fans I hope you got out to see your favorite pro tear up the water, it was great. As for what they were doing, just about everything. The top two spots had Byron Velvick throwing swim baits and Bill Lowen swimming a jig and a chatter bait. The rest of the top 10 were using a variety of differing techniques. We heard reports of Ripping, Carolina Rigging, Drop Shotting, Jigs, even a Buzz Bait bite. The fish are moving and now is the time to hit the water. Focus on the mouths of creeks, tule lines and docks, places that will hold spawning fish or fish moving through. The north by most accounts seems to be the most productive. This weekend I am planning on throwing a swimming jig ticking the grass on the bottom I always wanted to work on this technique.
Updated 3/17/10
Welcome to all the Elite's we hope you enjoy this wonderful pond that Clear Lake is. Report, well the fishing got a little tuff this weekend and week, the Holder event of 134 boats had many weighing in no limits or partial limits. Some nice bags were caught but the fishermen said they worked for them. When we questioned the anglers at the scales most said the fish were caught on some sort of plastics or jigs. Drop Shot, Shaky Head, Senko's and Texas rigged Brush Hogs seemed to be the popular baits. Some Swim Bait fish were caught most keying on the smaller sizes 6 inch with the exception of a few who through larger. Big weight of the tournament came from a larger bait but we saw very few in that class in fact we saw a small bag all caught on swim baits that barely broke the 12 pound mark. Drop Shot reports tell of Purple, Red and green worm. Keep your jigs in the colors like Brown and Orange, Brown and Purple, and Brown and Black half ounce football heads. Rip fish have been caught here and there mostly on Pointer 128's. A few reports of River to Sea Bottom walkers catching fish have trickled in as well.
Updated 3/10/10
Well the weights have changed, with the results of the two ABA's this weekend it took 22 pounds to win. But despite big weights being down there were quite a few 18 and 19 pound bags. In my opinion up and down temperatures and fishing pressure have both been a big factor. Even though the water temperatures are rising, catching fish under these conditions requires a little finesse. Reports are that many fish are being caught on jigs, Maverick jigs at that :). I put together a lot of jigs and the colors were all over the board Black/Blue, Brown/Orange, and Brown/Purple. I sold a lot of worms this weekend as well,l Trick worms, Maverick many people using a Shaky Head and Drop Shot. A bait that is still doing well is the Brush Hog Texas rigged. If you like throwing reaction baits try down sizing in you swim bait, I have been throwing 5 to 6 inch baits like the Keiteck and Osprey in 6 inch and doing very well. Others are throwing crank baits like speed traps in craw fish or white patterns up tight along tules.
Updated 3/3/10
West Coast Bass had their season opener here on Clear Lake this past weekend and there were several big bags weighed. So what was the big bags caught on? It should be no surprise that swim baits were a big factor. The baits that topped the list were Osprey. I fished this event and I can say that I saw every size being thrown and big fish being caught on all of them. Keiteck has a paddle tail swim bait with a lot of action and it proved to be one of my favorites and accounted for a lot of fish. Additionally there was a combination of Huds, 3:16 and so on. The key was finding the big fish and when you found them they ate and ate many different types of baits. Other patterns were Senko's, drop shotting, cranking, ripping, jigs, and Texas rigging a Brush Hog. Some good friends caught nice limits using a variety of baits any pattern the first day was drop shotting a Maverick worm, all but one of our fish came on this the other was flipped with a creature bait. Day two the temp dropped so first thing we headed to fish concrete boat ramps they tend to be warmer, we had 4 fish early using a drop shot again. Then we decided to hit the main lake and target the tulles, we got into them. Started pitching Senko's and started hammering nice fish. We ended up culling all the other fish with this group of fish. The bite was hard for some, great for others but the key was finding the big ones and then staying on the fish as they moved in and out. Don't pass this time up fish can be caught many different ways so get out and have fun. Hitch are moving bass are feeding and staging, pre spawn.
Updated 2/19/10
I was out working on the pool this morning before heading into the shop. Looked out my back yard and said, "man I should throw a bait out there!" So I went up to the garage and looked at the rods and realized I cut all my baits of except one, a swimbait I still had tied on from the FLW event on Shasta. I walked down to the dock and cast my Maverick Minnow on a Maverick Swimbait head in Trout and on the third cast, BAM! The water is still a liitle stained so I could not see how big it was until the end then I prayed to God that it wouldn't get off. I ran up to the house where my son was still in bed, ran into the bedroom and threw on the light. A startled Spencer jumped and exclaimed "Holy Crap Dad". With Spencer still in his shorts we went to the shed to get a scale and take a picture. To celebrate the catch I'll give away a pack of the baits that caught this big gal to whoever guesses the her weight.
Updated 2/11/10
Looks like we are in for some weather. The chatter bait bite seems to be picking up in shallow water, different colors for different times throughout the day. Reports are coming in of, yes dare I say it, Mission Fish. Some are throwing these swim baits up shallow around the tulles and starting to pick up fish. With higher water this would be a great choice. Down south fish are being caught in deeper water 20-30 feet throwing Shakey Heads. Most are throwing a Trick Worm or the Maverick 8" Shaker and working it slowly. A few friends have been throwing jigs and picking up fish as well, the brown and black and brown and orange Maverick jig accounted for a 6lber this week. Hope to see you on the water.
Updated 1/27/10
Well as of Wednesday the lake has officially surpassed last years high we are at 4.19 and rising with 2 hopefully wet months ahead. So how are this fish reacting to this surge of water? For the most part I think they are still in shock. Over the weekend most accounts have the bass hitting rip baits, blades, and crank baits up shallow. Chartreuse/Blue blades or other bright colors would be my first choices. As for rip baits, a Pointer 128 up shallow and a Staysee 90 on the breaks, again in bright colors or colors with a lot of flash. If you prefer cranking I would go with a BDS3 or 4 they are a wide body bait that moves a lot of water. For those of you who are fishing deep, the River2Sea Bottom Walker is still producing fish and I have heard of a few jig fish as well.
Updated 1/18/10
Nice to see the rain, lets hope it dumps on us we need it. Well with rain comes run off and with run off comes stained water. What does this mean for us? Well color for one thing. If you are out I would consider a blade in chartreuse blue or a rip bait in table rock or clown. If you are into throwing swim baits it's nice time to tie on a white one like a River 2 Sea and work it slow keeping bottom contact. The shaky head is still catching fish and most are using a Baby Brush Hog. Reports of jig fish south on rock piles have bee reported most reports have a blue and black jig leading. Another bite that seems to be picking up speed is a texas rigged full size Brush Hog, dark pumpkin color combo seems to be preferred. Remember the craw fish have lost the hard shell and are that deep green color now. They key is still slow so if you think you are going to slow consider slowing down even more. Be safe out there and wack 'em.
Updated 1/8/10
Well the bite is a little slow so expect 5 to 8 fish a day and you will work hard to catch them. Most fish are being caught using jigs on rock piles south. The color choice is watermelon green and brown/purple combiantions with pork trailers. Keep your weight on the lighter side, 3/8 to no more than a half ounce and go SLOW. For those of you who love to rip try throwing a Staysee 90 in Ghost Chartreuse Shad or Ghost Minnow. If you are shallow switch to the Pointer 128 same colors and work a three rip pattern then pause. Keep your pause on the longer side guys. Some fish are being caught on swim baits fished on the bottom. A good choice would be a River 2 Sea bottom walker, again I can't stress it enough SLOW. If you like dragging a worm or plastics try a Shakey Head with a Baby Brush Hog and keep the color choices to the pumpkins, remember the crawdads lose their hard shell and are a deep green now.
Updated 12/11/09
Nice to see some rain, but remember it takes about 3 inches to saturate the ground before we start to see real run off. Fishing has slowed a bit and slow is the word. Remember the old saying if you think you are going to slow well slow down more. Fish can be caught on Shakey Heads, try a Baby Brush Hog or a Maverick 6 or 8 inch worm, stick with the greens or purples. Some fish are still being caught on Swimbaits but here again the key is a slow presentation, think jig when moving this bait. River 2 Sea is a good bet this time of year, a bit smaller and easily worked on the bottom. Like the swimbait the Jig is showing signs of life, a 3/8oz football head is what I prefer with a Chigger Craw trailer in this cold water, low 40's guys. Color pattern is simple for me black and blue, PBJ, and brown and black. If you are fishing deeper water the Flutter Spoon can still put fish in the boat it has for me. The LV bite has slowed try ripping them or hopping them on the bottom don't forget to let them lay there for a while. One of my all time favorite patterns is ripping, we have started to see more fish being caught on smaller Rip Baits and a few on the larger 128 size.
Update 11/25/09
Fish are still being caught on Swimbaits fished slow, target rock piles and transitions in depth. The Shaky Head bite is turning on, an 8 inch Maverick worm on a 1/4oz head in Watermelon Candy is a good bet. The LV bite is slowing a bit but fish can be caught in the 2 -5 foot depth ripping this bait hard of the bottom. Some anglers have told me they are catching fish ripping Pointer 100's in the same water depth. For the most part most fish seem to be located in the 2-5 foot range and 17-25 feet. For those who like Fishing Minnows many reports out there of 40 fish days in the 2-4 pound class of fish. Other baits to consider: Flutter Spoon, Jigs, Drop Shot, and Deep Diving Crankbaits. Happy Holidays.