5/8/14 Fishing Report & Lake Conditions

Since my last report many of the fish have spawned but here at Clearlake the fish will spawn all the way through June.   May has brought a lot of high winds at times and the past couple of weeks has also seen the water temperatures drop about eight degrees from the highs.   All of this has made for an on and off bite and the high winds has made a lot of the lake to rough to fish.  The topwater action has just started and will continue to get better as we get warmer weather and a stable weather pattern.   Baits such as rico's, zara spooks, buzz baits, and frogs will all start to produce as the fish start to feed up from the rigors of the spawn.    Our lake level is about four feet below our level for this same time last year.  I have found that this has pushed the fish a lot further off shore but still only in four to six feet of water due to the low water levels for this year. 
     The weed growth has already started to explode and it is a good possibility that the weeds will impact us much more than past year with the low water conditions.  Currently it will be hard to beat a texas rigged or wacky rigged senko,  a drop shot rig, or a shakey head jig for any consistent pattern of catching fish.    As we go further into summer the lake level will continue to drop but using the launch ramps and being able to fish will not be a problem.    Be versatile, fish further off shore than in past years, start trying the top water baits, and be careful boating close to shore due to lower water conditions.   God Bless,  Bob