My best results have still been with working a wacky rigged senko in areas with less weed growth from the edges of the tules out to 8 and 10 feet of water. We also have had a lot of success working a small tube bait with a 1/8th oz jig head around the edges of the tules. This time of the year you will see a lot of fisherman working the weed beds and flipping, or punching, with a 1/2 ounce to 3/4 oz weight and using baits such as sweet beavers or full size brush hogs into the pockets. This type of fishing is not for everyone but can be very effective if you stay with it and cover water until you find the weed beds that are holding fish. You need the right tackle, rod, and heavy line for this pattern. I personally use tungsten weights, 20lb seaguar line, and full size brush hogs for my set ups.
The weed beds and areas of weeds will slowly start to break up and die off now as we go into the fall making it easier to get a bait in front of the fish. Crankbaits and chatterbaits worked through the open areas will produce along with using 1/2 oz lipless crankbaits and using a yo yo pump style retrieve. One of the great things about Clear Lake is that you can fish all types of baits and all types of cover from docks, to rock piles, to weed beds, to tule edges. Along with that type of cover and structure, only your imagination will limit you to what type of baits and size to throw. Here at Clear Lake, throwing a big bait such as a eight inch lunker punker by http://blackdogbaits.com is a normal thing and we expect the bass to eat it and they do. Along with all of the various baits that we throw on this lake, I pair them up with a matching rod that will handle the lightest bait to the heaviest, I use Dobyn's Rod's and they make a rod for every style of fishing you can think of. These are top of the line rods and hold up very well to the wear and tear that my gear get's, check them out at http://dobynsrods.com. We are catching lot's of fish in the three to five pound class and the biggest fish caught by one of my customers this past week was a seven pound fish caught on a wacky rigged senko. That's it for now, stay tuned for more reports as we go into the fall season. God Bless, Bob