What you can expect as we go into the summer months, low water conditions will close some of the ramps, weekends will always be busier than during the week, algae blooms will continue to happen, especially on hot days. Just a reminder, the lake water temperature which is getting up to around 65 to 67 will continue to get hotter so take a picture and release the fish, don't carry them around in the live, well for pictures later. Be sure to have your boat checked and get a launching sticker before launching if you are coming from out of the area. Clear Lake despite all the fishing pressure, algae blooms, and weedy conditions, still ranks as one of the top lakes in the country and even with low water conditions we are in much better shape than many of the other lakes in California. Be safe, be courteous, take care of the fish, God Bless
To say its been a busy lake for fishing is definitely an understatement, for the past seven weeks we have had a major tournament of some type working the lake, combine that with several smaller club tournaments, along with your weekend anglers and finding a spot to fish or park your boat trailer can be an issue. Currently many fish have spawned but many have yet to finish the spawn and you can find many on beds either spawning or guarding the eggs. The water level is about six inches lower right now than it was for this time last year and it will definitely be another year where certain launch ramps will have to close due to the low water. The algae blooms have already started happening in the Rattlesnake and Redbud arms, so far the upper 1/2 of the lake has not experienced any blooms. Most people working the banks right now are sight fishing and trying to catch the fish off of the beds. The top water action has just started and will continue to get better as the spawned out fish will need to feed up from the rigors of spawning. The weed growth in the offshore water is already getting a good start and now the carp are spawning and thrashing around and creating floating weeds. The majority of the fisherman working the lake who are not sight fishing are using a variety of techniques, the drop shot, weightless senko, ned rig, neko rig, and shakey head are all being used to put fish in the boat. The past two weeks have been a pretty tough and very slow bite, very typical for this time of the year. It will get much better as we move through and the spawn finishes up. The annual catfish derby hits the lake the weekend of the 13, 14, and 15th of this month, that derby usually has about 800 entries. The crappie action has been very good in many areas around the lake but is starting to taper off and by the end of this month will not be near as good.
What you can expect as we go into the summer months, low water conditions will close some of the ramps, weekends will always be busier than during the week, algae blooms will continue to happen, especially on hot days. Just a reminder, the lake water temperature which is getting up to around 65 to 67 will continue to get hotter so take a picture and release the fish, don't carry them around in the live, well for pictures later. Be sure to have your boat checked and get a launching sticker before launching if you are coming from out of the area. Clear Lake despite all the fishing pressure, algae blooms, and weedy conditions, still ranks as one of the top lakes in the country and even with low water conditions we are in much better shape than many of the other lakes in California. Be safe, be courteous, take care of the fish, God Bless
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Its that time of the year, the fish are moving into the shallows and out in front of the spawning bays in preparation for the spawn. The spawn will start once the water temperature hits 60 degrees and stays there. When the fish are moving in as they are now, they will also school up and they also are looking to feed and bulk up getting ready for the rigors of spawning. Currently you can use a whole variety of baits and techniques and if you stay with them long enough, have success in landing fish. Swimbaits, jerk baits, lipless crank baits, Alabama rigs, big glide baits, under spins, are the the bulk of the baits that are being used. The lake is being hit hard with tournament fishing, two big tournaments just finished up this month and we have two more to finish out the month, both big tournaments, to say the fish are getting pounded is an understatement. I attended a weigh in yesterday for a two day 115 boat tournament, and a lot of nice healthy fish up to the eight pound range were weighed in. The winner had somewhere around 45 pounds for their two day total of 10 fish to win the tournament. All of the above techniques and baits mentioned were used to catch those fish.
Currently the lake is slightly lower than it was for this same time frame last year and the long term outlook for rain is not good so low water conditions will remain in effect as it was last year. You need to use caution when motoring anywhere close to shore, it does seem that most of the offshore hazards have been marked with a hazard buoy. Water temperature has been starting out around 53 degrees and getting up to 58 degrees in the warmer afternoons. The crappie bite is still going strong, most of the action has been at the lower half of the lake but is now starting to be good on the upper West end of the lake as they are moving in to spawn. Based on the results of the last two big tournaments, I would say the lake is fishing very good but you have to put your time in to find them. We are in a cycle of where the big fish are going to be in the six to eight pound range, very few fish are being caught over eight pounds, but catching solid fish in the three to five pound range is a normal thing that most lakes cannot come close to matching. Plan ahead for your trip, check with the local tackle stores to find out when the big tournaments are, be prepared that towards the middle of summer, some ramps will again be closed due to low water. Be Safe, be courteous, have fun, God Bless With the rains we have gotten starting in October, our lake has now risen out of negative territory into a positive level which means if it continues to rise, we should have a decent springtime season. We are still a long way from being at our full level but the lake has risen enough that some of the closed boat ramps should soon be open. Typically fishing in January is slow to tough but the results of a New Year's Day tournament with 20 boats showed that you can have a decent day. It took 24 pounds for a five fish limit to win the tournament with a 8lb big fish. While those results were great., some anglers only caught one fish and a couple of the teams never caught a fish at all. There have been some reports of crappie being caught and that bite will continue to get much better as we move through January into February, the bass bite will also do the same. The reports I have been getting is the best success for bass has been coming with Alabama rigs and underspin's with a swimbait trailer. Just a reminder that you need a 2022 fishing license and a Lake County quagga mussel sticker for your boat before putting it into the lake. All the tackle stores around the lake have the stickers and at the ramps if there is a ramp monitor there, they also have them. I am looking forward to another great guiding season working with my regular customers and meeting new ones. Let's be safe, wear your life jackets, be courteous and enjoly your time on the water. God Bless
This report will wrap it up for the year for me. I will be putting the business on hold until January/February 2022, working on my boat, new seats, new carpet, etc. The bite currently is typical for this time of the year, ""Slow"". The typical baits such as under spins with small kitech swim trailers, lipless cranks, deep diving cranks, jigs and drop shot will all put fish in the boat. . You have to cover a lot of water and try different stuff in order to put a few fish in the boat. Other than the big storm that we had a couple of weeks back, the fall days out on the lake have been rather nice. The big storm has raised the lake level just under one foot from it's lowest point. The best ramp to use is at Lakeport 5th street and the ramp at Clear Lake Oaks is also decent with the recent rise in the water.
Currently the lake level is a minus 1.39 feet, way below normal for this time of the year, we are going to need a ""BUNCH""of rain to stand any chance in getting the lake back to a normal level for the start of the season next year. All of the big tournaments are done for the year and currently you will only find a few trailers in the parking lot so its a good time to get out and enjoy the lake even though the fishing is slow. Even though the lake has come up just under a foot to this date, you still have to be very cautious in motoring anywhere close to shore for obstacles just under the surface. I am looking forward to next year, hopefully putting this pandemic behind us, getting lot's of rain, and having another great year on Clear Lake. For those of you who have fished with me, ""Thank You"" for your business and friendship and for everyone, we hope you have a ""Happy Thanksgiving"" and a ""Merry Christmas"" God Bless, Bob Tary . Fishing/catching for me these past few weeks has been slow to down right tough. This is not all that unusual for this time of the year, my records show that the bite was very tough at this same time frame last year. The live bait bite may improve the bite as we go later into November. A guide friend of mine tried live bait this past week for two days and it did not help his overall bite. The ramp at fifth street in the town of Lakeport is the only safe ramp around the lake to use. You need to be careful as you back your boat down the ramp to not put the trailer to far in to allow the back wheel to go off the back edge of the ramp, Best thing to do is to get the trailer just far enough in so you can start your big motor and back it off the trailer. You also need to be careful in motoring out from the ramp as the water is only about a foot and half deep until you get out a couple hundred yards to get up on plane.
Currently there is an ABA championship tournament scheduled for the weekend of the 30th, I believe it might actually start on the 29th. The parking lot at 5th street has been under re construction for the last month and is finally completed and you no longer have to park outside of the lot. I expect that the current tough bite should start to change as we get close to November and the water temperatures continue to drop and get these fish in a feeding mode. My trip out yesterday showed the water temp at around 64 degrees, down from the low 70's a couple of weeks ago. In a nutshell, use 5th street in lakeport to launch your boat, be very cautious as to how far you back the trailer down, expect a slow bite for at least the next couple of weeks, be very careful motoring anywhere close to shore up to a 100 yards out due to hazards just under the surface. Until we get a whole lot of rain, praying that we do, I expect nothing to change over the next four weeks or so. That's it for now, be safe, God Bless, Bob Well it's been an interesting season, year, so far, with a major drought and major fires, conditions are changing as we go into September. We have been having some smoky conditions this past week and each day is different depending upon the wind direction, overall not to bad. Currently the best launch ramp to use is the 5th street launching ramp in Lakeport, the County Park Ramp, Lucerne Ramp, and 3rd street ramp are all closed. The Oaks and Redbud ramps are still open but I don't advise using them as they are very shallow and trailers have been dropping off the back edges. There is a big tournament scheduled on the 28th of this month and the parking lot at 5th street will be totally full. They are re doing the parking lot at 5th street, new sidewalks, and will re pave it in September, as a result, portions of the lot are not accessible so with other ramps closed and this lot in disarray parking is an issue. I am hoping to be able to launch through September and possibly into October at the 5th street ramp, currently it is okay for bass boat trailers, but longer pontoon trailers have to use caution as they can, and some have, drop off the back edge. Fishing has been a little slow for me, but we are still managing to land around 15 bass for each trip. With Labor day approaching and another big tournament scheduled for September 17th, 18th, and 19th, be prepared for a busy launch ramp in Lakeport and parking issues, timing will be important. ""God Bless
Wow, the guide business has been crazy this year for myself and my guide friends that I work with. I apologize for not keeping my reports up to date. This year the lake has been extremely busy with people being tired of being cooped up this past year and with most people getting their vaccinations, people are getting out boating and fishing. With California now going into its second straight year with low rain fall, the lake is getting low and some ramps have closed up for being to shallow to launch a boat. The ramps in Clear Lake, the Oaks, and in Lakeport are all open as of now. I am doing all of my launching out of the ramps in Lakeport. I expect that we will be able to launch with out any problem through September. Anyone reading this should not get overly concerned but stay on top of the situation as it develops. Currently the fishing has been very good for numbers, catching the bigger fish is certainly a challenge right now, a four pounder is a really good catch at the moment. I have been averaging over 20 fish a trip with some trips over 50.
The tournaments will be backing off now as they usually during the summer months but with the increased activity from everyone wanting to get away, expect a busy lake on any given weekend. In a nut shell, the lake is open, it is at a low point, you need to be careful boating anywhere close to shore to avoid un marked hazards, fishing has to be considered very good, some boat ramps are closed, (lucerne &, Keeling park) others are being monitored, (Redbud in Clear Lake) . The top water bite is happening, lots of weeds showing on the upper end of the lake to work a frog or buzz bait around. It will be an interesting rest of the year for the lake and the availability for boating, just shoot me an email from my website or text me at 707-349-4460 if you want the straight scoop on what's happening, God Bless It looks like we are going to have a low water year since our lake is considered to be full at 7.50 feet on the scale it is measured by and we currently are at .95 feet. That's a long way to go to get full in a short amount of time left for our rainy pattern. Fishing will still be good, they have to eat and there are plenty of fish in the lake. The low water will effect where and how the fish spawn, they will be more exposed and low water will also have an effect on more weed growth in the lake.
Currently the water clarity is very good in the lake and the fish are schooling up and starting to get a little more active. Water temperature has been around 47 to a high of 51 on the warmer afternoons. The typical arsenal of baits for this time of the year are working, fish are being caught on reaction baits such as deep diving crankbaits, under spins, Alabama rigs, and lipless crank baits such as the LV 500 by Lucky craft. On the finesse side, the drop shot, ned rig, and jig's are producing. With some recent warm weather, the lake was really busy on the weekend. The fisherman who like to target the crappie have been hitting the lake hard and so far there seems to be only one really hot spot that everyone is concentrating on. You have to stay on the move to have success in catching, once you find them you can usually catch several in one area. With the Covid thing slowly getting somewhat under control, it looks like it will be a busy year for the lake. If you are looking to book a guide trip, book early, and also the tournaments are in full swing for this year so try to fish during the week if you can to avoid all the traffic on the weekends. That's it for now, stay safe and stay healthy, God Bless, Bob WOW, 2020 A year that none of us will ever forget, but one I personally won't keep foremost in my memory. My wife and I have spent the last couple of months hunkered down and staying under the radar. As we head into this new year, it's still a rocky start and we won't be back to any resemblance of normal for at least a few more months. I am praying for stability and focus for our government leaders, and for a quicker overall vaccination for all of us who want it. My goals and plans for the year are set, I expect to start getting busy in March for my business, and April bookings are already very strong.
On the fishing scene, its typical January, the bass bite is slow to tough, the Crappie bite is very strong and will continue to get better and should remain good through April. The bass bite will also continue to improve as we move into March and the pre spawn bite starts to kick in. It looks like we will be having another low water year as the long range forecast does not look promising, currently all the lake launching ramps are open except for the city of Lucerne. As we head into this New Year, I will be controlling my trips a little tighter, but I fully expect that things will bust loose towards the end of this year as the pandemic gets under control, businesses are allowed to re open, people can gather together, families can once more be families, schools, churches, back to normal and we can all celebrate safely. God Bless, Bob & Tary To say it's been an interesting year is a vast under statement. Covid 19 has changed the world forever, throw in a year of protests of all sorts, devastating fires, a presidential election with a new president, and the virus going stronger than ever, and predicted to get even worse, 2021 will be a challenging year for sure. With all that being said, I am currently taking bookings for 2021, several of my regular customers have already made their plans for next year. I expect to be selective in my trips and wanting my customers to have the same concern for my health as they have for their own.
Currently the lake is lower than it has been in a couple of years, boaters need to be very careful when motoring anywhere close to shore. We badly need rain to get our lake up to a decent level to take us through 2021, praying that will happen. Fishing, catching, at this very moment is very tough and will probably remain that way through December and January. This is the time that guiding slows way down for myself and the other guides working the lake as people concentrate on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the winter weather is not that conducive to a enjoyable day out on the lake. My wife and I are blessed with good health, each other, and the Lord in our hearts to lean on for strength. We wish all who are reading this a ""Happy Thanksgiving"" and a ""Merry Christmas"" Bob & Tary |
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