A lot of things have happened since my last report. I was hoping that we would be headed for a full lake by this time but looks like that is not going to happen. We had the driest December on Record and so far no rain for February. The lack of rain has not effected the fishing, currently the bite for February has to be listed as good. I had back surgery in December, it was very successful and I am better now than I was before surgery. The surgery kept me off the water for about eight weeks but I am back in action now. Currently all of the typical patterns for the pre spawn bite are working if you stay with them long enough. Jerk baits, lipless crank baits, under spins rigged with a swim trailer, drop shot with a six or seven inch worm, a shaky head jig with a worm or creature type trailer, square billed crank baits, the ned rig and the Alabama rigs will all catch fish in the right areas at the right time. It's winter, the water temps are hanging around the 47 to 53 degree range depending upon the day and night time conditions. The fish are starting to school up a little and they can be found both shallow and deep, you just have to be patient, fish slow, but cover as much water as you can. The crappie and blue gill are being caught all around the lake and it looks like is going to be a banner season again for the crappie. Lot's of people are showing up and fishing from the banks and docks to target this fish that is prized for it's taste and fun to catch on light action tackle. The game wardens are actively checking to make sure catch limits are being followed and also that fishing license's are current. March will be a very busy lake with fisherman out targeting the bigger pre spawn bass and with the tournament season in full swing. The largest tournament of the month will hit the lake on the weekend of the 17th and 18th. The vast majority of fish being caught are in the one to three pound range. Some bigger fish have been caught but so far are pretty elusive. That's it for now, remember to wear your life jackets, water is very cold if you fall in, be courteous, don't cut in and or crowd your fellow fisherman, watch your boat wakes, when your near another boat, don't get up on plane until you have moved a good distance away to avoid those big wakes. God Bless, Bob
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""Oh Boy"" Where did the time go?? Thanksgiving in a few days, then Christmas, then 2018 and the start of a whole new season. It's been quite a year with a lot of eventful happenings, with many of them tragic and devastating around the country. My wife and I have had some challenges this year and have some ahead of us, but Thank the Lord we have come through them ok and are blessed to be in good health. It's been another good season of fishing at Clear Lake and this is the time of the year that our business drops way off with people concentrating on the holidays and staying out of the inclement weather. We spend this time now through January catching up on projects and enjoying the holidays. I upgraded with a new boat motor earlier this year and now I am in the process of updating my electronics and installing the new I pilot trolling motor. Fishing/catching has slowed down from the vast numbers we were catching in the summer but that is normal for this time of the year. This is also the time of the year that we will start to do live bait trips for those customers who like to use it. My schedule is pretty much open from now through February but March and April bookings are coming in strong for 2018. The lake was impacted during the summer with some strong algae blooms and as a result the water color is a much darker color than normal. This will all clear up over the next month or so and the fish that we have been catching are all fat and healthy. We started out 2017 with a "flooded"" lake, I am hoping that 2018 will bring us a full lake and normal conditions and looking forward to another great year doing the work I love. Here's wishing everyone a Blessed holiday season, ""Happy Thanksgiving"" and have a ""Merry Christmas"" God Bless, Bob and Tary
Wow, I have been remiss about keeping a current report, staying busy guiding will do that. Since my last report, there has been a big change in the numbers of fish that we are catching and also the size of the fish that we are catching. I have seen it get tough before at this time of the year which is kind of a transition period into the fall feeding for the bass, but this year seems to be much tougher than usual. The recent tournament results show that the majority of fisherman are weighing in much smaller five fish limits and the numbers of big fish being weighed in are way down. My recent trips have also been way off the pace of what we were catching four to six weeks ago. There currently seems to be no big concentrations of fish in any one area and we are moving around a lot to catch one here and one there and all of the fish are in the one to two pound range. This up coming week, the FLW Costa series pro's will hit the lake for three days, this will be the real tale of the tape for what is going on with the fish. The first two weeks of October will also see two big events hitting the lake and will provide an even better picture of fishing conditions. October always finds us as guides winding down, with fewer people wanting to get out and fish, along with colder weather and the start of our rainy season. October also is usually the kick off month for the use of any live bait for customers that prefer to use.
This summer we saw some pretty serious algae blooms, had a long spell of hot weather with many days of 100 plus, and the water temps got up into the 80's. With all of that, we had a fish die off around the lake due to a lack of oxygen in the water for the fish. The algae blooms are gone and the fish die off seems to be over, hopefully with the fall cool down, the bigger fish will start to show up and the overall catch rate will improve. The fall season patterns for baits are normally crank baits, both shallow and deep runners, under spins with a swim bait type trailer, jig's and the standard drop shot and shakey head worm set ups. The vast majority of my recent trips have all been using drop shot Robo worms in the MM color and baby brush hogs in the watermelon candy color. That's it for now, following the upcoming tournament results will provide a great overview of current conditions. My thanks to all of you who follow my reports and who fished with me in the past, stay safe, be courteous to your fellow fisherman, God Bless Wow, time has flown by, been one of my busier years. Currently fishing/catching can only be rated as fantastic with customers being able to catch well over 40 fish up to 60 and 70 on some trips. Most of the fish that are being caught are in the one to three pound range but we are also landing some in the 6lb range. Almost anything is working to catch fish right now, it mainly depends on how you like to fish, whether or not you use spinning gear only, and or bait caster type reels. The most popular technique right now for most people working the lake is a drop shot rig with a Robo style worm rigged about 12 inches up and rigged either Texas rigged which is weedless or the popular wacky style with the bait rigged in the center. A whole variety of other techniques such as a shad colored spinner bait, shallow and deep diving crank baits, Jig's with crawdad type trailers and colors such as browns and reds, carolina rigged set ups with a baby brush hog in the watermelon candy color, and then there is "top water baits". Walking baits such as a zara spook, popper style baits such as a full size Rico, artificial frogs, all are working but you have to put in your time and cover water and don't expect it to be easy. The lake is currently 5.64 on its level gauge which is about 3/4 of a foot higher than last year. We are having algae blooms with all the hot weather we have been having, but the fish are biting, and the lake has plenty of areas without any excessive algae. It's a great time to get out on the lake and have a ball catching these hard fighting bass, and also a great time to bring the younger ones out and get them exposed to fishing and have some fun with all the fish that can be caught now. All the guides that I work with are also very busy, if you are thinking about booking a guide trip, plan ahead or you may be disappointed by no availability. The county has monitors at all of the boat ramps now for most of the time, they will be checking to make sure you have gotten your clearance sticker to launch your boat which is a must here at Clear Lake. I do expect this strong bite that we are currently having to continue through the summer and into September. The techniques mentioned above also will not change and will continue to work. Fish are being caught all around the lake but I have been concentrating at Mid Lake and the South arms. As the lake level continues to drop due to the annual pull down, and as the weeds get worse on the upper end of the lake, the main concentration of fisherman including myself will be in the more rocky areas and deeper water areas. That's it for now, I will post again later this summer once things change, be safe, be courteous, don't cut people off while fishing on the lake, watch your boat wakes around other boaters, treat everyone like you want to be treated and have fun. God Bless, Bob
One thing about being busy as a guide, I don't seem to have time to keep my reports current. Since my last report, the spawn has begun, some fish have spawned, but as of this writing there are many yet to spawn. Water temps are starting out in the mid 60's and on the hotter days getting up to 70 and above. Water clarity seems to vary almost daily and also depending where you are on the lake and also with the direction of the wind. So far the reports from those sight fishing have been with mixed results, mostly small males being caught and also with the vast amount of cover, hard to find and hard to see those bedding fish. The lake level as of this writing stands at 7.72 ft which is still slightly over the full level and higher than normal for this time of the year. The shad are spawning and huge schools are being seen all around the lake, they are spawning in the tules and along the docks and walls. If you can find the bass actively feeding on them, you can load the boat pretty fast with LV's, flukes, under spins and jerkbaits and spinner baits. With all of this being said, the bass bite for the past ten days or so has been very slow and very tough at times for those using artificials and even the live bait which I have used for most of my trips has gotten tougher. Once the spawn cycle gets somewhat completed, the fish will need to feed up from the rigors of the spawn and the bite should get much better. The drop shot and wacky rigged senko's should come into play much stronger than the current bite. When the bass are trying to spawn, the bite is always tougher because they are not interested in eating. With the higher water levels and the inconsistent weather patterns we have had, this has all combined to make the tough bite we are now experiencing. For those who may think the spawn is done, several of the bigger fish my customers caught this past week showed no signs of spawning. The crappie bite has slowed down, but if you are persistent and cover water, you can still find them. Lot's of bait, lot's of water, lot's of crappie, lot's of blue gill and lot's of bass in the 1 to 2 lb with a lot of big bass caught early this year should make for a great season. Stay Safe, be courteous, practice catch and release, God Bless, Bob
Wow, This month has flown by and I have been really busy. Clear Lake is back to normal, flood restrictions are no longer in effect, all launch ramps are open, normal speed controls are in place which is five mile per hour anywhere within 400 feet of the shoreline. Fishing has been great, catching numbers seems to be no problem and the recent tournament results have seen numerous fish over ten pounds being weighed in. Currently the water temperature is starting out around 53 to 54 degrees and with the predicted warmer daytime temperatures in this up coming week, should climb up to around the 60 degree mark. The fish are moving into the shallows and I would expect that we will see them on the beds within these next two upcoming weeks provided we do not have real cold spells that drops the water temperature. The lake has been really busy with fisherman, even on weekdays we are finding quite a few boats out on the lake. All of the guides are really busy and if you plan on hiring a guide, book early, at least a month out is recommended. A whole variety of baits are now working, jerk or rip baits, swim baits in all kinds and sizes are being thrown but the kitech brand seems to be the most popular. Shakey head jigs, drop shot worms, under spins with a small swim trailer, and with the fish moving shallow, the senko will be a sure bet to use. Keep in mind that all the big fish this time of the year are probably females and they have eggs in them and they need to spawn. Practice catch and release and don't stress the fish out by carrying them around in the livewell, weigh, picture, and release. It's a busy lake, be courteous, don't cut your fellow fisherman off, and watch your own boat wake around other fisherman. God Bless, Bob
In my last report I said the lake would not be opened until it dropped below the 9foot flood stage level. """That"" has changed, they have re opened the lake even though it is now at 9.66 feet. All boats must maintain a idle speed only with no wake within 400 feet of the shoreline. All of the public ramps are still closed as of this writing but that can change daily as the lake drops. The casino ramp at the Konocti Vista Casino is where everyone is currently launching. We do have two big tournaments hitting the lake on the 11th and on the 18th and 19th. All fisherman need to exercise caution and wear life jackets due to the debris in the lake and be ""VERY MINDFUL and follow the IDLE ONLY rule within 400 feet of the shoreline. Be sure to check in with the local tackle stores for any ramps that may be open or any changes due to pending storms, etc. God Bless, Bob 3/9/16 UPDATE TO MY POST, The idle only no wake zone is actually 1/4 mile off shore, be sure to follow this.
Mother nature has dealt us a pretty good blow this year, we prayed for rain and we got it, unfortunately we got more than we wanted. I have not guided at all this year and have cancelled several trips due to storms, rain, wind and now high water. The Lake was officially closed to boating on 2/14 due to dangerous conditions and flooded homes. Official flood stage is 9ft for this lake and of this posting, we are right at the 10ft mark and probably will go higher with the storm that is hitting today and tonight. Currently I have cancelled trips up to March the 11th. The lake will not be opened until it drops below the 9ft flood stage mark, hopefully that will be sooner than later and the dam is releasing at a high rate everyday. For those of you who like to target crappie, they are catching them from the shoreline in some locations. The crappie fishing was fantastic last year and it will be just as good this year. I also fully expect that once we can get back on the lake and back in business, the bass fishing will also be fantastic again.. Stay tuned, call 707-349-4460, or email bob@fishclearlake.com or use my contact form on this site for any information and updates on the lake. Stay Safe, God Bless, Bob
I have been off the lake the past few weeks on purpose, getting my gear and my boat in good working order. Currently with all of the rain we have received over these past five weeks, the lake is over it's ""Full level"" and there is a mandatory five mph speed limit imposed on the lake. The lake is currently at 8.49 feet and the restriction will remain in place until the lake drops to 7.9 feet which hopefully will be within the next week or so. 2016 was one of the best years ever that I have recorded for both numbers and the size of the fish that we caught, I fully expect that 2017 will be just as good if not better. If you are planning on bringing a boat to fish here soon, call the local tackle stores to see what restrictions if any there may be in launching due to the high water. For those who have been out on the lake recently, fish are being caught on ""A"" rigs, drop shot,shakey head worms and a variety of Jerk baits. All of the guides working the lake will be pretty busy this year and with my current advanced bookings, I would advise to get your requests in early. Stay safe, wear those life jackets, God Bless, Bob
Wow, what a year 2016 has been, my wife and I just completed one year in the house we purchased last year and this next week we will celebrate our 41'st wedding anniversary. This year was consumed with a lot of projects for our new place and also with one of our busiest guide years ever. The 2016 season will go down as one of the best years ever for the 19 years we have been fishing the lake. With over 3000 fish caught and released and with more fish caught in the five to ten pound range since I have been keeping records, it has been a phenomenal year. Our lake got full this past year and with the current rain pattern and with the lake rising, it should also be full for the 2017 season. I expect with the sheer numbers of bait fish currently in the lake and with the amazing numbers we caught this year, 2017 season should be a repeat of all the great action we had this year. The 2017 season will start off with fisherman throwing a whole variety of swimbaits, A rig's, using jerk baits, lipless crank baits and now is the season for live bait, (jumbo minnows) for those who like to use them. As 2016 winds down over these next eight days, we are re grouping, enjoying the season, and getting ready for what 2017 will bring. A reminder to buy those new fishing license and if you are bringing a boat from out of the County, be sure to get it inspected and get a clearance sticker before launching. We have been blessed to have good health, love living in Lake County, and loving what we do. We close out this year by wishing all of you who fished with us over the years and to all of you who were new friends this last year, a BLESSED, Merry Christmas. God Bless, Bob & Tary
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