https://www.fishermanswarehouse.com
Native no limit event was held at Clear Lake with warmer weather prior to the event and then a cold front a few days before caused the bass fishing to become tough for several, but the anglers that found biting fish were able to catch several nice fish. Clear Lake, like many open bodies of water, can become quite hazardous in adverse weather conditions. With 25 mph winds and 3–6-foot waves, one can expect navigation difficult especially for small or lightweight vessels. Fishing challenges with maintaining boat position can be tough even with a trolling motor spot lock and then add gusty winds can make standing or moving from spot to spot can be extremely dangerous. However, with the ability to launch at several different ramps, one can find the area that was out of the extreme weather conditions. It always seems when there is a kayak tournament, the anglers are facing these conditions during the springtime of the year; thus, a typical kayak event during spring.
Once lines were out and fish were submitted to TourneyX, Dominic Doan smashes a win with and impressive 241.25” besting second place by 38.25”. Doan used the mid-strolling technique to capture his win. He launched out of Clear Lake State Park and soon found the conditions unfishable. Doan decided to check the Rodman area and found that the waves made fishing impossible. Doan drove around the lake and found a launch ramp that was calm and fishing possible, so he launched there. He soon found fish chasing bait and caught his winning limit near the launch ramp.
“I launched out of State Park in the morning and found that area unfishable.” stated Doan, “Even though I had practiced near Lakeport area and found fish, I knew it would be hard to fish due to the wind blowing into that area.”
“I found fish around tulles and boat docks near Lakeport that were roaming.” remarked Doan, “I was able to catch fish with a minnow and a drop shot rig. I had shaken off several fish during practice.”
“The wind was going to gust to 35 mph at the State Park area; however, I did try to fish that area but scrapped that idea since there were 6-foot waves crashing into that area.” mentioned Doan, “I decided to move to Rodman, but soon found that area was blown out from the waves crashing into there.”
“I knew that boat position was crucial for the way that I fish and decided to find an area that was protected." articulated Doan. “I found an area that had a launch ramp that was protected and had bait in the area.”
“After I launched, I used the Mooch Minnow to catch my fish. I caught a fish on my third cast.” said Doan, “At 11 AM, I caught my first fish in that area and then caught fish in about 5-minute intervals.”
“I caught fish until around 1:30 PM, it was fish after fish there for a few hours.” declared Doan, “It was a magical time.”
“I was fishing in about 8 to 9-feet of water shaking the Mooch minnow. The key was not to turn your reel handle, so the bait was right in front of their face.”
“The fish inside of the bait did not want to bite compared to the single fish that were roaming and the fish on the bottom.” replied Doan, “The fish suspended under the docks were willing to bite as well.”
“I was using a 1/8-ounce weighted CMF jig head and glued the Mooch minnow to the jig head. I preferred to use the CMF head because I was able to glue the bait to it easier.” said Doan.
Dominic Doan thanked his mom for all her support and getting him into fishing. She helped me fall in love with fishing. The key to fishing is to have fun and enjoy yourself during your time on the water and ignore all the negativities. Thanks to the boys at the house that we shared together, it’s time we never forget and enjoy in our memories. My girlfriend for all her support while I am away for several days. Also, for the guys that hosted the Native no limit event at Clear Lake.
David Burruss from Clear Lake Outdoors finished in second with 203.00” Burruss fished windy rock piles to find his fish. He also had big fish of the event with a Clear Lake giant that measured 22.75” and weighted in over 10-pounds. He used an underspin to catch his fish during the event.
“I launched out of Mid lake launch area and the wind was blowing like a normal stormy Clear Lake Spring Day.” declared Burrruss, “I fished windy points to catch my fish.”
“I was using an underspin slowly swam under the bait balls to catch my fish.” stated Burruss, “When the wind picked up, I would catch more fish.”
“I was using a Titan 10.5, which we sale at our Clear Lake Outdoor shop.” expressed Burruss, “The Titan 10.5 is an extremely stable kayak that handled the windy conditions.”
“I was fishing from 8 to 18-feet deep.” claimed Burruss, “I would use a CFM or the Cool Bait underspin paired with a Keitech 3.3, 3.8 and a 4” easy shiner.”
“Stop by Clear Lake Outdoors, they have the lures that are working and are stocked for purchase.” said Burruss, “The Titan 10.5 made my Native in the USA is one of the best kayaks available on the market.”
Burruss thanked Native and Marvi for hosting such a great event and my buddy for letting me use his kayak. A big shout out to Simms new suit for keeping me dry and warm out in the storm.
Matthew Brannon used glide baits for his third-place finish that measured 200.75”. He used several different glide baits to catch his fish during this event. After launching, he soon found the weather was pushing waves that reached 6-feet tall once he rounded the point to reach his magical location.
“The boat ride was smooth until the last hundred yards where the waves crashed into the point that separated me from my fishing spot.” declared Brannon, “It was an interesting time for sure.”
“I had a location that had a big school of fish-eating glide baits, but I knew I would not be able to reach that location due to the weather conditions, so I decided to change locations.” pronounced Brannon, “Once I arrived at the back up location, there was a bass boat in the area where I wanted to start. The boater and I talked, he said that I could have that spot and soon he left the area.”
“I had four rods in my kayak, one flipping stick and three swimbait rods.” remarked Brannon, “I broke one off of my flipping stick and then caught a 21.25” on my next cast.”
“I moved into the area deeper, the water cleared up some, so I picked up my glide bait and started to crush them.” stated Brannon, “For the next two hours, I caught several fish with my glide baits. I used several different baits to get more bites.”
“I would change from a big bait to smaller baits to entice more bites.” claimed Brannon, “The shallower I went, the smaller the bait I would use.”
“I would move the bait fast because when I worked the bait slow the fish would just look at the bait, I would burn the bait when I saw the fish come out of the brush to get the fish to eat the glide." exclaimed Brannon, “Once I worked the area deep into the area, I headed out and saw several other kayakers fishing out front.”
“I let the area cool off once the other anglers left the area and then went back and caught a few other key fish.” said Brannon.
Brannon thanked his wife, Marvi and Native for hosting the event, Z-man, Hobie, Torqueedo, Dakota Batteries, Pro Cure Baits, and AFCO for all their support.
Hour winners:
hour: Name
1. Matthew Craig 21.50"
2. Aaron Nix 22.25"
3. Philip Kowal 21.00"
4.David Burruss 22.75"
5. Thomas Willingmyre 22.25"
6. Robert Woodruff 21.25"
7. Lucas Cheda 20.50"
8 Alberto Flores 20.50"
Top Ten:
1. Dominic Doan 241.25”
2. David Burruss 203.00”
3. Matthew Brannon 200.75”
4. Joseph Tax 138.75”
5. Gilbert Garcia 125.75”
6. Damian Thao 116.75”
7. Joshua Vang 116.25”
8. Max Lee 107.25”
9. Ariel Salazar 106.50”
10. Jeffery Cabral 105.50”
Big Fish:
David Burruss 22.75”
Advertising