Clear Lake and TOC's

[sTony]

Obviously the fishing is tough up there for most right now. Any ideas as to why it? Or is it just bass fishing in general has gotten tough all over? This weekend I fished the WON BASS Pro Am on the Delta and it was tough for many. Even the winner went from 29+ one day to 12 the next. Brutal!

So what say you; weather, pressure, are we just getting dumber then the fish?

sTony

[Tobe]

These lakes could be going through a natural cycle and we were just spoiled the last five years.
But Clear Lake's shad die off and the killing of vegetation in the Delta sure hasn't helped things.
I remember in 2005 or 2006 when the Delta and Clear Lake starting producing giant bags, it was awesome to bring in a 30lb sack to the scales, then you were humbled to find out you were in 2nd or 3rd place.
Lake Berryessa might be our next premium big bass lake, prior to 2008, 10lbs just about guaranteed a top five check, in the next few years it could take 20lbs to even think about one.

[StockOption]

The shad die off on the pond a few years back was massive - I remember at the time thinking I could walk across the rattlesnake arm on top of all the dead shad. I think this then affected the spawn survival rate for all species for the last two years. Add to this the weird weather patterns we've had this past year and I think this leads to a much, much tougher bite. Most likely this is a pretty natural cycle for the pond as Mike already noted.

Overall I think the odd weather we've had all year has made fishing tough everywhere. At least that is what helps me sleep at night

[mac (Doyle McEwen)]

I don't understand the bit about lack of vegetation on the Delta, from my point of view there is more now, not less and it seems to be that way also at Clearlake..Not being a pro, by the stretch of anyones imagination, especially mine, I think the problem lies with fishing pressure more than anything else..Also, we all have a tendency to fish the same areas the same way time after time..Perhaps it is time to try some completely different areas and untried methods..

mac

[Sean Wayman]

Having been away from fishing for a few years I noticed 2 things when I came back. First Clear Lake and the Delta had way more weed growth. I dont think thats a bad thing at all, except it gives the fish alot more in the way of area's to live away from our lures. The other thing I noticed was increased pressure. Thats what I believe is a big part of it. Also there seem to be cycles. 10 years ago I kept hearing that Clear Lake was on the rise in numbers and size, same for the Delta. The spawn this year and last seem's quite strong so IM thinking we are gonna be on another upswing, time will tell. My experience on the Delta this year is I cant depend on an area to produce for more then one day. If I fish it on back to back days it does not produce the second day. Then again this must just be me.

[Cooch]

My experience on the Delta this year is I cant depend on an area to produce for more then one day. If I fish it on back to back days it does not produce the second day. Then again this must just be me.

No, you are not alone Sean! Like Mike mentions above, it's a cyclic thing, both here and Clearlake, prolly all our lakes fer that matter. We're getting a first hand taste, of what the folks in Florida experience with this Florida Strain bass. Unlike the Northerns, the Smallies & the spots we've fished for here all our lives, these Floridas, really do love their vegitation. When there was very littel grass in 2006-2008, patterning them was easy, especially after the heavy, early rains of 2007/2008 that muddied this river up until April. Those giant bass got shallow on the rocks, they were easy to catch. It's a whole new ball game now.

The other thing I think most anglers don't realize, is of all the bass, these Floridas are the most succeptable to temperature drops. It just messes em up. Toss in the fact the shallow living quatrters here, AND the tidal movement, these floridas here, especially the bigger fish, DO NOT like ta be in 0-6 foot when the temps drop. They want stability and the comfort of their deeper weeds. With all our goofy weather patterns this year, these Floridas here have not had the oppurtunity, desire or need, to venture up out of their deeper weed beds and remain shallow for any given period of time. Even when that really good punch bite was going back in June, July and early August, we weren't getting the big ones unless we found a canopy that was sitting over 6-12 foot of water.

I personally like these types of years, it forces me to think outside the box, try different things all the time to stay on em. It also plays right into my style of fishing here, it backs up and supports the stuff I've been telling guys here for the past 15 years, learn to fish this place deeper. Learn to understand and fish the weeds. If ya do this, the tides don't matter. You just have to figure out current flow direction, and how is it repositioning the fish in a given area.

In answering Tony directly, Yes, the ever changing weather, the constant barametric changes we've seen this year through out the entire state of California, and the abundance of weed growth in both Clearlake and the Delta, make it an extreme challenge to stay on quality fish day in and day out. I believe the spraying that took place all last week up at Clearlake, had as much ta do with the tough bite as the other aspects we ran into. I first hand counted 12 different airboats from RattleSnake to Rodman on Wednesday & Thursday, Big Bob said they had been spraying heavily since Monday. As for here, that rising barometer on the 2nd day of the WON, turned off those fish that had been gorging themselves fer the three days prior as it was dropping off the table!. That, is something we've seen here ALL year long.