What is the best bass lake in the country?

[basshol]

New #1 As it should be. According to Bassmaster CLEARLAKE runs on top.25lb bags don't even get checks

[Kelly Ripa]

And yet the ABA tournaments at Casitas wiped Clear Lake out this year. Look at the ABA weights here this year and compare.It was even better than the Delta. It went from zero to hero after the lake went down to 26% ABA had their first ever zero legal fish caught in a tournament here 2 years ago prior to the lake spilling. No more trout plants of any note anymore.... 600 lb plants a few times in early spring...Don't get me wrong I love Clear Lake ...went to High School there. The Chamber of Commerce and the local county big wig politicians are clueless as to what they have. If you could just get them to stop spraying the place it would be off the charts....There is just so much pressure on it.....I like my little pond...zero pressure but anglers are slowly coming back from the SoCal lakes they all left for. No body contact means no water skiers only the rental boats to contend with and that's only in the summer months. I'm glad Clear Lake is #1 but it's still not worth the 900 mile round trip for me. I'm glad Casitas is off the radar....3 boats yesterday morning at the launch ramp when I launched...

[toddmc]

It’s great to hear that Casitas is doing well, but you have so much more variety and ways to catch them at Clear Lake, and so much more water to fish. I caught three fish over 5 on three completely baits within an hour a few weeks ago. There just aren’t many lakes in the world that are so fertile that you can basically pick what you want to do and make it work. I have been in shad schools on Clear Lake the size of a football field that blacked out my electronics. That is some crazy fertile water.

[toddmc]

And yet the ABA tournaments at Casitas wiped Clear Lake out this year. Look at the ABA weights here this year and compare.It was even better than the Delta. It went from zero to hero after the lake went down to 26% ABA had their first ever zero legal fish caught in a tournament here 2 years ago prior to the lake spilling. No more trout plants of any note anymore.... 600 lb plants a few times in early spring...Don't get me wrong I love Clear Lake ...went to High School there. The Chamber of Commerce and the local county big wig politicians are clueless as to what they have. If you could just get them to stop spraying the place it would be off the charts....There is just so much pressure on it.....I like my little pond...zero pressure but anglers are slowly coming back from the SoCal lakes they all left for. No body contact means no water skiers only the rental boats to contend with and that's only in the summer months. I'm glad Clear Lake is #1 but it's still not worth the 900 mile round trip for me. I'm glad Casitas is off the radar....3 boats yesterday morning at the launch ramp when I launched...

I remember winning an ABA tournament on Casitas with the only limit in the tournament in the spring of maybe 2005. Do I still have to go and get my boat band and have my boat quarantined for several days before I fish? I am interested in making the trip.

[pd]

Yeah, no - Clear Lake is blowing everything else out currently. Casitas has had a great resurgence but doesn’t even compare in my opinion. Think about the weights week after week, big time tournaments week after week, lake pressure, etc. up north. Clear Lake is amazing to be able to sustain such a fishery. Casitas may have a handful of boats on any given day and only 1 tournament circuit happening. Throw all that pressure on Casitas and it would fold up like a beach chair. No comparison.

[Kelly Ripa]

True P.D.....but I still remember the 100+ boat tournaments there

Sorry Todd ....36 days to get in

I had three over 5 on three different baits the other day....I go slowly and vacuum up every bite I can. LOL

[pd]

That sounds fun Rip. From everything I’ve heard you’re sitting pretty being there right now. Enjoy!

[Mitch]

True P.D.....but I still remember the 100+ boat tournaments there

Sorry Todd ....36 days to get in

I had three over 5 on three different baits the other day....I go slowly and vacuum up every bite I can. LOL

36 Days ??? THAT'S INSANE !!!! You mean even if my boat passes an inspection I still have to wait 36 days before I can even USE it ? No wonder there's no one fishing it !!! I used to go there twice a year from Fresno.

[Kelly Ripa]

True Mitch. After the inspection you wait a month to get tagged. It seems some guys have boats that they use here and other boats for other waters. I am blessed to live 3 miles away so while I'm stuck.....It's not a bad place to get stuck at but I sure wouldn't want to compete in bass tournaments these days against the FFS crowd....And those guys tore this place up....I see FFS on trackers that are worth ten cents without it and they can compete. I'd rather watch paint dry than stare at my baits on the screen all day ... We don't have schools of 8 pound fish following our baits anymore but our size have become impressive with every year that has followed the spilling of the lake. I have noted that the fish have bigger/sharper teeth? Than before and last week not once but twice while someone in the boat was winding a dink across the surface to the boat we had very large fish try to eat them at the boat. They don't seem to like bass colors on our baits...But they haven't had trout to eat in a long time so these bigger girls have been eating something and my bet is it ain't shad ....They would starve to death chasing bait that small by burning more than they are consuming. Our big fish are proverbial needles in haystacks but not for the FFS crowd.

[Kennortonjr]

True Mitch. After the inspection you wait a month to get tagged. It seems some guys have boats that they use here and other boats for other waters. I am blessed to live 3 miles away so while I'm stuck.....It's not a bad place to get stuck at but I sure wouldn't want to compete in bass tournaments these days against the FFS crowd....And those guys tore this place up....I see FFS on trackers that are worth ten cents without it and they can compete. I'd rather watch paint dry than stare at my baits on the screen all day ... We don't have schools of 8 pound fish following our baits anymore but our size have become impressive with every year that has followed the spilling of the lake. I have noted that the fish have bigger/sharper teeth? Than before and last week not once but twice while someone in the boat was winding a dink across the surface to the boat we had very large fish try to eat them at the boat. They don't seem to like bass colors on our baits...But they haven't had trout to eat in a long time so these bigger girls have been eating something and my bet is it ain't shad ....They would starve to death chasing bait that small by burning more than they are consuming. Our big fish are proverbial needles in haystacks but not for the FFS crowd.

Sorry to hijack, but I really agree about the FFS.

Can we get a FFS debate going with the level of vitriol that pollutes the political threads? Perhaps even the politics of it will make strange bedfellows (whoopass, JV maybe you guys will have my back). I’m not a tournament guy, so maybe the majority will have a different opinion. I for one am against FFS. Perhaps if there were more tournaments banning the practice I might even become a tournament guy. But it just seems so anti-sport. Fishing is literally wired into our DNA as a “random reward” while out hunting/gathering. Throw hard-earned experience into the mix and it becomes even more rewarding. I’m not saying there isn’t still a level of skill involved with FFS, but like a lot of modern technology it cheapens the experience. I’m a Randy Blaukat guy. When you look at how big tech has taken over so many people’s lives (for the worse), it’s hard to see FFS as just another part of this awful trend. No AI for me, no social media, and no FFS.

[jiggin4bass]

FFS (aka) Cheater Boxes

[WRB]

Casitas isn’t off the radar rated #4 in the country, expect more company.
Tom

[Kelly Ripa]

To big a hassle to get into #4 for 99% of the fisherman....even with a kayak. Locals are all I see...Very few have a boat for each lakes B.S. to fish out of and they are the 1% Tom.

[ash]

To big a hassle to get into #4 for 99% of the fisherman....even with a kayak. Locals are all I see...Very few have a boat for each lakes B.S. to fish out of and they are the 1% Tom.

Yes Casitas is a great semi-private lake to fish. They have made it damn near impossible for an outsider to put a vessel on the lake, which is a dam shame. The same is happening in norcal due to COVID-19 draconian measures, erm i mean golden mussel invasives.

[WB Staff]

The full list: post699726.html#p699726