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Monday, December 21st, 2009

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    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: At the time of this writing I haven't been out on the lake for over a week. I go often. I'm responding to the catfish guy, but also submitting a bass report. There are giant catfish all over the lake. I really don't fish for them. I have been catching 10 to 20 lb catfish lately. Usually just 3 or 4 mixed in with much bigger numbers of bass (that all get released). I get more cats if I use minnows. If I was just trying for cats, I would put some catfish bait on. Offshore rockpiles tend to have catfish nearby. They also cruise near points. They will bite jumbo minnows. In some areas, if you fish jumbo minnows, you never know if its going to be a bass or a cat. Dragging the minnow behind the boat slowly is deadly. You really need to go slow. The most popular methods are dragging drop shot with the hook about 15 inches above the lightest weight that lets you feel the bottom (between 1/8 and 1/4 ounce). The other effective method is with the hook on the bottom and a splitshot about 15 to 18 inches above the hook. I often fish jumbo minnows during the toughest part of the season. Sorry, I am addicted to the feel of giant bass on the end of my line. I've succumbed to a very serious and addictive disease. I always catch lots of fish. I spend considerable time on the south end of the lake. When you consistently see fishermen a ways offshore, but staying in the same place, it probably means they're on fish. It's not uncommon for me to catch 12 or more fish in a location 10 feet in diameter during this part of the year. You don't use much gas that way. I save more on gas than the difference between the price of senkos compared to jumbo minnows (about a 1$ each). I could care less about impressing people with my catch. I just love that feeling of a big bass on my line. Offshore structure, like rocks can be great. During the cold months, rocks get even better. The fish are schooled during this time of year, so if you catch em, don't be in a hurry to move. Be sure to have your boat inspected and get the sticker. If you do all of this, you will probably discover how much more fun bass are to catch than catfish. I know, some guys just dig catching cats.
    City: Esparto

    Tips: Catfish tend to prowl around a little bit off of the rocks. Sometimes I have to make sure I stay close to the rocks or I'd spend my whole day wrestling those big knuckle biters off my hooks. I'm after the double digit bass. The big bass tend to like the edges of rock beds. The north side of Point Lakeview and Jones Bay might give you a good idea of where to start. Rocks, tules, and other cover (like docks) all together = fish. Oh, I almost forgot. In the winter, using light line, 8 or even 6 lb test will yield way more fish. I like 100% flourocarbon. If you can't land a 20 lb catfish in open water with 8 lb test, you are in the wrong sport. (Use the drag or backreel) This last tip is absolutely critical. Those fish would hate me for giving you this tip, (If they could hate).

Saturday, December 5th, 2009

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    Water Temp: 52-54

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I was able to guide a wonderful client from Missouri last night for his first Clear Lake venture! He and his wife own a resort on Table Rock lake - how tough is that?! His bass boat is always ready to go!! His goal for Clear Lake was a 6-11 which would have been his PB, but we fell a few ounces short - he could only muster a 6-3! He missed a lot of fish early in the trip but got better as the night went on and did get a limit over 17 lbs. Our combined limit was over 24 lbs - I had a small 6 lber also - 6-5. We landed 18 bass total using a variety of soft plastics with Smelly Jelly. The big Brush Hog wasn't as effective as normal - they wanted a smaller, compact bait. Most of our bass were quite shallow - some on the bank as the moon was covered with clouds early on. When the moon came out, I expected the bite to die - it got better! Oh well!!!!
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: With the cloud cover early, the night air temp was nice for Dec. About 10 PM when the clouds left - it dropped like a rock! Very cold days (and nights) are coming up. Dress warmly out there! We fished rock from Wheeler Point to Pirate Island and found no concentrations of bass - one here and one there! I have been hearing a few carp work at night while the bite was good. Last night a few became active as the moon got brighter - and so did the bass become a little more active. As some of you know - I always find that relationship interesting while night fishing!

Monday, November 30th, 2009

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    Water Temp: 53-55

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I am not on the global warming wagon, but it did hit Clear Lake last night for awhile. Almost 60 degrees at dark! For near December, really amazing! I took a client from Costa Rica and his father-in-law last night in the bright, bright, bright moon!! I told them that the best bite might be right at dark - the last 30 minutes of light. 20 min before dark - within his first hour ever at Clear Lake - he handles a nice bass that we never saw for about 3 minutes, and I soon netted his 6 lb 14 oz bass! I wonder why so many clients have happy memories of Clear Lake?!! Don't know much about his fishing background, but he played her like a pro!! He caught a few more 3 pounders and the "in-law" finally got on the board with a 2 1/4. While they lost several more (it was not a good bite) we headed in around 11 pm. It got real cold real fast, and a stiff breeze didn't help. Still, a real nice trip - and a happy camper!!!!
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: Hard to judge the bite after a 4 day holiday - even saw a boat or two night fishing on Sun night. The big fish was only about 15 feet deep and the rest were on ledges with moon shadows - about 15 to 25 feet deep. Good bite for awhile on Dollar Island because the breeze created a chop on the water.

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

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    Water Temp: 54

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Fished with minnows on South end of lake.Launched in Red bud.Windy and it rained for about 1 hour at 11AM.Caught 25 bass from 2.5 lb to 5.5 lbs.they bit in the rain.Had some very aggressive bites pulling the rod over on the holder.Some just mouth it and just sit there.Pay attention to line and rod.

    Tips: Light line 6 or 8 lb.light rod.

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

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    Water Temp: 55

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: If dbass can do a short report, so can I! Had my boat tuned up yesterday in Redding - glad Calvin is back!!! I towed home by way of Clear Lake - long day!! I fished from 5:30 pm 'til 10 pm. After good fishing on windy nights, the fishing was fair as the lake was dead flat calm with a pretty bright high moon. I had 14-15 hookup (2 good ones) but only landed 8 to 5 lbs 5 oz. Best 5 only 18+ lbs. The bite was improving as I left because moon was setting and some wind finally happened.
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: I was looking for above and below water shadows after dark. I like fishing isolated boulders during the bright moon - fishing the shadow side. Dock shadows were good too.

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

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    Water Temp: 56

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Fished the big pond yesterday and I had a very good day. 5 best 23.11 with a total of 11 keepers in the boat. lost # 12 that would have culled up another 2 lbs or so. crank'n crank'n and more crank'n.
    City: Windsor

    Tips: Speed kills!!!

Saturday, November 21st, 2009

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    Water Temp: 54-55

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: My clients and I didn't see any other brave (stupid!) souls out on the lake last night. Wow, it was ugly - windy and cold. I was hoping the cloud cover would hold for a few hours - and it did. A father (1st time to Clear Lake) and son team left the dock with me about 4:30 pm and we tried to find water we could fish. Above the narrows was out of the question, so we worked the Clear Lake and Rattlesnake arms. As long as the clouds stuck around - for about 5 hrs, the bite was pretty good. It was exceptional when the younger man stuck his personal best about 8 pm - an 8 lb 11 oz pig, using a brush hog. What a gorgeous fish!!! She was the only really deep fish we could get to bite - probably 25 feet. Dad loved the lake and handled the weather fine. He only caught about 8 bass to 4 1/2 lbs, yea, he likes California! He has caught several big ones in his home state of Texas however. He wanted his first "10" but we couldn't pull it off. I earned my money working the Minn Kota last night - tried to fish a little - caught one on a D&M swim jig. My clients caught 14 or 15 total with their limit about 24 1/2 lbs! Once the stars were out totally, as predicted by "Guido the Guide", the bite totally died. We had bumpy ride back to the Oaks and fished some more - but only one more fish hooked and lost. We were happy to get into our warm vehicles! Great clients - hard working and lots of fun.
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: Look for calm water - good luck!! Actually the lake should settle down in a day or two. Watch out for fog now - usually settles over the lake about 3 am. Beware of shallow rock areas - be careful!! Probably because of the wind, our fish were pretty shallow, not much deeper than 20 feet. As I mentioned, the deep fish wouldn't bite. Not as many bites as previous trips, but they did take the baits a little better. Water is cooling off fast!

Monday, November 16th, 2009

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    Water Temp: 52

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Minno fishing was great. Caughtt a 14 lb cat fish with our last dead minno. Sheriff ran a couple of boats off the lake to be re checks for muscle. Only they already had the $10 stamp?? He told them if there out of county they gotta get checked every time for $5.00????
    City: orangevale

    Tips: Let the idiots ruin the lake. Can you imagine showing up to fish and a major tournament is trying to get underway with every boat being inspected before you can get inspected? If they don't use dogs to sniff the muscles they are just ripping us off to make a couple of lousy bucks. I'm gonna start going to the delta.

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    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: can someone please help me, i want to fish clear lake for crappie and i really only fished the place for bass. but i have no clue when the crappie will start biting. can someone please help me out?
    City: elk grove

Saturday, November 14th, 2009

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    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Fished off of my neighbors dock for the past few evenings,swimbaits have been killin!I stuck my first stacy90 fish today! it was a nice chunk.Pretty excited about winter fishing!
    City: Lower Lake

    Tips: The fish are wolf-packin for sure,once you get bit,camp out for a while and try different things

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

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    Water Temp: 58

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: I think I had more fun last night than I deserved! I had three great clients from the eastern U.S. - enjoying Clear Lake for the first time! We fish from 4 to midnight - dealing with a slower bite and lots of wind. Two of them owned Rangers and were experienced bass guys. The other one had not bass fished that much and sat in the back seat! Guess who caught the first 2 or 3 and really had the most bites - that's right - the back seater!! The other two took over my Ranger - worked the trolling motor - tied their baits - and joked around the whole time! All I had to do was point out the spots, work the black lights - and eat!!! I only made about 15 cast with a swim jig - no bites. They wound up with a pretty even trip - all of them catching 5, give or take a few. They boated 15 total bass with a nice "best 5" at 23 1/4 lbs. The highlight was my "double" net job of a 6.13 and a 4.08. Both of the front guys double hookup arrived at the net at the same time - so - into the salmon net they both went, one after the other Does that count as a "10"?!!!! We fished from Henderson Point down to Rattlesnake Island.
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: Our timing was pretty good as there was no rain and the cold front hadn't settled in yet. They really did well in some rough water as the bass wern't very aggressive. While their "limit" was very good, they did catch a lot of smaller 2 1/2 lb bass. Saw very few of those smaller bass in the previous 2 trips. I had them using only plastics (4 people in the boat - my rule), and the 10" Power worm was the big winner - it worked very well and produced 3 or 4 or their bigger fish. Brush hogs were good along with Yamamoto Kreature baits. Bass seemed to be more shallow last night with the rough water - some on the bank. They couldn't get those 25-35 foot fish to bite. Fish were really scattered - had to fish a lot of spots for their 15 fish.

Monday, November 9th, 2009

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    Water Temp: 55-60

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Tough bite, bounced all over south end with the only action coming from Goat Rock area Cranking DD22's.Marked fish from 12 to 20ft but couldn't get them to commit suicide only one fish for me\but did get some Blow ups on the Punker but without hookup.(weather partial clouds and calm)
    not many boats out now I know why
    City: woodpile

    Tips: No clues

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

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    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Amen to that! The last time I was there was in May 09. The guy DID NOT EVEN CHECK. He just jacked the money and handed us a Sticker. Some big name tackle shop on REDBUD!!
    City: sacto

    Tips: Face it, It's just a MONEY GRAB!!! Kinda like the Delta Enhancement Stamp. Waste!!!

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    Water Temp: 63-65

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: I wanted to see if Friday's trip was a fluke, so a friend and I hit the lake again last night about 5:30 pm. Bite before dark was terrible - but no so after dark. I didn't think the fish were as active as last Fri night, but the quality was excellent! The bass continued to welcome me back as an 8-3 (brush hog) and a 7-1 (D&M swim jig) forgot to keep their mouths closed. We boated 34 bass total and my limit was 30 3/4 lbs. Our best 10 were in the 52 lb range. Unfortunately he lost a big one at the boat - but he did catch the most! Can't rush those big ones! Could I buy any cloud cover - not a chance. You can read a book out there in the winter high moon.
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: I remember Nov 4 several years ago when I found 63 degree water. Beat that last night - found 65 degree water! We fished any shadows we could find as the moon was was getting higher. One of the shadows produced the 8-3 - she was only in 15 feet of water. After 11 pm the bite started to slow as the moon was nearly overhead. Though we land a lot of bass, we missed a lot also. As the water cools more they should commit more. It was fun to catch a few on a Gator Tail worm (black/chartreuse), a bait I haven't used in years! The Berkley Power worm (black) worked well last night and produced a near 6 lb bass. My partner was using jigs a lot and they worked well, but they didn't seem to produce good quality bass. Weird.

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

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    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: We launch out of Red Bud Park, at the south end of Clear Lake, at around 9 am. The water is much clearer compared to last week, with the algae bloom being a little less intense. We start off fishing jigs shallow on rocky banks in Jago Bay. By 10 am we each get a couple bass, but nothing larger than 2.5 pounds. We then fish some deeper rock (10-20) around Wheeler, Gooseneck, and Frasier Points. We caught a few more bass a drop shot and shaky head, but still smaller fish (1-2 lbs). Decided to put down the slower lures, and start fishing reaction baits. There was absolutely no wind, but the algae bloom was increasing, so we had about two feet of water clarity. Throwing a black/red Norman DD 22 crankbait, I catch one just over six pounds. We were fishing a ledge near Shag Rock that broke off from 10 to 20 feet. Charlie tied on a brown/orange Rapala DT 14 and he caught a few more bass in the three-pound range. Moving around to similar areas in the Horseshoe and Soda Bay area, we continue to catch a bass about every half an hour (2-4 lbs). There was quite a bit of baitfish in the area. Silversides were all over the surface, and the grebes were catching the hell out of the shad. Every time the bird would dive down, they would come back up with a healthy three-inch shad. Surprisingly the crawdad colored crankbaits seemed to be working the best. All the shad and chartreuse colored crankbaits we tried fishing, didn

    Tips: Please visit www.russnyders.com for more fishing reports, videos, and info on Northern California Guide Trips.

    <a href="http://www.russnyders.com/">Rus Snyders Guide Service</a>

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    Water Temp: 62

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: In at county park at 9:AM and ran to the narrows to fish one of my favorite rock piles. I observed the area was covered with fish, We cranked, jigged, Carolina rigged and covered the water column from 6" to 35' with no bites. We fished several other areas with the same luck. I even tried the rip-bait and went through the tackle box pretty good. Finally in a very shallow area near Rocky Point I got a half hearted blow up on a bronze eye frog. That was it. Off the lake with out heads held low at 4:PM. Don't these fish know I own this lake. Guess not! We tried em shallow, deep, on the cover on the structure, docks, flats we flipped a slough. We tried em on top on the bottom and cranked em in the column. I guess even the bass fishing mecca of the world has a bad day. On the bright side, our next trip has got to be better.
    City: Redwood Valley

    Tips: This was a maiden voyage from my friend Don's new Triton. We dinged the prop near Lakeport. I have never seen the lake this low. Be really careful there are areas with rocks sticking up that I am used to running over. These rocks seem to jump up and bite you when you least expect it when we took off we were in 7' of water and then unexpectedly 1.5', ouch..... WATCH OUT FOR ROCKS all along the North end.

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

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    Water Temp: 63-64

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: After missing from Clear Lake for about 5 weeks, the bass were so happy to see me that they forgot to close their mouths! I fished the hour before dark and up to about midnight. I got two before dark on a crankbait and broke off one using a jig. She was over 5 or 6, but shouldn't have broken my line. Weird! After dark, a slight breeze was blowing which I think help off-set the bright moon. I fished docks and rocks that would create some shadows and that seemed to be a good game plan. I found the quality and quantity to be better than I expected. I'm not sure how many I caught in 6 1/2 hrs - close to 25. Though I lost some quality fish, my 5 best were about 26 1/2 lbs - a 7.0 was the biggest. I was fishing fairly deep, about 15 to 35 feet. When the breeze stopped, the fishing slowed. When it picked up again about 11 pm, the bite resumed. Beautiful night at Clear Lake - weather and bigger bass than Oroville - but not as big as New Melones!!
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: I spend most of my time around the narrows and the Rattlesnake arm. I caught several on a black/red brush hog. I found the D&M Piranha swim jig to be very effective with the cooling water. I caught my 7 on that bait (black/blue). The Power worm bite was pretty good too (black). Most of the bites were still pretty subtle - but I landed most of them. The real good bites I had - lost most of them. Strange how that happens. With the water still fairly warm, I was fishing my baits pretty aggressively - lots of action with the tip of the rod.

Sunday, October 25th, 2009

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    Water Temp: 64-68

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: On the water at 4:00 pm, fished 'til about 7:00. Fished the Narrows up to Shag and the Hwy 20 side up from the Oaks. Not huge numbers, but great quality fish. We drifted from Shag down to the shoal and did it twice, same over by Hwy 20. Most came on t-rigged augertails in 20-30 ft of water on ledges and rockpiles. We also got a couple tossing senko's at fish bustin' shad (or silversides? Never saw the bait) up shallow. Tried jigs, rip bait, crank and a spook towards dark, but they liked the worms. Didn't catch any fish from 6:00-7:00. It was one of those days when I wished I'd entered a tournament...but hindsight's always 20/20, eh??!! Stuck 9 total, all fat healthy pigs. Was fishin' with a gal who was just learning to use a baitcaster, so ended up cleaning out some bird's nest's-but she did great and was casting good enough to get two nice fish. We had only one single fish under 4 lbs, would have culled a limit of 24.3. The big fish was 6.7, and it was the only one which wasn't a football-she was long and lean. It was great, and this girl I took was STOKED after the backlash session ended! Fisher woman for life now.
    City: Clear Lake Park

    Tips: Electronics. As usual, lotsa smelly Jelly.

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

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    Water Temp: 65-67

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Well sense no one is talking yet I guess I will. The Basin Bassmaster did their last tournament before their toc in the Delta next mounth. 3 pm weigh in, good day for some with 17.40 lbs five bass and big was 4.70 lbs larggie. Most bass were caught all over the lake, some under docks, rocky points, rocky humps. Crankin was the # 1 lure, rattle traps, jigs, drop shot and split shot.
    City: Rocklin

    Tips: Look for the bait and crank it.

Saturday, October 10th, 2009

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    Water Temp: 63

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Fished both Sat and Sun, caught fish early and then bite slowed down after sun hit water.
    Had several good fish(good quality, no quantity) each day drop shotting 6'MM against walls and pilings.
    Picked up two better fish 5lb range on jigs(grn/pkn)under docks; slow, slow, slow.
    City: Hilmar

    Tips: Drop Shot MM worms against pilings and against walls; slow, slow, slow.