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Sunday, October 5th, 2008

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    Water Temp: Off the Dock :)

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Yes, Dead carp everywhere, from 4-40 lbers, funny no smaller ones than that that I could see, either they are to healthy and not dying or the bass ate them while they were dying:) Ok I was visiting family so could not take the boat on this trip but was able to put in 45 min in the AM 10/4 and got 1 3 lber on LV 500 off Red Bud Pier tossing it as far as I could traight out off the tip of the pier, could not get any fish close to shore though there were lots of silversides close to shore, 10/5 got in 2 hrs in the AM at the same pier for 3 fish to 3 lbs, this time I went directly to the end of the pier and fan casted but not a touch so I was about to go to the next dock when I saw silver sides boiling next to the dock I was on, I tossed my LV 500 just past the boil and 3 cranks later I had a 3 lber on, took her off and did the same thing, 3 to 4 cranks later another 3 lber, took her off and repeated and 3-4 cranks later another 3 lber, I have not had 3 back to back fish to 3 lbs in 3 cast in let me see, last fall!!! Like the post before mine, it looks like fall has arrived with a better bite, I did speak to a few guy in bass boats that had strugled for limits, I think the bass are wolf packing so you have to find the pack, so use those search baits and than use those baits until the don't want it any more and than drag a Sweat Beaver or sorry yes that drop shot rod, don't tell me drop shots don't catch big fish, I got a 10 lber last year and a 7 and 8 lber this year on my beautiful shimano crucial drop shot rod!! I am going back up this week end for 4 days with my 4 year old son, I think we are going to be on to something!!
    City: San Jose

    Tips: I agree with the post before, the fish seam to want a fast moving bait, I tossed my favorite color senko and they would not touch it, I only took my fav bait casting rod so I only power fished. I tried a pointer but they did not touch it. I will be using my LV 500 along with some of the lures on the previous post, got to love this web site!!! Tight lines and God Bless!!

Thursday, October 2nd, 2008

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    Water Temp: 71

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Dont Blank very often but fished 7am to noon. nothin. Guy that launched and returned same time...nothin. I didnt even get a bite. Found TONS of siversides. TONS!! It was windy and a front moving in which didnt help.

    Tips: Threw everything, everywhere.

Wednesday, October 1st, 2008

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    Water Temp: 75.6

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Fished 6-days last week & caught 11 bass to 6.6lb
    all on jigs . Nothing else worked for me.
    City: woodland hills

    Tips: All of the fish came after 11 am to dark

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

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    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: On the water at 1:00pm Monday afternoon. While launching my boat at the state park, the first thing I noticed was the unbelievable amount of bait. Baby crappies, bluegill, and bass were everywhere, and all no bigger than 3 inches. As we got on pad and left the harbor we can across many schools of silversides as well. Our first stop was Rattlesnake Island. Because of the storm that was coming in a couple days, the wind was blowing out of the south instead of the north. We caught fish on rock piles that were near flats. Reaction baits were definitely the way to go. The bass were schooled up and chasing bait. Ripbaits, crankbaits, and swimbaits, like the triple trout and lunker punker all produced fish. The largest went just under 5 pounds. After it got dark, the wind died, so we tried throwing poppers and buzzbaits, but only got short strikes. It wasn

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

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    Water Temp: 71-73

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I guided a father/son team last night at Clear Lake. They were great folks - but the lake was strange - including dead calm for the first time in many, many nights! The stars were out - but it was raining everywhere - all night!! Actually, the rain was coming from below the surface and the raindrops were about 2 inches long in the form of the Mississippi Silversides. It has been many years since I have heard the "rain" sound one hears at night when what seems like millions of them come to the surface. Amazing. Other than that, the lake was very quiet - no other usual night sounds (Herons, etc). There was, as James mentioned in the previous post, that dead carp smell - very strong at night!! Quiet nights usually mean slow fishing and last night was no exception. We had a nice limit over 15 lbs - our limit was 3 bass!!! Dad got his biggest bass ever at 5 lbs 6 oz on a green pumpkin 10' Power worm near Shag Rock. The married son (trip was a gift from dad) finally landed his first bite - about midnight - a nice bass an ounce or two under 4 lbs on a Rodstrainer jig. Before dark I landed a skinny 6 lb bass that looked like she had forgotten how to eat. I was showing them how to fish ledges by Anderson Island and my "paid teaching bass" bit!! I was using a Rodstrainer jig too - both bass hit brown/orange color. We missed several that probably were small bass - now showing up. They even bit off the jig trailers.
    City: Yuba city

    Tips: This has been a slow period for many anglers, not everyone I'm sure. I have noticed that really late summer weather can slow the bite - dying weeds, lack of oxygen, etc. Maybe this is the problem for the carp - I don't know. As I mentioned - we missed a lot of good bites - they just wouldn't inhale! I have heard that from others too. Rain Saturday could change things for the better. Let's hope!

Friday, September 26th, 2008

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    Water Temp: 72

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: South end, Fri 9/26. North end, Sat 9/27. I love this lake (the few times I've fished it) and I'm an 'average' bass fisherman, at best (admittedly) but holy cow, was this the slowest I've ever seen this place or what? Yes, it was.

    Launched out of Red Bud Fri morning and fished several recommended areas, throwing anything from chatterbaits to swim baits. Got first (and last keeper size for 2 days of fishing, perhaps 1.5 lbs) within about 15 minutes. Thought things might be decent with that start; boy was I wrong.

    Threw medium to deep running crankbaits/Rat L Traps/Speedtraps after no success with spinnerbaits or topwater. Nothing. Around noon, got one on a dropshot (oxblood 6" roboworm), perhaps 10 inches. That would be the last fish of the weekend. TWO other bites after that. Whoa... it was just plain shut down.

    Great weather though! Ha. Interesting notes: Talked to others in adjacent boats and was glad to know it wasn't 'just us'... similarly awful for them as well. The weeds were still pretty heavy closer to shore. Water level down about 5-6 feet (thanks to the drought; we all know that). Let's see what else... Oh, dead carp floating on the surface EVERYWHERE (both North and South), including washed ashore and throughout the water itself; kinda creepy almost), and aside from the weeds, lots of algae. Poor Clear Lake was more like 'Death Lake' and the smell was pretty bad in some places from the decomposing carp.

    Other notes: Trillions of tiny white bait fish (not sure what they are, but are they common for this time of year?) so we figure 'wow---that's not exactly helpful for 'competition' where the bass' menu is concerned. Also, there were a ton of 'fingerling' bass but mommas and poppas were nowhere to be seen.
    City: San Rafael

    Tips: Wait for the fall bite; perhaps that will turn on in a couple weeks.... or maybe tomorrow. Who knows? But you did yourself a favor if you didn't fish CL this particular weekend. Oh---and bring a few beers along, while drinking 'responsibly', but of course!

Thursday, September 25th, 2008

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    Water Temp: 69

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: In at county park at 0630 hrs. First stop was Shag Rock where there were numerous other boats. Made a few cast and left. Hit several other areas near Bradus and Buckingham. No fish and no blowups on Frogs or Horney Toads. Finally went to the area of the "Tires" near Lucern and caught one 2 lbs on a Horney Toad. We then hit several of my key areas including shallow and deep structure. We threw crank baits, Carolina rigs, Buzz Baits, Brush Hogs, Senkos and lizards. Our best fish (3 lb)came in shallow water throwing a shollow running craw dad crank bait. I noted the area was void of mats had a gravel bottom and it seemed the bass had corraled balls of bait near shore. I also observed numerous dead carp everywhere and that is not an exageration. I have never seen so many dead carp in my life. Small ones big ones and a lot in between, everywhere, and they stink. I also observed a whole heck of a lot of young bass. Both last year and this years spawn are activley feeding on silversides. There is also a ton of bait everywhere. Also crappee are making a come back as there young are everywhere in the tules. The carp I oberved, that are not dead yet, have numerous white sores on them that are about the size of a quarter.
    City: Lakeport

    Tips: In the area of Nice and Lucern try a Craw Dad Crank in shallow water 1' to 5'. Cover a lot of water quickly. Watch for actively feeding fish. Throw to agressive fish with a top water of your choice. I had a white horney toad and colored the legs yellow. Small bass in the tules will hit small worms on a light slick shake jig head wackey. The smell of rotting carp in the morning is still better then going to work!

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008

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    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: dave and I put in at red bud at about 7am went to tip of indian is. and on first cast I caught a 1 lber.on a lt grn sinko whacky style. didn't get another bight for next twohours.then at the boat docks I caught a 7 lb cat on a worm also a 2.6 smallie . by 1:30 we caught 16, most very small
    City: santa rosa

Monday, September 22nd, 2008

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    Water Temp: 71-74

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Fished a tournament with the Fresno Bass Club last weekend. We had guys with 30+ bags. My fish came shallow on cranks and Sankos. There are in deep water as well in the 20-25 foot range dragging drop shot or Texas rigs. Purple death or robo worms in oxblood seams to work. I hit on deep crank baits worked like a jerk bait.
    City: Fresno

    Tips: Bills report should do you a world of good as he kicked butt last weekend with a 30+ bag at weigh-in.

Sunday, September 21st, 2008

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    Water Temp: 71-75

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Got to the lake on Tuesday and found a very tough bite BUT as the week progressed I found some good action. Most days resulted in a 17-20lb sack on a variety of techniques but there was one technique that worked better than all the rest. There are some deep fish but there are shallow fish too. With all the tournaments coming up I can't give it all up but don't get discouraged by reading some of the previous reports because there definitley is a pattern and there are some good ones to catch. In reality I should have had 22-25 lbs per day but I did loose some key fish but thats the way it goes.

    Tips: Cover a lot of water and pay attention to what your doing when you get bit. Don't leave fish to find fish or you will pay the price!!

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    Water Temp: 72

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: i thought it improved the bite in some areas. reaction bite was pretty good. i think that fall bite is coming soon!
    City: santa rosa

    Tips: email me

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    Water Temp: 70

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Fished a two day club tourney and the bite was tough! I had one fish each day and still got 13th out of 21 people. Many people blanked either one or both days...

    Of course, it didn't hurt that my one Sunday keeper was a 6.5 lber that hit a white spinnerbait off Shag. That one at least made the trip worthwhile.

    It seemed the front that moved through Friday really lockjawed the fish. The only people who got into them with any consistancy were fishing deep (25-30 feet) and slow. Of course, I didn't find that out until we wrapped up after the final weigh in.
    City: Mt View

    Tips: Deep and slow worked over the weekend, but with the weather warming that may change soon.

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    Water Temp: 72

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I did a "teach the lake" trip yesterday with two real good fishermen. The teachin' and learnin" was great, but the fishing wasn't. Sat was the first slight post-front of the year and I felt the bite suffered some. We did catch 5 or 6 nice bass up to 3 lbs and a couple of - yes - 4 inchers!! Good to see them. They are fishing a tournament soon so not much else to say.
    City: Yuba city

    Tips: Water temp has dropped 5 degrees in a few days so fall is coming - ready or not! Lots of boats on the water yesterday and we did see two nice bass caught (around 5 lbs?). Weeds have really thinned out in some places.

Saturday, September 20th, 2008

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    Water Temp: 72

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: caught 7 fish yesterday for a couple hours of fishing. 1 on the jig. all 2.5-3lbers...
    fished the day after and caught a 5 on a frog and a couple more on a crankbait.

    tough weather
    City: santa rosa

    Tips: email me

Thursday, September 18th, 2008

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    Water Temp: 73

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: forgot to mention i lost two of my reaction baits on two 5lbers...and caught a 10lb catfish!
    ill be out there friday. i believe the weekend possibly.
    ill mention one thing. i spent 89.99 on one of the lures that I caught my 6.5lber on in the morning....*wink*
    City: santa rosa

    Tips: email me

Wednesday, September 17th, 2008

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    Water Temp: 76-77

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Wow - the previous post is a new definition of the word "brief"! Big news of my trip last night (Tues) with a friend is that I finally caught a small bass - 10 inches! We did see many small bass chasing Silversides just before and after dark. I hadn't heard that "rain on the water" sound Silversides make for several years! All that action did make for one of the best "first hour after dark" bites I have ever experienced! It was "on fire" for an hour, then slowed quite a bit. Don't know how many we hooked, but put 35 or so in the boat for a best 5 limit of 18+ lbs. I decided to try one of my remaining 10" black/chartreuse Berkley Power worms (they arn't made anymore) on a shallow rock ledge - hoping it would look good in the bright moonlight. It looked pretty good to a 5 1/2 pounder - big fish for the night.
    City: Yuba city

    Tips: Again, no carp rolling in the moonlight. What is going on?! We used many types of baits and colors for lots of action - even before dark. I can't say any more because my friend is fishing an upcoming tournament. As was last Friday night - the night was gorgeous. That will change some as a cold front is moving in today.

Monday, September 15th, 2008

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    Water Temp: 75

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: 28+lbs night fishing.
    9.44lber
    6.12lber
    6.44lber
    4lber's
    and a whole bunch of 2-3#lbers
    City: santa rosa

    Tips: email me

Saturday, September 13th, 2008

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    Water Temp: 76-79

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: I had the pleasure of guiding two great fishermen - and just great guys! One was as local as you can get - lives in the south keys and the other from New York state. The eastern guy qualified for and fished the latest Bassmaster Classic. He made it through the Federation tournaments. It was a real pleasure to show him our great fishery at Clear Lake - though this is the slow time of year. And I was most embarrased when his first bass was a catfish!!! Anyway, we started out of Red Bud about 5 pm and worked our way up the west shore. The bite was really dead but we did get a few small ones before dark. The frog, topwater, and crank bite were dead. The few we caught were on green pumpkin Power worms. It is always fun to introduce new people to night fishing with a black light and last night was no exception. The bass even cooperated!! Our best bite was when the moon was lower - about 9 to 11 pm. Our best area was Anderson Island - on a few of my favorite spots. I think the breeze (a real breeze - not wind!) broke up the moonlight penetration and helped the bite. We also fished the east shore back down to Red Bud and found one or two more hot spots. We wound up with 16 good bass after dark, with three just above and below the 4 lb mark. Our 5 best were pushing 18 lbs - not great but ok. 10" black Power worms were very good (with light weight sinkers) and brush hogs worked too. I was very surprised at how shallow some of the bass were in the bright open water - as little as 4 feet. The guys had a double hookup in that shallow water! They seemed to be feeding as we got several hard hits. We missed several before and after dark that just didn't want to commit to the bait. After 9 pm, a different story. We only hooked a few bass deeper than 20 feet. Beautiful night, great company, and pretty good fishing!
    City: Yuba city

    Tips: A big surprise for me - where were the carp?! They have been active lately and I thought they would be with a pretty good bite last night. Only heard 2 or 3 all evening. They love the moonlight. Back to the drawing board on that theory. Actually, I think the past few nights have been very cool and that might be the answer. They were active during the late afternoon. As we ran back to Red Bud at 1:30 am, we could feel fall in the air. A bit chilly!! We fished a lot of dock shadows but really found most of the bass on rock piles, ledges, etc. I noticed that several areas of thick weeds have thinned already which should put more bass back on main structure.

Friday, September 12th, 2008

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    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: does anyone know if you can still get a boat in on the ramp at Konocti Vista casino/ I heard it was very low(the lake)
    City: sacramento

Monday, September 1st, 2008

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    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Fished North end over the long weekend. Wasn't expecting much given all the negative reports but this is old stomping grounds for me. I wouldn't say it was wide open, but I landed 5 on Sat (7:30-10am), 11 on Sunday (7-10am and 11-1pm), and 6 on Monday (7-10am). Early morning fish came on clown rip bait (5) and zara spook (6). I missed another 4 on the spook. After top water died, I fished pig-n-jig 90% (8) and frog the remainder (3). My 11-year old landed the big fish for the trip - an 8.5 lb on a minnow! My largest was just under 6 but most of my fish were quality in the 3.5-4.5 range. O.k., so where did I get them (the most important question)? Weed lines. Go to the backs of coves and look for SOLID weed lines. Not sparatic ones, but long stretches were it looks like the edge of an underground forest. The fish are just stacked on the edge ambussing the baitfish that come along. I did get my frog fish casting into these weed beds but all my other fish were in front of it.
    City: Saratoga

    Tips: See above. Find solid weed lines that are in 6-10 feet of water. The best weed lines I found were over 100 yards from the shore!