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Monday, December 3rd, 2007

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    Water Temp: 48-50

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Left redbud 12:00pm, off the water @ 4:30pm, with 12 fish up to 6.1lbs in the boat. Started fishing shallow flats up from the preserve and got the first fish on a pointer in 4ft of water. Switched to shakey heads with m/dawn robos and augertails and picked up a couple more off of docks along Anderson Drive in Jago. Decided to switch back to rippin' the Pointer on the flats and found out that was where it was at. Also got 'em on a KIng Shad. Most of the best fish, surprisingly, came in pretty shallow water. They're eatin'. Fun !
    City: San Anselmo

    Tips: Pointer in Ghost Minnow, King Shad in Tenn. Shad color, erratic retrieve, 2-3 sharp snaps, long pause, etc, you know the drill...

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    Water Temp: n/a

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: The Redwood Empire Bass Club will be holding their annual "turkey shoot" open tournament on Dec. 15th at Lake Sonoma. The tournament is open to everyone. Club membership is not required. Sign up early to secure your blast-off position. This will be a team tournament, so get your partner and sign up today. Entry forms are available at the Outdoor Pro Shop in Rohnert Park or at our web site: www.REBC.net. For additional information, drop me an e-mail.
    City: Rohnert PArk

    Tips: Cost is $100 per team which include big fish option.

Saturday, December 1st, 2007

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    Water Temp: 50-55

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Well we started out fishing right around noon over around Rattlesnake Isalnd...We got an early start on a long day/night fishing trip! We pulled a quick fish off a dropshot in about 18 feet of water..We then moved over to Shag Rock...We began working the outer edges of that bank all the way down producing us about 15 fish up to 4 pounds, ALL on dropshot and jigs..Caught about 8 more fish until it got dark..And when it did it WAS ON! At about 5:30 P.M. right when it got about at its darkest point the bite absolutely came alive..There was hardly any moon which was suprising for the bite to be so hot.. We started throwing BIG black and blue jigs! One was throwing with a rattle, and the other w/out..But it didnt matter...We went to a location right past konocti and pulled 15 fish out of ONE SPOT!! Including a 7.8 and a 8.4..They were the 2 last fish to bite! We then shot across to this point i know about right across from Redbud launch and began slamming them on 7 in. Mission Fish swimming them on the bottom! Dumped one easily over 10 and caught about 7 others up to 5 pounds! Overall about 40 fish most of them coming at night, unbeliveable trip! Bite actually shot off for us at about 8:30 or 9...
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: Fish are obviously scattered all over the lake, but this time of year more fish, and the bigger fish are going to be out deeper! We caught LL of our fishing during the DAY in about 18-25 feet...BUTTTT when night time came, we began to fish a little more shallower, it seemed those fish moved up closer to the bank to feed..ANywhere from 2-10 feet! GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY!

Wednesday, November 28th, 2007

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    Water Temp: 56-57

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: I was able to guide my "big fish client record guy" Tues late afternoon and night. He caught a 12-9 with me several years ago at Clear Lake. I would have rather gone a different night since a front had passed and Monday night was much warmer. This was the night he had to go - so we did. The bite was slow before dark - in fact we caught nothing. Shortly after dark, near Shag Rock, he finally sets into a good one and I net a 5 lb 15 oz bass. He was using a jig. Last week a client landed a 5-14. Do I hear 6 lbs? We fished areas around the narrows until the wind became a cold problem. We traveled south to the Clear Lake arm and were able to warm up a bit as there was no wind. Jigs, Power worms, ring worms, and yes, as the previous poster mentioned - black/red brush hogs! Glad he caught some nice bass! Back to our trip, as I suspected, the big bass bite was off. We did catch 21 fish but our 5 best were only around 18 lbs. My client really got going after 10 pm and caught several in a row. We hooked 2 or 3 pretty good bass but they just wern't inhaling the bait as in previous trips. Most of our fish were 20 to 25 feet deep.
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: A cold weekend at Clear Lake is forcast - that could be a good thing for the future. It should get more big bass into a heavy feeding mode. Most years the water temp in in the low 50's at this time - or even lower. The jig bite should get better along with bulky baits like the brush hog. Don't forget the Smelly Jelly!

Sunday, November 25th, 2007

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    Water Temp: 57-59

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Fished from 11/22 to 11/25. Quantity low but quality high. Nearly all my fish came on purple and brown jigs, in 10-15 feet on rocky points. I caught an 8.11, 7.9, 6.6, 6.0, 5.1 and a number of 3-4 pounders. Only one fish on a reaction bait in 3 days. The 6.0 came off a dock pilinmg in 10 feet just after dark on a black w/red flake brush hog, Thanks to Larry Hemphill for that tip.
    City: San Ramon

    Tips: Be very patient. Fish slow and watch your line. All the bite were pressure bites or I would just see the line move a little bit. If you wait to feel then forget it.

Wednesday, November 21st, 2007

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    Water Temp: 57-60

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Congrats for David and Marty on some nice bass! Who told you night fishing was fun?! Not true, har!!! Speaking of fun, some of the fun has left and the nights have finally turned chilly - but bearable! I guided a guy and gal last night and we had a respectable trip. She is a good fisherperson, having caught a 9+ with me on a previous trip and caught her PB this summer at 12 lbs, fishing on her own. She had a chance for another good bass around midnight but lost it. Overall, the bite was fairly good but quality wasn't as good - lots of 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 lb bass. He got a beautiful, stout 5-14, she got a skinny 5, and my 6-2 wasn't very thick either. Our 4 to 4 1/2's were gorgeous however! We did break 27 lbs for our limit - 29 total bass, so, ok I guess.
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: Bright moon and clear water isn't the best combination for night fishing - look for shadows. Look at the shadow pattern on steep walls - it will be the same underwater. Every nook and cranny shadow can hold a bass or two. My gentleman client is still learning things and I had to reminded him to face the bass when setting the hook. Sideways hooksets don't provide the power needed to solidly hook a big fish. He did a beautiful job of fighting and controlling his near 6 pounder. Bass at night always want to come to the surface and jump - even in cold water. Remember, during daylight - bass move from the pressure, at night - they usually move to the pressure. A fight with a big bass at night can be very short-lived - be ready with the net very quickly. Try to keep you rod tip a little higher at night. I have had clients unknowingly reel the bass past the tip of their rod. They keep swiming to the pressure. We caught most of our bass on Power Hogs and brush hogs, dark colors. A few on Blade Runner jigs - black red. I tried cranking before dark - nadda! We fished from Horseshoe Bay to the south end of the lake - docks and rocks.

Monday, November 19th, 2007

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    Water Temp: n/a

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: The Redwood Empire Bass Club will be holding their annual "turkey shoot" open tournament on Dec. 15th at Lake Sonoma. The tournament is open to everyone. Club membership is not required. Sign up early to secure your blast-off position. This will be a team tournament, so get your partner and sign up today.

    Entry forms are available at the Outdoor Pro Shop in Rohnert Park or at our web site: www.REBC.net. For additional information, drop me an e-mail.
    City: Rohnert Park

Sunday, November 18th, 2007

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    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Fished today and scratched out 6 fish with my best 5 coming in just over 13lbs. I was hoping to get a rip bite going but that bite never happened for me today. Took all my fish on the drop shot mainly fishing community holes around mid-lake. Lots of pressure all over the lake. Lake level is very low, haven't seen it this low in quite a few years.
    City: Petaluma, CA

Saturday, November 17th, 2007

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    Water Temp: 59-61

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: After the "short" trip on Thurs night - I decided to take myself for a "full" night and see if the night fishing would hold up. Indeed it did - and I joined the 30-30 club. What is that you ask? I don't know - I just made it up since I caught over 30 bass (32) with a limit of over 30 lbs (30 lbs 9 oz). Sounds good to me! Fishing was really good, reminding me of the great night fishing of 1988-96. I started just before dark at Kono Tayee, hiding from the wind. Throwing brown/orange Weapon jigs w/#180 Yamamoto grubs, I got a 4 and 3-6 on the first 2 casts. "This is good" I said! After dark the bite slowed some but then picked right up. About 8 pm the wind let up and I moved around sampling other areas. I fished my jig on a subtle ledge between the narrows point and Shag Rock and got the big "thunk" - that bite you can only get in November!! I forget my big net, of course, but I managed to fit all 9 lbs 2 oz of her in my smaller net. A 5-6 followed that one and I was on my way to a good night. I thought the bite was dying about midnight so I figured I would check out the Konocti Resort area - north and south and the back of the bay, and lo and behold, the bite returned! Really, the best two hours I have had in a long time. I caught around 15 to 6 lbs 3 oz and lost another big one like I did the other night. This one almost made it to the boat! I was alternating between Power hogs and brush hogs - both worked. Lots of Smelly Jelly! The worm bite seemed slow to me. Since the moon had set, some hits were in 5 feet of water and some at 25 feet. Welcome to late fall!! I was targeting rock points, walls, and a few off-shore isolated rocks that I know. You know it is a good night when the wind chases you off the lake AFTER some great fishing!! Cooler weather ahead?
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: I saw a bass boat or two returning to the dock as I launched, and I saw a boat crappie fishing at Kono and they left at dark. Never saw another boat for 8 hours in Clear Lake - a new record?!! Go figure - I saw a few on Thurs night! I am not into global warming yet, but the lake has the warmest surface temp I have ever seen this late in the year 59 to 61 - after midnight. Amazing. To provide a better report, I should have thrown a spinnerbait - which I had rigged, and a crankbait, which I had rigged! The jig and hog bite was just too good to leave - sorry! I wait all year for these solid "thunks" - I love 'em. I found it interesting that some docks held fish and I couldn't buy a bite on some. This time of year it is really a good idea to move around because, trust me, the bass are moving around too!

Thursday, November 15th, 2007

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    Water Temp: ?

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Shipwrecked on Clear Lake at 10 pm - no power except a small oar! I thought that sounded dramatic! Actually, I went with a friend who has a "new" '01 bass boat. After some great night fishing, his boat lost all battery power and we (I) paddled to Shag Rock. I had my cell phone - and with the help of Terry Knight of Lakeport, was able to get ahold of the sheriff who boated down from Nice and rescued us. He towed us to Brados Marina and jumped the batt and got us going! Thanks a million to the sheriff's dept and to Terry!!! My friend didn't have his medication with him so we needed to get back. To top everything off, the fishing was simply great after dark on brush hogs and 10" Power worms. We had 17 in the boat up to 7 1/4 lbs and I lost my first "hog" of the fall. In about 4 hours we were able to muster a limit of 24 1/4 lbs. Some were pretty shallow - maybe 8 to 10 feet.
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: It used to be that one would never see another boat on Clear Lake in November. Not any more! I'll bet we saw 5 - one or two bass boats. Who could asked for better weather - it was not cold out there last night - very unusual. We didn't get to fish a lot of areas, just around Buckingham Point to Horseshoe Bay. We found the bass to be schooled a bit - we seemed to get more bites in some areas that others. Outer dock piling were holding some bass. Deep bass didn't seem to be as active, though I landed a 5 pounder in 25-30 feet of water.

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    Water Temp: 60

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: 10 fish all on breaks or drop offs 10 - 30ft. Brush hogs, drop shottin and a few jig fish. best 5 was only 12 lbs but at least I found them today.
    City: Petaluma

    Tips: use your electronics.

Tuesday, November 13th, 2007

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    Water Temp: 62 - 68

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Threw a swimbait most of the morning. only 1 fish. 3lbs. found a GIANT school of threadfin shad, amazingly big. fish finder just showed 2ft of bottom, when I know I was in 15ft. fished in and around that. 7lbr.......Catfish..... man did I think I had a big one on! Started drop shottin a break line and got 2 more up to 3.5lbs. It was a little windy and I avoided a few spots because of that.
    City: Petaluma

    Tips: Your always rollin the dice with the swimbait, but it works year round for me. Drop shot will always get you something.

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    Water Temp: 57.5

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: We got out there about 9:00 we started out using a drop shot rig wtih a 1/4 ounce weight in about 14-30 ft. we were using tiny brushogs catching a lot of fish we even got two 5 pounders.
    City: Elk Grove

    Tips: zoom brushogs in watermelon red (drop shotting or texas rigged)

Saturday, November 10th, 2007

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    Water Temp: 60

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Went out with Jim and stunk it up. Cold front took temps 20 degrees below days before that. Tried a variety, swim bait, crank bait, spinner bait, chatter bait, t-rig, drop shot, senko. Jim got one that got off half way back, Fished docks, rocks, breaks, points 5-25 feet. Wind did kick up. Figured prople also need to hear the bad stuff instead of "we nailed em'" or best five 20+. Still better than workin!
    City: Pacifica

    Tips: Cold fronts push fish deeper. Use a guide if you can. Jim's buddy is a guide up there. He was on the water he same day we fished and took a 15 minute break to fish and got 4 hits including a 6 lb donkey. Guess we just don't know which swim bait to throw.

Friday, November 9th, 2007

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    Water Temp: 63-66

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Amazing - a Wednesday in November and bass boats everywhere - like a bug hatch! My client and I wondered what happened to working folks. The bite seemed to be tough since many were wandering around the lake - all hammering the same spots - with no one hooking a bass that we saw. There are some nice one being caught however, so - stick with it! Our plan was the start mid-morning and fish until dark - it worked! My client broke off the first two he hooked and I quickly retired that reel. It was fresh line - might have been a bad batch or frayed on rocks. We worked around the narrows and south lake. He landed 3 and I got 1 up until about 4 pm. The last hour and a half we caught 6 bass from 3 to 4 lbs and one catfish. We were fishing one of the rock ledges above the narrows. I had thought about Shag Rock before dark - 3 or 4 boats there until dark - incredible! We had a nice limit of slightly over 17 lbs - ok I guess. Thursday was very tough out of Red Bud, only 3 in the boat.
    City: Yuba City

    Tips: The #301 Yamamoto Kreature bait was our best producer. I did catch one on a shad colored Norman DD-14. Most of our bass were about 20 feet deep on steep breaks. We tried to stay offshore as much as we could since the bank is pounded all day long - for the last month? The pressure wasn't the only problem - very clear water with no wind.

Saturday, November 3rd, 2007

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    Water Temp: not sure

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: went out of the oaks at 630 am. fished paradise cove, caught a 3 pounder on a hologram shad robo worm. drop shoting and I was throwing a yamamoto hula grub. I caught 2 3 pounders 1 4 pounds. and several others in the 2 pound range. all on the hula grub,I would take the legs off of the grub and drop shot the grub and hula skirt. we ended up with a total 13 fish. the water temperature has definetley droped since last week.not to bad for not having any electronics.
    City: sacramento ca.

    Tips: fish slow most of the fish were caught in about 10 to 15 foot .off rocks.

Thursday, November 1st, 2007

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    Water Temp: 60-63

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: i concure with the last report. thought i was in the FLW yesterday. 2 boats on every spot. all the fish i managed ware small and dragging a jig and pig in 20 to 30 foot of water. missed a lot of bits the ones i caught were like the lure was hung or a little resistance and i set.
    but the weather could not have been better.
    all the boat traffic sucked.
    City: san ramon

Tuesday, October 30th, 2007

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    Water Temp: 60 - 63

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Two of us went out of the Oaks and stunk it up. Tried to find fish on rocks in the south with a River2sea bottom walker (tried Baby bass and trout colors), crankbaits, T-Rig and even tried senkos in the tulies. Tried spook and frog. Nothing all the way to windflower. First fish when the wind picked up a little and Lucky walked by with his doe....T-rig bhog for John, another shortly thereafter accross from the resort, no luck under the docks at all, went up to shag rock and got a couple off the rocks south of there but all on plastic. 4 fish is all we managed. Only got fish in wind mostly fishing 10-2o feet. No big fish...
    City: Pacifica

    Tips: Only fish we could muster were very light bite fishing slow. No reaction bite or swim bait bite for us. There was almost no wind and it was sunny after 12:00 off the water at 3:30. For now I would fish slow in rocks and if you find a fish don't leave for a while.......

Sunday, October 28th, 2007

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    Water Temp: not sure

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: we started fishing at 8am you could'nt ask for a niceer day. started out throwing x-rap my brother was throwing a robo worm. and he hooked into one on his 2 cast and again on his 3rd. both were small fish though. I started throwintg a yamamoto hula grub I pinched the legs off and drop shot it . I picked up a couple of 3 lbs. we fised till 3pm all fish were taken by hula grub and robo worms. we ended up with 24 fish nothing bigger than 4 lbs. but it sure beets mowing the yard.
    City: sacramento ca.

    Tips: fish were all caught in about 10 ft. off rocks. and docks and fish slow . also their were a few times when they would just pick it up and you would'nt even feel them

Wednesday, October 24th, 2007

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    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Well this is not my report but for anyone who is thinking about heading up to Clear Lake the bite has been good, just look up the FLW results at Kanakti resort, a 13 lber was caught and a few over the 10 lb mark and tons and tons of 4-7 lb fish, the tourney is over today Sat with only 10 boats fishing out of Redbud, if I was not sick I be fishing.
    City: San Jose

    Tips: The pros are getting them on swim baits, jigs and zoom swamp crawlers, a pro got a 11.2 on a zoom 6 inch swamp crawler, you got to love that.