Wonderful cool, crisp weather is greeting anglers now as we head into our winter fishing on Clear Lake. Many anglers are waiting until the sun is overhead (and when it is a bit warmer) while some are still fishing at daybreak. The bass fishing on Clear Lake continues to be good on live bait. Catfish action has slowed a bit and our crappie are still on the reluctant side. With the lake temperature in the upper 40's and low 50's, we're putting all of our cold weather fishing tactics to work. Here's how...
 
Bass anglers are finding that the deep water bite - which is a typical fall pattern - has become a bit tricky. The word is that bass at depth are picking up minnows and swimming off only to let go of the bait before being hooked. Light strike is another way of saying the same thing. Sucking scales is yet another. The key to hooking these lazy fish is to be sure to hold your rod (as opposed to resting it or placing in a rod holder). Use lighter line - eight pound or even six pound and good SHARP hooks. You may need to feed some line on the initial pickup or give a quick snap - one or the other should do the trick. (Yes, opposite approaches to solving the light strike, swim off with the bait, and gum the poor minnow bass bite problem.)  Want another fabulous idea?  Here it comes...  Fishing Guide Dale Robbers gave us a great report yesterday after coming off the water with clients. Dale found several locations that bass were actively feeding in shallow (5 - 8 feet) water. Fishing jumbo minnows into the fracas resulted in nearly thirty fish on the day - with the largest going 8 1/2 pounds! Dale noted that each location was good for only a few fish before the bass got wise to his tactics. He stayed on the move and looked for concentrations of bass feeding on bait fish. I've been hearing about this shallow water bite for a few weeks - Dale just did the best job putting it into a reliable report.
 
Crappie are still hit and miss. A few dedicated anglers are finding crappie staged at about 10 - 12 feet in 15 - 25 feet of water. The best reports have slab seekers getting about six fish a day for their efforts. There aren't any locations that truly stand out. We're still looking for the foul weather to come along and improve this bite. I've said it for years - "Crappy weather means Crappie fishing!" 
 
Catfish anglers have reported a slowdown in the bite over the last couple of weeks. Cooler weather and cooling lake temps have slowed things down for the whiskerfish.
 
In event news, I'm pleased to announce that the Clear Lake Ducks Unlimited chapter has scheduled their annual fundraiser banquet for February 20th, 2010 at Robinson Rancheria. Tickets are now available for the dinner banquet and a special pre-event gun raffle. The DU folks are offering an exquisite Beretta White Onyx 20 ga over/under shotgun with tickets just $20 each or six for $100. This is a shotgun that retails for nearly $2,000! You can preview the shotgun, buy shotgun raffle tickets, or get your dinner tickets all at Lakeshore Bait & Tackle in Clearlake. Call us at 707.994.FISH (3474), email Bob@994Fish.com, or come on by the store for more information. Let's all get behind DU - this organization has proven to be one of the top wildlife conservation groups in the nation!  Interested in getting involved at the committee level?  Give me a shout or come on by!
 
-Bob Rider, Owner
 Lakeshore Bait & Tackle