April 7 2000 The bass have started to spawn in the north end of the lake and in the Clearlake Oaks Keys. They are holding in flooded tules in the south end. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in the Oaks reports the bass are staging and some are already spawning in the Keys. The hot baits have been lizards, grubs and floating worms. R.C.Stephens of Clearlake Oaks caught a 9.86 pounder on a Dead Ringer worm in the Keys. Jeanette Owen of Lakeport Tackle (707-263-8862) reports lots of bedding fish in the north end of the lake. The top producers have been lizards, Brush Hogs and plastic grubs. The water is very clear so the fish are spooky, she suggests keeping a good distance between you and the fish. Al Freitas of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake says the fish in his area haven't really started to spawn yet. He recommends flipping to the inside of tule lines with watermelon red Brush Hogs for lots of 2 to 3 pounders with an occasional 6 or 7 pounder. Good Fishin.......Catfish Ed The lake level is still holding at 7.55 feet on the Rumsey gauge. (7.56 is considered full pool)   April 14 2000 The bass fishing was very good all week although the weather change has slowed it down somewhat. The fish are on the beds in the north end and still staging in the south end. Al Freitas of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake reports good fishing just out from the shallows in the first breaks at around 12 feet. He lists Brush Hogs, Dead Ringers and Baby Bass Zipper Worms as the top baits for fish running 2 to 3 pounds with an occasional 6 or 7 pounder. Percy Oved of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in the Oaks has a similar report. He recommends throwing pig-n-jigs, Brush Hogs and Zipper worms around rockpiles and outside of tule lines for fish in the 2 to 3 pound range with a few bigger ones thrown in. In the north end of the lake the fish were on the beds in full force until the weather front hit us on wednesday afternoon. The weather is still unsettled so the bass are moving back and forth from their spawning beds to a little deeper water and are a little tougher to catch. When they are on the beds plastic lizards and grubs are tops. Brush Hogs and Dead Ringers seem to produce better when they are staging outside of them. Good Fishin.......Catfish Ed The lake level remains up to full pool at 7.58 feet on the Rumsey gauge. (7.56 is considered full pool) April 21 2000 The storms that came through the area earlier this week put the fish off the beds and back to the staging mode. Surface temperature has been running from 55 to 62 degrees. The weather forecast calls for showers on Saturday but nothing serious so the fishing should still be decent. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in the Oaks says most fishermen have been concentrating on the Oaks Keys to get out of the wind and for warmer water. Flipping Brush Hogs and Dead Ringers in tules and brush has been the most productive method. Skipping weightless worms under docks has been accounting for decent catches as well. Al Freitas of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake says the fish are holding outside of tule lines and the outer edges of flooded brush. Dead Ringers, Baby Bass Zipper Worms and Brush Hogs are accounting for most of the fish which are going from 3 to 5 pounds with a few to 7 pounds. The fish are holding a little shallower in the north end due to the slightly warmer water. Large plastic worms and lizards pitched or flipped into shallow brush or inside tules are producing good results. Tossing weightless worms under shallow water docks in the Nice/Lucerne area is accounting for some nice fish to 5 and 6 pounds. Mike Hayes of Nice nailed an 8 pounder off the public pier in Nice with a 7 1/2 inch blue flake curly tail worm. Good Fishin.......Catfish Ed The lake level remains slightly above full pool at 7.59 feet on the Rumsey gauge. (7.56 is considered full pool)   April 28 2000 The bass fishing has toughened up quite a bit due to the weather fronts that have been passing through the area. Some of the fish have spawned while others are still on the beds or staging just off the beds. Percy Oved of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in Clearlake Oaks recommends flipping or pitching Dead Ringers, Chubby Crawls or Senkos in the Keys for bedding fish to 5 pounds. The main lake is productive also but the wind has been hampering that effort. Al Freitas Of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake suggests fishing the outside of tule lines with a watermelon red Brush Hog. Al says for more action, throw out a minnow with a bobber off the back of the boat and work the Brush Hog ahead of it. He adds that for lots of small fish, flip or pitch inside the tule lines. There are a lot of fish on their spawning beds in the north end but they are hard to coax into biting due to the wind. The weather prediction is for a warming trend starting on Saturday which should greatly improve the fishing. Good Fishin.......Catfish Ed The lake level is just below full pool at 7.50 feet on the Rumsey gauge. (7.56 is considered full pool) Back to Year 2000 Bass Reports