February 6, 2003 Bassers using rip baits and drop-shot rigs are experiencing much improved action and those using live jumbo minnows are still catching easy limits. Bass Guide Richard Pounds (707) 279-4739 had another banner trip on Tuesday morning. His clients were Mike Cokinos from Houston Texas and his 11 and 9 year old sons, Evan and Christian. The kids did all the fishing and they caught 12 bass during the 4 hour trip. The fish ranged from 2 to 8.5 lbs, Evan caught the 8.5 lb'er and Christian caught a 6.4 lb'er. All fish were caught and released on jumbo minnows in the Nice/Lucerne Area around tules and docks in 4 to 7 feet of water. Bass guide Ross England of Tackle It Sport Shop in Lakeport (707)-262-1233 says bass fishing is steadily improving. The top catches have been made ripping and drop-shotting in 4 to 7 feet of water on tule edges. Bass guide Dave Majestic 707-279-0472 had a great day on Tuesday, he caught 6 fish weighing from 2 to 4½ lbs in 3 hours while ripping chartreuse shad colored  Lucky Craft Pointer Minnows in the mid lake area near Shag Rock. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait & Tackle in Clearlake Oaks (707) 998-1006 reports red hot action with jumbo minnows and says rip baits and drop-shot rigs are accounting for good catches as well. Bob recommends fishing tule edges and docks in 2 to 8 feet of water.    Good Fishin.....Catfish Ed The lake level is still rising very slowly and is at 6.44 feet on the Rumsey Gauge. Last year at this time it was at 6.04 feet. Attention serious bass fishermen! For detailed "Clear Lake Bass Fishing Reports" Click Here (ncbf.com)   February 13, 2003 The bass fishing is rated fair for anglers throwing plastics and rip baits. Live jumbo minnows fished under a bobber are still producing heavy stringers. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait & Tackle in Clearlake Oaks (707) 998-1006 reports a decent bite with rip baits, Senkos and drop-shot rigs. Most of the fish are running from 2 to 3 lbs and knowledgeable anglers are catching 4 or 5 fish per outing. Rocky areas in 4 to 18 feet of water are producing most of the action. Bass guide Ross England of Tackle It Sport Shop in Lakeport (707)-262-1233 says the rip bait bite is improving in the north end of the lake. Bassers are catching 3 or 4 fish each ripping Pointer 100 sized baits in tules and submerged brush. The fish are ranging from 2 to 5 lbs. Bass Guide Richard Pounds (707) 279-4739 and his clients caught and released lots of bass with live jumbo minnows in the last couple of days. Yesterday they boated 23 bass up to 9 lbs during a 6 hour trip fishing in 4 to 6 feet of water from Lakeport to the County Park. Their best 5 weighed 36 lbs and almost all their fish weighed over 4 lbs. They had18 fish on Tuesday for a 4 hour trip including 5.8 and 7.13 lb'ers. Bass Guide Big George Hawley (707) 279-9269 and his friends had a banner day on Tuesday. They fished Lakeport and the entire west shore from 9am to 5pm. According to George: "the weather and fishing was fantastic!" They caught and released 36 bass including an 8 lb 13 oz'er and 7 lb 13 oz'er. Their best 5 weighed in at over 32 lbs. Bass Guide Bob Thein (707) 994-4886 had a 4 hour trip on Sunday and they caught and released 15 fish weighing from 2 to 5½ lbs. All fish were caught on minnows in the north end of the lake in front of  tules and on rock piles. Good Fishin.....Catfish Ed The lake level is still rising very slowly and is at 6.57 feet on the Rumsey Gauge. Last year at this time it was at 6.17 feet.   February 20, 2003 Although live jumbo minnows are still producing the most consistent catches, rip baits are accounting for some great action as well. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait & Tackle in Clearlake Oaks (707) 998-1006 reports some anglers are catching 30 to 40 bass per day ripping with Pointer 100's and Pointer 128's in american shad, chartruese shad and ghost minnow colors. Most of the fish are running 2 to 3 lbs with a few to 5 or 6 lbs. The most successful bassers are working down the bank in 2 to 10 feet of water with their rip baits. Bob adds that they are catching a few smaller fish with Senkos and drop shot rigs. Bass guide Ross England of Tackle It Sport Shop in Lakeport (707)-262-1233 says the rip bite is improving in the north end of the lake. Knowledgeable anglers are catching 5 to 10 fish per outing weighing from 2 to 3 lbs with a few 4 and 5 lb'ers in the mix. Bass Guide Richard Pounds (707) 279-4739 averaged 15 fish per trip for his clients last weekend. Most of the fish were over 3 lbs with quite a few from 4 to 4½ lbs. All fish were caught using  live jumbo minnows in 4 to 8 feet of water from the County Park to Lakeport. Good Fishin.....Catfish Ed The lake level is still rising and is at 6.90 feet on the Rumsey Gauge. Last year at this time it was at 6.36 feet.   February 27, 2003 Although live jumbo minnows are still producing the biggest catches, more fishermen are changing to rip baits with good results. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait & Tackle in Clearlake Oaks (707) 998-1006 says the fishing in the Oaks area hasn't changed much since last week. Pointer 100's and 128's are still the top lure choices and some of the better anglers are catching 20 to 30 fish per day by working the shoreline in 2 to 10 feet of water. Most of the fish are running around 2 to 3 lbs but there was a 12.8 lb'er caught as well. Bass guide Ross England of Tackle It Sport Shop in Lakeport (707)-262-1233 says rip baits are accounting for 6 to 8 fish per day for knowledgeable anglers and spinner baits are producing up to 12 fish per day.  Most fish are running from 2 to 3 lbs with a few up to 7 lbs and are holding in 2 to 6 feet of water in flooded brush and tules. Bass Guide Richard Pounds (707) 279-4739 had another good week. He and his clients caught 18 bass weighing from 2 to 8½ lbs with a lot of 3 to 4 lb'ers on one 4 hour trip and 33 from 2 to 6.14 lbs on another trip. He's still finding the best action from the State Park to Lakeport using live jumbo minnows in 5 feet of water. Bass guide Bob Thein (707) 994-4886 had a couple of good trips last weekend. On Saturday he and his clients caught 15 bass weighing from 1½ to 7½ lbs in the Redbud Arm of the lake, biggest 5 went 22¼ lbs. On Sunday they fished the north end of the lake and caught 18 fish from 2 lbs to 8 lbs.  The biggest five went over 25 lbs.  All the fish were caught with live jumbo minnows in 5 to 10 feet water. Good Fishin.....Catfish Ed The lake level has stabilized and is at 7.03 feet on the Rumsey Gauge. Last year at this time it was at 6.33 feet.