Catfish Report-July 30 1999 The fishing slowed down quite a bit in the north end of the lake but the south end is still giving up decent catches. Al Freitas of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake reports very good action in Cache Creek and fair fishing along the Clearlake shoreline. Al suggests fishing early morning (4:00 to 7:00AM) with large minnows being the top bait and cutbait such as mackerel the next choice. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in Clearlake Oaks says he hasn't had many reports from catfishermen but he is selling a lot of catfish bait. The best areas have been the Glenhaven shoreline and Rattlesnake Island. Clams and crawdads have been the top producers. The north end of the lake has slowed down quite a bit but the serious fishermen are catching a few. Live crawdads or a chunk of shrimp 3 or 4 feet under a slip bobber fished in the early morning hours has been the best method. The Nice/Lucerne shoreline and the Library Park area in Lakeport have been the top spots. There are also a few nice fish being taken with clams fishing from docks at night all around the lake. Good Fishin.................Catfish Ed As of 9:00AM this morning the lake level is at 3.94 feet above rumsey.   Catfish Report-July 23 1999 The catfishing is rated excellent in the south end of the lake but only fair in the north end. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in Clearlake Oaks says the fishing is fantastic. One of his customers caught 18 channel cats ranging from 8 to 12 pounds plus a 25 pound monster all on clams off his dock in Glenhaven. Rocky areas such as Rattlesnake Island are the best spots. Bob rates the top baits as clams and live crawdads in that order. Al Freitas of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake rates the catfishing as very good. Al suggests fishing the shoreline early in the day and then drifting the deeper holes in midday. Some of the better drift spots have been White Rock and Indian Island. Al rates clams as the number one bait with minnows and crawdads also producing good catches. The north end of the lake is producing fair fishing in the Nice/Lucerne area and in Rodman Slough. The top baits have been clams fished on the bottom and shrimp, crawdads or nightcrawlers fished 4 feet under a slip bobber. The early morning hours ( 4:00am to 7:00am have been the best times. The late evenings have also been productive when the evening breezes subside. Good Fishin.................Catfish Ed As of 9:00AM this morning the lake level is at 4.30 feet above rumsey.   Catfish Report-July 16 1999 The catfishing has slowed down a little the past couple of days but it is still rated as fair to good depending on what part of the lake you fish. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in Clearlake Oaks says very few catfishermen are going out. He had one report of a fisherman getting 4 nice fish with live crawdads in the Keys. Bob adds that most bass fishermen using plastic worms are accidentally hooking up with at least one big channel cat per trip. This indicates that the cats are available but nobody is fishing them in the Oaks area. Al Freitas of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake says the catfishing has slowed down quite a bit in his area. He attributes this to the majority of fish having completed their spawning and needing to rest before going back on the feed. Al recommends still fishing with clams as the best method and drifting with minnows or crawdads as the next choice. Ed Ott of Ed's Market in Nice (707-274-8029) reports a lot of fish coming in with chicken livers, clams and crawdads in the Nice/Lucerne area. I did real well last week and early this week including a 19 pound 3 ouncer last Friday morning. (Click for Photo) I caught most of them on shrimp and a couple on nightcrawlers using a slip bobber with the stop set at 4 to 5 feet. All of my fish were taken in the Nice/Lucerne area with the top spot being the tules just east of the World Mark time shares. It slowed down for me the last couple of days but I'm sure it will improve soon. There are a lot of reports of decent crappie fishing both in the Clearlake Oaks area and in the Nice/Lucerne area. The top bait has been medium sized live minnows. Good Fishin.................Catfish Ed As of 10:00AM this morning the lake level is at 4.62 feet above rumsey.   Catfish Report-July 9 1999 Catfishing is just short of fantastic all over the lake from Cache Creek in the south end to Nice and Lakeport in the north end. Al Freitas of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake reports excellent catches all along the Clearlake shoreline and into Cache Creek. Al suggests looking for submerged tires and or shallow large rocks near shore for the best results. Most of the fish have been running from 5 to 10 pounds and clams are the top bait by far according to Al. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in Clearlake Oaks reports excellent catfishing in his area also. The hotspots have been all around Rattlesnake Island and in the Keys. The top baits have been clams and crawdads. Bob had a lady come into his shop and report catching a 20 pound channel cat using 2 red salmon eggs and fishing in the Keys. The north end of the lake is so full of catfish that even yours truly has managed to catch a few. On Wednesday I caught a 10 pound 8 ouncer and a 11 pound 12 ouncer. Click for photo On Thursday I caught 4 nice cats from 9 pounds 5 ounces to 12 pounds 13 ounces. Click for Photo All the fish were caught using a slip bobber with the stop set at 4 feet. Four were caught with shrimp and two with nightcrawlers. I was fishing the Nice/Lucerne shoreline near large submerged rock ledges. Most anglers fishing the north end of the lake are doing well with clams and nightcrawlers. I am sure they would be very successful with shrimp but most are not aware of its potential. Good Fishin.................Catfish Ed As of 8:00PM Thursday evening the lake level is at 4.91 feet above rumsey.   Catfish Report-July 2 1999  The catfish are heavy into their spawning mode and can be seen in shallow water around large rock ledges and submerged tires all around the lake. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in Clearlake Oaks reports excellent fishing in the Oaks area. The hotspots have been Windmill Island, Horseshoe Bend, Rattlesnake Island and the Clearlake Oaks Keys. The hot baits have been clams for the smaller cats and live crawdads for the big ones. Bob reports quite a few channel cats in the 20 pound class being taken. Al Freitas of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake says the bite is very good all around the shoreline in his area. He also rates clams and crawdads as the top baits. Ed Ott of Ed's Market in Nice (707-274-8029) has had several channel cats over 20 pounds weighed in the last few days. Mike Armstrong of Nice caught a 22 pounder (Click for Photo) on Tuesday with a nightcrawler. Troy Rodgers caught a 24 pounder last Saturday (Click for Photo) also on a nightcrawler. The Nice/Lucerne area is giving up a lot of cats in the 5 to 12 pound class. I caught a 11 pound 10 ouncer and a 5 pound 8 ouncer on Wednesday morning in front of Holiday Harbor in Nice. I was using a nightcrawler with no weight and casting the worm right in front of them. It should be a good weekend, enjoy the holiday. Good Fishin.................Catfish Ed As of 9:00AM this morning the lake level is at 5.22 feet above rumsey. Back to Old Reports