CatfishED.com

August 1, 2002

     Although there are some decent fish being caught in the north end of the lake, the majority of serious bass anglers are fishing mid lake and the Redbud and Clearlake Oaks arms in the south end.

     Bass guide Sandy Hager of Tackle It Sport Shop in Lakeport 707-262-1233 says drop-shotting with 4½ inch Robo Worms is still the best producer for her and her clients. She had a 4 hour trip yesterday that produced 8 fish from 3 to 6 pounds plus a lot of 10 to 13 inch fish for her and her client. They were drop-shotting in 8 to 24 feet of water near Shag Rock.

     Cary of Don's Bait & Tackle in Clearlake 707-995-9668 says the bass fishing has been pretty slow with most bassers catching only 2 or 3 fish per morning in the Redbud Arm. Topwater baits such as buzzbaits, Pop-R's and Chug Bugs thrown in shallow water near docks and tule edges have been accounting for most of the action. The frog bite has been very sporadic. Most of the fish are weighing in at 2½ to 3 pounds but the fish that are falling for plastic frogs are running a little larger at 3 to 5 pounds.

     On July 31st. bass guide Big George Hawley 707-279-9269 spent a half day fun fishing with bass guide Richard Pounds 707-279-4739. They had 10 keepers with the best 5 weighing about 17 pounds. They also had quite a few dinks. Big George caught a 10 pound channel cat.

     The best bite was in the morning with 7 fish - 1 on a buzz bait, 1 on a dart head with 4" baby bass RoboWorm and 5 on drop shot using baby bass and Aaron's Magic. After breakfast they moved out of the Shag Rock area and into the Redbud arm where they caught 3 more keepers and the catfish on a dart-head with 4" RoboWorms in baby bass.

Good Fishin.....Catfish Ed

     The lake level is dropping and is at 3.30 feet on the Rumsey Gauge, 7.56 is considered full pool.

August 8, 2002

     The majority of the bass action is still occurring in the south end of the lake. I believe there is decent bass action in the north end but almost everyone is fishing in the south.

     Brad Farrin of Don's Bait & Tackle in Clearlake 707-995-9668 reports most bassers are catching 4 or 5 keepers weighing from 2 to 3 pounds plus lots of 10 to 11 inchers. Drop shotting in rocky areas 12 to 15 feet deep is producing most of the action.

Bass guide Sandy Hager of Tackle It Sport Shop in Lakeport 707-262-1233 says she and her clients have had good results drop shotting in Soda Bay off steep banks in 8 to 10 feet of water. Sandy adds that Edgewater Resort has been producing lots of 3 to 7 pound bass right off their shore with medium size live minnows.

     On August 3 Bass guides Big George Hawley 707-279-9269 and Richard Pounds 707-279-4739 spent a half day pre fishing for up coming clients, fishing mostly in the Clearlake Oaks arm in 5 to 15 feet of water drop shotting with 4 inch Roboworms and Persauders in the baby bass color. They ended up with 8 keepers for about 16lbs for their best 5.

Richard has been averaging 4 or 5 keepers weighing from around 2½ to 4 pounds for his clients plus 40 or so "dinks" from 9 to 11 inches which are a lot of fun to catch.

     The drop shot is simply a way of tying your hook up the line and putting the lead on the bottom. Raising the bait off the bottom gives fish a different look, and it is often easier for them to see it. The drop shot is best fished on light line and spinning outfits.

Click here for a detailed explanation of the drop shot rig.

Good Fishin.....Catfish Ed

     The lake level is dropping and is at 3.00 feet on the Rumsey Gauge, 7.56 is considered full pool.

August 15, 2002

     Although the majority of bass anglers are fishing in the south end of the lake, the few that are fishing the north end are catching their share of bass.

     Bass guide Sandy Hager of Tackle It Sport Shop in Lakeport 707-262-1233 reports good bass action in the Rattlesnake Island area. Drop shotting with 4 inch Robo Worms in 10 to 20 feet of water has been accounting for most of the action. On wednesday morning Sandy's client caught a 10 pound bass on a crankbait and caught a 2.8 pound smallmouth bass (very rare in Clear Lake) while drop shotting. Sandy says most bassers are catching 5 or 6 keepers for a morning's effort.

     Cary of Don's Bait & Tackle in Clearlake 707-995-9668 says most anglers are catching 3 or 4 keepers per trip most of which are running 2 to 3 pounds apiece by throwing a variety of baits. In the early morning they are catching a few with topwater baits and then switching to crankbaits and drop shot rigs.

     Bass guide Bob Thein 707-994-4886 went fishing with Brad Farrin of Don's Bait & Tackle on Sunday August 11th for a half day and they caught 11 keepers ranging in size from 1½ to 5.9 pounds plus several undersize fish.. They fished near Konocti Resort, Dollar Island, Monitor Island and Wheeler Point. All the fish at Konocti were caught with topwaters in the early morning and the rest were caught with crankbaits and drop shot rigs with Aaron Magic and People's Choice Robo Worms.

     Bass guide Big George Hawley 707-279-9269 suggests drop shotting with Aaron's Magic and Baby Bass Robo Worms in rocky and or weedy areas. His clients have been catching anywhere from 5 to 14 keepers per trip plus lots of scrappy undersize fish.

     Bass guide Richard Pounds 707-279-4739 had a successful trip yesterday, August 14th, in the north end of the lake. He and his client caught 23 fish including 8 keepers weighing up to 3½ pounds while drop shotting near Lakeport with 4 inch Persuader worms in the baby bass color. Most of the action was in 4 to 8 feet of water on the weed edges.

Good Fishin.....Catfish Ed

     The lake level is dropping and is at 2.75 feet on the Rumsey Gauge, 7.56 is considered full pool.

August 22, 2002

     The bass fishing is improving a bit, especially in the north end of the lake.

     Bass guide Big George Hawley 707-279-9269 experienced good action in the Lakeport Area. George and his clients caught 25 bass of which 14 were keepers during a 5 hour evening trip. They caught most of their fish with 4 inch baby bass Robo Worms on dart heads.

Bass guide Sandy Hager of Tackle It Sport Shop in Lakeport 707-262-1233 reports good action at the Pipeline in Clearlake. Drop shotting with 6 inch worms in 10 to 12 feet of water has been the best pattern.

     Ken Morrison of Don's Bait & Tackle in Clearlake 707-995-9668 says he's been fishing the southeast end of Rattlesnake Island and averaging 7 keepers per trip. He caught a 10½ and 8 pounder with a topwater bait similar to a Pop-R fishing isolated weed beds. June bug colored Brush Hogs and 8 inch Dead Ringers have been producing a lot of fish.

     Bass guide Bob Thein 707-994-4886 fished with a client on Monday the 19th in the Rattlesnake Arm. They caught 22 bass but only 4 were keepers. They caught 3 of the keepers on black and red snagproof frogs and one on a black and red buzzbait. All the small fish were caught on robo drop-shot worms. Largest fish was 4 1/4 lbs, the other keepers were 2 to 3 lbs.

Good Fishin.....Catfish Ed

     The lake level is dropping and is at 2.48 feet on the Rumsey Gauge, 7.56 is considered full pool.

August 29, 2002

     The bass fishing is very good for some and just fair for others. Topwaters, jigs and drop shotting are all accounting for some decent catches.

     Bass guide Sandy Hager of Tackle It Sport Shop in Lakeport 707-262-1233 reports excellent bass fishing in Soda Bay. One pair of fishermen caught 14 keepers weighing from 4 to 8 pounds while throwing ½ ounce brown/orange pig-n-jigs in 10 to 15 feet of water at Soda Bay. Some anglers are catching a few good fish on buzzbaits and frogs and drop shotting is still accounting for some good catches.

     Ken Morrison of Don's Bait & Tackle in Clearlake 707-995-9668 says the bass action is great but a lot of the fish are undersize, measuring around 10 to 11½ inches. Most fishermen are catching 30 to 40 fish per day but only 4 or 5 of them are keepers ranging in weight from 2½ to 4 pounds. Drop shotting 4 inch worms and throwing Brush Hogs and Dead Ringers around rocky areas near deep water docks ( 10 to 15 feet) is producing most of the action. Ken adds that one lucky angler caught a 12 pound bass with a nightcrawler off the Red Bud Pier in Clearlake.

     Bass guide Richard Pounds 707-279-4739 and his client had a pretty good day last Saturday. They caught 21 bass including 9 keepers up to 5¼ pounds. The bigger fish came on white buzzbaits and green and white spinnerbaits. The fish were scattered around docks, rocks and weed mats from mid lake north to the Nice/Lucerne Area.

Good Fishin.....Catfish Ed

     The lake level is dropping and is at 2.22 feet on the Rumsey Gauge, 7.56 is considered full pool.