CatfishED.com

April 3, 2003

     The catfishing is still slow. The south end of the lake is kicking out a few fish. There are very few catfish anglers trying their luck in the north end of the lake.

     Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait & Tackle in Clearlake Oaks (707) 998-1006 reports a few catfish being taken near Rattlesnake Island with live jumbo minnows, mackerel and nightcrawlers. Elden Riley of Clearlake Oaks caught a 21, 14 and 8 lb'er while drifting live jumbo minnows near the west end of the island. Another productive spot has been Anderson Island where some anglers are catching 4 or 5 cats per trip with mackerel and nightcrawlers. Most of the fish have been ranging from 5 to 9 lbs.

     The only catfish action in the north end of the lake has been in Rodman Slough. A few catfishermen have been picking up 2 or 3 cats while fishing the slough at night with frozen shad.

     Unfortunately with the cold rain and wind that we're experiencing here the catfishing will probably slow down to a crawl for a few days due to dropping water temperatures but hopefully it will break open as soon as we get back to a warm weather pattern.

April 10, 2003

     Well folks, we wish we had something to report on catfishing but with the big 2003 CITGO Bassmaster Tour having their big tournament here on April 10th, through the 13th and prefishing days on the 7th, 8th and 9th, everyone's been thinking about nothing but bass fishing.

     There were a few nice catfish taken in Rodman Slough with shad and nightcrawlers last weekend but that's about all I heard.

April 17, 2003

     We realize that this is getting really boring but the cold and rainy weather is still keeping the catfish from going on the feed.

     Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait & Tackle in Clearlake Oaks (707) 998-1006 reports a few small catfish in the 2 to 4 lb range are being caught in the Clearlake Oaks Keys with minnows and clams.

     Due to the heavy rains we had last weekend and the resulting muddy water runoff, Rodman Slough in Nice is producing quite a few pan sized brown bullheads in the 2 to 3 lb range and an occasional channel cat in the 8 to 10 lb class. The top baits are mini crawlers and garden worms.

April 24, 2003

Notice!

     We regretfully announce that this will be the last regular weekly fishing report. We will still put out an occasional brief report when we get a chance and there is something worthy of reporting but there will be no more regularly scheduled weekly reports.

     I have been doing these reports faithfully every week since early 1999 and have finally become burned out. We have enjoyed doing them and I know that they have been appreciated by many anglers but I just don't have the time to continue them.

     You can get some good reports at times by going to the Forum and checking the various categories such as "Clear Lake Fishing Reports". There are several active members who post their reports there right after they get home from a trip, in fact that's where I got this week's report from "Catman".

     I hope to have at least one brief catfish report before the derby so check by this page once in awhile.

Wishin you good fishin................Catfish Ed

     The cold, rainy and windy weather continues to hamper the few catfish anglers willing to brave the elements.

     Everett Walton (Catman) of San Jose fished the south end of the lake Friday April 18th through Sunday April 20th. He caught 3 nice cats weighing 14, 15 and 18 lbs. on Friday with jumbo minnows on the flats at Browns Landing and on the break at Bass Alley. On Saturday Everett's son caught an 11 lb'er off the break at Bass Alley and Everett caught a 16 lb'er. Everett caught a 9 lb'er in Cache Creek just before midnight but that was the end of the action. They fished several areas until late Sunday morning without getting another bite. All fish were caught on jumbo minnows except the 16 lb'er which was caught on mackerel. As usual, they released all the fish back into the lake to be caught again.

     I haven't heard of any decent catfish action in the north end of the lake. There have been a few anglers trying Rodman Slough in Nice but I didn't hear of any fish being caught.