September 1, 2000 The topwater bite is quite good especially in the south end of the lake. Skipping plastics under docks is producing in the north end of the lake. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in the Oaks says they are doing real well on topwater in the early morning and late evening with both buzzbaits and frogs. The fish are running around 2 to 3 pounds but Scott Dundee caught a 14.01 pound monster on a plastic frog. Senkos and Dead Ringers are producing during the day around rockpiles in 6 to 10 feet of water. Terry Knight, outdoor columnist for the Lake County Record Bee says he has been catching quite a few nice bass up to 4 pounds in the north end of the lake skipping Senkos under docks and throwing to the edges of tules. The overcast weather and cooler water temperature has helped the fishing according to Terry. The lake level is down to 2.39 feet on the Rumsey gauge. Good Fishin.......Catfish Ed   September 8, 2000 The stormy weather we had last weekend shut off the topwater bite and sent most of the fish to deeper water. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in Clearlake Oaks reports some anglers are catching their fish slow cranking on rockpiles in 8 to 15 feet of water. Another productive method is working plastic worms and pig-n-jigs on rockpiles. They are getting quite a few smaller fish on blades and jigs in shallow water around tules and weeds. Terry Knight, Outdoor Columnist for the Lake County Record Bee, says the bass fishing in the north end has picked back up due to the warmer weather. Most anglers are catching 5 to 10 fish averaging around 2 to 3 pounds with an occasional 4 or 5 pounder. Plastic worms and grubs thrown around and under docks are accounting for most of the fish. The lake level is down to 2.25 feet on the Rumsey gauge. Good Fishin.......Catfish Ed Attention serious bass fishermen! For detailed "Clear Lake Bass Fishing Reports" Click Here (ncbf.com)   September 15, 2000 The topwater bite is back on the upswing but not as good as it could be for this time of year. Plastic worms are still accounting for most of the action. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in Clearlake Oaks reports a fair topwater bite with frogs and buzzbaits in the early morning and late evening. Dead Ringer worms and Senkos thrown around deep docks and rockpiles are accounting for the daytime action. They are running from 2 to 3 pounds with an occasional 5 or 6 pounder. Al Freitas of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake rates the bass fishing as slow. Most of the action has been from 4:00pm to dark. They are getting a few on buzzbaits and frogs but 5 inch Baby Bass Zipper worms and Senkos are taking their share. Al suggests trying isolated single pilings between larger docks, the theory being that the docks are hammered so much that the fish are off the bite but not so at the individual pilings. Terry Knight of the Lake County Record Bee rates the fishing in the north end of the lake as fair to good. Plastic worms, especially Senkos are the top baits. The fish are running the usual 2 to 4 pounds and most of them are being caught near docks in the Lakeport and Nice/Lucerne areas. The lake level is down to 2.05 feet on the Rumsey gauge. Good Fishin.......Catfish Ed   September 22, 2000 Just when it was starting to pick up the bass fishing slowed down again. There are still a few topwater fish being caught but plastics are accounting for most of the fish. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in Clearlake Oaks (707-998-1006) reports very few fish being taken with artificials of any kind. Minnows and nightcrawlers are accounting for most of the fish in his area. Al Freitas of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake says they are catching a few fish with topwater baits such as Pop-Rs and Ricos. He and a friend went out Tuesday and caught 12 fish from 1 1/2 pounds to a little over 4 pounds using everything from Pop-Rs to Brush Hogs. The bigger fish fell for plastics such as Brush Hogs, Senkos and Dead Ringers. The best patterns were fishing suspended fish around deep water docks and working near shore breaks. The north end of the lake has been extremely slow to the point that it's hard to find a bass fisherman on it. The lake level is down to 1.84 feet on the Rumsey gauge. Good Fishin.......Catfish Ed   Attention serious bass fishermen! For detailed "Clear Lake Bass Fishing Reports" Click Here (ncbf.com)     September 29, 2000 The bass fishing remains very slow all around the lake. There are a lot of fishermen prefishing for the WON Bass Tri States Team Championship and most of them are having a tough time. Al Freitas of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake says they are getting a fair topwater bite during the first 2 hours of daylight with Pop-Rs, Ricos and a few on buzzbaits. Dead Ringers, Senkos and Brush Hogs are accounting for a few fish during the day on breaks in 20 feet of water. Percy Oved suggests going night fishing for best results. R.C. Stephens of Clearlake Oaks caught 9 bass from 2 to 6 1/2 pounds while cranking over rockpiles at night. During the day throwing Dead Ringers, Senkos and crankbaits around rocks and deep water docks is producing a few fish but it's a long wait between fish. About the only thing happening in the north end is an early morning topwater bite and it is unpredictable at best. I talked to Terry Knight of the Lake County Record Bee when he had just come off the lake and his comment was something to the effect of : "it's really, really slow". He did add that there has been a little topwater activity earlier in the week. The lake level is down to 1.68 feet on the Rumsey gauge. Good Fishin.......Catfish Ed   Back to Year 2000 Bass Reports