I spent several days fishing Clearlake this past week. What we found was one of the best fall fishing bites ever. October can be a volatile time at Clearlake, and in the past we have found very tough fishing. Currently it is anything but, actually epic is what comes to mind. Fish are grouped up and they are chewing. We sat on one spot for 4 hours and consistently caught fish throughout. 40-50 fish one spot, and they are quality fish. We weighed in 31.39 lbs which was good enough for 6th place. Day 2 was cancelled due to high winds and rough waters. Yes 31.39 lbs was only good enough for 6th place. Clearlake is fishing very well currently and will only get better as we dip further into fall.
What we found was fish throughout the water column. The bite had changed a bit and each day its about figuring out how they wanted the bait presented. Once you did it was on and you could run around and duplicate it throughout the lake. For the tournament we had settled on fishing mid lake to south. Steeper banks that dropped into deep water was producing good quality bass for us on a 3/4 ounce jig and Carolina rigged craw style baits. For the jigs I was using a 3/4 ounce Gmoney jig in brown, and black and blue. Trailers varied in color as we had to keep changing the look to keep em biting. On tournament day the fish wanted the bait constantly moving. During practice I was hopping the bait and letting it rest. I fish the jig on a Daiwa Tatula Elite 7’6” flipping stick with 20lb fluorocarbon line. Making long casts parallel to the bank was the ticket. I was using a 8.1 Daiwa Tatula casting reel to take up line fast as the bites usually knocked 4-6 ft of slack in the line.
For the brush hog bite I was using a 1/2 on the same rod reel and line set up. Same retrieve as the jig, slow constant tempo. Again we rotated through colors. Honestly they ate just about every color we threw at em. Catch a few then change color. I honestly believe the key to Clearlake right now is to keep moving until you locate a group of fish that are willing to bite. A lot of the top 10 was in the same general areas of the lake.
Other baits that were working that we didn’t use during the tournament were swim baits, deep cranks, LV style rattle baits and a bit of top water would also get bit.
Simply one of the best places to shop for Clearlake and Berryessa tackle needs is Monster Fishing Tackle above. They are local to the area and carry a wide array of offerings that are proven on the local waters. Gmoney jigs can be found there as well.
Unfortunately day 2 was cancelled due to weather. I think the majority of us wanted to fish, I mean who wouldn’t when they are biting like that. However sometimes conditions don’t cooperate and they have to call it off. Live to fish another day folks. It only takes on little mishap and it becomes a very bad day. I respect the call of the Wild West Staff and look forward to the future events.
So go to
https://www.outdoorproshop.com/?Click=4319 and get your jigs and trailers. head up to Clearlake and have the time of your life. You may also catch your personal best and the big girls have been and will be chewing to prepare for the winter.
