midnightbite Posted May 23, 2016 Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 Clear Lake giveith and Clear Lake takeith away. When you live far away, it's such a huge gamble to make the trip because you just don't know what you'll end up with. February before last everyone was out there whacking the crap out of 'em on glide baits so I loaded up the boat and took off ... arrived literally 1/2 a day too late. Cold front moved in, it rained, cleared up, and the swimbait bite croaked. I fished 3 days straight and literally never got a bite (on anything). Turned out there was an okay bite on drop shot in the tules the whole time, but I can get my fill of drop shot fish here in SoCal. It's literally the last thing I ever want to pick up when I'm on Clear Lake. Anyway that trip tookith away my confidence across the board and started me into a prolonged slump which I really didn't break until midway through the summer. But I went back in early September and had one of the absolute best fishing trips of my life. Wake baits, jigs and cranks for good numbers and good size. To the point about Clear Lake advice (and I noticed another poster asking in a separate thread), Clear Lake is big, but fishes very small. If you have a secret spot nobody knows about, then you truly have something special. I certainly can't make that claim, but I do know they exist. I have my go-to spots in the south end and mid lake but they are the same go-to spots that most others know about as well. My goal over the next couple years is to become more familiar with the north end, where Rodman and Byron's Corner are the obvious ones but I'm sure there's more out there. So my advice for anyone looking to hit Clear Lake for the first time is to go ahead and invest in a guide trip. At a minimum, you need to learn all the community holes because they are community holes for a good reason ... sometimes they're the only places you'll get a bite and they are a consistent litmus test to help you figure out what's working and what's not. In terms of swimbait selection, I think it's safe to say you want to carry a Rising Son / Osprey style line through (I like the top hook weighted RS bounced on the rocks), a weedless option of some sort to throw in the Tules, a wake bait b/c nothing's better than a wake bait blow up, and the glide bait of your choice for weed edges and docks. Spottedbass68 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSlant Posted May 23, 2016 Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 ^^^^Well said..and there is a recently removed SU member who guides up there along with the obvious big names who showed me how to catch fish in the north end shallows on a horrible hail and white cap day..pm if you need his info basskickinrednick 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickle Posted May 23, 2016 Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 This is from the BBT tournament held Saturday......he got 30+ pound bag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSlant Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 (edited) 30# is great but your talking about a place that's put out 50# bags in tournament wins Edited May 24, 2016 by BigSlant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickle Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 Ohhh ya for sure, but the point of that video was to show how much I suck at fishing hahaha. That was the same day I was up there. 30# is great but your talking about a place that's put out 50# bags in tournament wins midnightbite 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSlant Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 (edited) Ohhh ya for sure, but the point of that video was to show how much I suck at fishing hahaha. That was the same day I was up there. Haha..we all suck bro or we'd be there too winning 40k Edited May 24, 2016 by BigSlant pickle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Basser Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 What..? No mention of swimbaits for the winning strategy! CL can get to be a really nasty place during a storm,, Pickle, did you pull off the banks far enough? The bigger 5+ fish will always head for 20' or deeper on those rough days, like Chad pointed out in the video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickle Posted May 25, 2016 Report Share Posted May 25, 2016 Shoot man, I didn't even have enough time to figure out what I wanted to throw before the wind forced me off the water. I got one small fish (3 lbs.) right against the tulies on a wacky rigged senko then had to head for the dock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Basser Posted May 26, 2016 Report Share Posted May 26, 2016 Well don't be discouraged brother. It actually took me years to figure out a bite during the tough conditions. Berryessa, my home lake can get pretty crazy too, but one nice thing about inclement weather, is that it gets the fish concentrated. CL can definitely be one of the tougher most effected waters for us NorCal guys. Because of the shallow water, the fish are more directly effected by pressure changes. But that's when we can use nature to our advantage, bring out the predatory response of a bass! There's always protection from the wind there, whether it be along the north, or down in the southern bays,, but I find that when I can just get out there and battle the conditions, actually make good presentations without backlashes, inadvertent casts the wrong direction, etc,, that the payoff is worth it! For the original poster,, I'd suggest finding pockets in weeds that have fry, there's always somebody nearby protecting those lil guys! BigSlant 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavin721 Posted May 26, 2016 Report Share Posted May 26, 2016 Well don't be discouraged brother. It actually took me years to figure out a bite during the tough conditions. Berryessa, my home lake can get pretty crazy too, but one nice thing about inclement weather, is that it gets the fish concentrated. CL can definitely be one of the tougher most effected waters for us NorCal guys. Because of the shallow water, the fish are more directly effected by pressure changes. But that's when we can use nature to our advantage, bring out the predatory response of a bass! There's always protection from the wind there, whether it be along the north, or down in the southern bays,, but I find that when I can just get out there and battle the conditions, actually make good presentations without backlashes, inadvertent casts the wrong direction, etc,, that the payoff is worth it! For the original poster,, I'd suggest finding pockets in weeds that have fry, there's always somebody nearby protecting those lil guys! any tips for berryessa? im heading up there this weekend haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Basser Posted May 27, 2016 Report Share Posted May 27, 2016 On a boat I'm hoping? Target areas that have slow steady transitioning banks. There's still some good healthy post spawners protecting fry, you'll want to "blind" fish them. Use bluegill or small bass pattern glide baits to cover boarder areas, use swimmer/freestyle types for more specific spots. The idea is to just bring the bait near in a threatening fasion, and induce that predatory strike from those bigger mamas! Whacky rigged senkos are always a great ticket also. Be prepared for lots of company on the water this weekend, haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthefisherman Posted May 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2016 Just got back...the bass were definitely acting strange. Long story short, no bass on swimbaits and only a few dinks on other artificials. Maybe I'll write a more detailed report in the Gotem section when I get some time. Thanks for all the advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickle Posted May 27, 2016 Report Share Posted May 27, 2016 I swear this weird ass weather we've been having is messing with the fish....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSlant Posted May 27, 2016 Report Share Posted May 27, 2016 El Nino.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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