Few lakes in California change as much from year-to-year as Clear Lake. This is especially true for bass fishermen. One year the plastic frog bite will be nothing short of awesome for bass and then the next year you can”t buy a fish using a frog.
In areas that in years past produced excellent fishing, you will be hard put to find a fish this year. Conversely in areas that in past produced few or no fish are now providing excellent fishing.
Among tournament anglers, Clear Lake has a reputation that on any given day it can beat the best fishermen in the West. This is a lake where the fishing patterns can change daily. More than one tournament fisherman has tried, and failed, to be successful using the same tactics that helped him win a tournament the year before.
Ten years ago some of the hottest spots on Clear Lake were Rocky Point, Corinthian Bay, Glenhaven Reef, Catfish Slough and Bass Alley. A lot of major bass tournaments were won in these locations, especially in Bass Alley and Corinthian Bay. The past two years have seen the number of bass caught in these areas decline.
Rodman Slough is another good example. For years, this area produced hundreds of large bass, then the slough basically dried up in regard to fishing. The slough still hasn”t recovered.
Ten years ago on any given day at Glenhaven Reef you would see a dozen bass boats working the deep water on the reef and all would be catching fish. In fact, even the catfishermen would target the reef. With a few exceptions, the past few years have seen very few bass or catfish come out of this area.
Corinthian Bay was once known as the one spot on the lake where a fisherman could count on catching an eight-pound bass. In fact, when the Clear Lake ObserverHAmerican and Lake County Record-Bee issued big fish certificates for any bass that weighed more than 8 pounds, over half went to fish that were caught out of Corinthian Bay.
Bass are still being caught in Corinthian Bay but it”s nothing like the “good old days.” The bass are still in the lake, in fact, this has been one of the best summers in years for size and numbers of fish. They have just kept changing locations.
Why have these fish moved out of the traditional locations? One reason could be the food source. The one driving factor for fish and wildlife is food and when the bait fish move so will the bass. This year the threadfin shad are in the lake by the millions and the bass are following the schools of shad.
Another prime food source for the bass in Clear Lake is crayfish. Some of the areas that once produced large numbers of bass also had a large population of crawdads. While the lake still has a huge population of crawdads, they have moved to new areas and the bass have followed.
Rocky Point used to be a dynamite area to fish. Now fewer fish are being caught off the point in the deeper water, but the fishing has been good along the nearby shoreline.
This year the lake is completely different because of fewer weeds. In fact, many of the fishermen are complaining because of the lack of weed mats.
What are the better locations for bass this year? One of the hottest areas has been from the mouth of Catfish Slough to Long Tule Point. Here, fishermen shaking a plastic worm have been loading up on bass. Another good area has been Big and Little Quercus Points. The shoreline along the state park continues to hold hundreds of bass. The Nice-Lucerne shoreline has been good, especially in the area that”s called the Barnes Yard.
In the south end of the lake, the area around Rattlesnake Island has been producing huge numbers of bass. The same applies to Luebow Point, Buckingham and Konocti Bay. Monitor Island has been another hotspot.
Of course, this is the exciting part of fishing Clear Lake. You never know what will happen from one year to the next. As one bass pro told me, “No other lake will make an honest fisherman out of you as Clear Lake.”
Terry Knight can be reached at tknight3021@ sbcglobal.net or by calling (707) 263-1699. Letters intended for publication that respond to Mr. Knight”s column can be sent to news@clearlakeobserver.com.
