Current conditions for bass fishing at Clear Lake are rated as the best they’ve been in a number of years both in terms of the number of fish being caught and the size of fish being caught. There were reports last week of a fisherman catching two bass weighing more than 10 pounds each and his best five had a combined weight of more than 46 pounds. There also was a 10-pound-plus bass caught during Sunday’s ABA tournament.
For years there has been talk of Clear Lake producing a possible world record for largemouth bass. The current world record was caught by George Perry in Montgomery Lake, Georgia, in 1932 and weighed 22 pounds, 4 ounces. Another bass caught in Japan three years ago tied Perry’s record. Since then there have been a number of bass weighing more than 20 pounds caught in Southern California, but after 84 years Perry’s record bass remains at the top of the list. Even with all the modern technology that fishermen now possess, Perry’s record stands. High-speed bass boats and thousands of dollars in electronic fish finding equipment still haven’t produced a new world record. The prize remains as elusive as ever.
For years there have been rumors about 25-pound bass swimming in Clear Lake. Years ago there was a rumor that a commercial carp fishermen netted a 25-pound bass. There was even a rumor that the Department of Fish and Wildlife had obtained a 25-pound bass during an electro-shocking study at Clear Lake. All the rumors were untrue. The lake record of 17.52 pounds, established back in 1990, still stands. Even if there are 25-pound bass swimming around out there, the chances of someone catching one of these monsters is about the same as winning the lottery.
The lake receives tremendous fishing pressure as there are more than 20 major bass tournaments per year, not to mention club tournaments and the thousands of pleasure anglers out on the lake. Despite this fishing pressure the lake record of 17.52 pounds has stood unchallenged for more than 25 years. In fact, there have been only three other verified reports of bass caught weighing in the 15-pound-plus range. There have been no other bass caught weighing 16 or 17 pounds. Even a 12-pound bass is an extremely rare creature.
If you were lucky enough to hook a bass weighing 20 or more pounds, landing a fish that size would be an awesome task. Bass are extremely strong and more 10-pound fish are lost than ever caught. At every tournament several fishermen report having hooked a bass in the 10-pound-plus class and not being able to land it. These are professional fishermen using top-of-the-line fishing gear, but they still lose far more big bass than they land.
The one primary factor against Clear Lake holding a 20-pound bass is that most winters are just too cold. The lake’s elevation is 1,318 feet, which means that during the winter months the water temperature rarely exceeds 50 degrees. To achieve a weight of 20 or more pounds a bass has to grow all year, not just during the warm spring and summer months. When the water temperature drops to less than 50 degrees most bass feed very little. Being a cold-blooded creature, they tend to become dormant.
Largemouth bass have a lifespan of about 15 years. They will continue to grow their entire life as long as there is a sufficient food supply. Jerry Basgal’s Clear Lake record bass was estimated to be 12 years old by biologists who counted the rings of a scale sample taken from the fish. That means it was nearing the end of its life. Just about all bass weighing 12 pounds or more are at least 10 years old and the number of adult bass living as long as 10 years is less than 1 percent.
It was believed that once live jumbo minnows became popular on Clear Lake as bait that some huge bass would be caught. While it is true that trophy bass take live bait more readily than artificial lures, it still hasn’t produced anything approaching a world record at Clear Lake. In Southern California most of the 18-pound-plus bass are taken on live bait such as crayfish. Trophy bass don’t grow old and large by biting every artificial lure that comes along. However, with the new swimbaits looking so lifelike it’s hard for a bass to know the difference.
Will a new lake record or world record be taken for Clear Lake? Time will tell but it’s highly unlikely.
Even if it never does, we still have one of the top bass lakes in the world.
