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Recreation
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
One dedicated bass angler said it this way, “They’re everywhere they weren’t and nowhere they were.” I think what he means is that we’ve shifted into a winter pattern with cooler weather and cooler water.
That’s consistent with the report we had last week about the juvenile (they’re not babies anymore) bass. They’ve moved out now too. Deep docks, ledges, and rock piles will be the order of the day. So will SLOW presentations. My diehard bass guys are telling me that small swim baits fished at night, or jigs spoons and lipless cranks fished in the mornings are what is getting the job done for them.
The finesse guys love this time of year – their technique can really shine. The live bait anglers are enjoying a classic early winter or late fall bite. Not too much to be said here – we went through over 1,200 jumbo minnows during the four-day Thanksgiving weekend last week. We’re stocked back up and ready to go.
For Slab Seekers, Kono Tayee and Shag Rock have had the most attention – but you’ve got to have a boat. Konocti has been SLOW. There’s a good hole over in Jones Bay that has been producing rather well for one of my customers, but he’s on a boat also.
Here’s the good news … It was 27 degrees and socked in with fog when I got here to open the shop this morning. Colder and wetter is what brings the crappie out. I’d look for a change to take place if the cold weather takes hold for a few days. That’s pretty good news … Bring on the slabs!
There hasn’t been much movement on the catfish front. Just our regular catfish hunters doing the job with the tried and true baits. Minnows, mackerel, anchovies and shad … Drift your favorite spots nice and slow, keep warm with some hot cocoa at night, and enjoy the cool crisp night air.
Again this week, I want to highlight the Christmas in Clearlake campaign. There are many stores, including ours, that are participating in the promotion. We’ve all got some great deals going and every purchase earns you an entry into our $1,000 Chamber Bucks drawing. One lucky shopper is going to win a shopping spree right before Christmas. It might as well be you!
Stop in and see all the great stuff we’ve got – fishing, firearms, knives, survival gear and so much more. Hope to see you soon.
Bob Rider owns Lakeshore Bait and Tackle, 14913-D Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake, telephone 994-FISH (3474). Visit him online at www.994Fish.com.
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- Written by: Editor
The meetings take place at 6 p.m. at the Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District meeting room, 19400 Hartmann Road.
Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.
Also, sign up dates have been established. They will be two Saturdays only, Jan. 10 and 24, 2009, time and place to be announced.
Check their Web site at www.eteamz.com/mtownll for more information. Get in the game!
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
Bass anglers are enjoying a lively bite on jumbo minnows. The morning hours are still producing the best bite, but anglers are having success into the early part of the afternoon hours.
Fish shallow water in the morning, move to the cover of docks as the sun comes overhead, then out to the deeper water and rock piles later in the day. Look for shelves and drop offs, too.
Angler Ross Christensen made an astute observation this week – he noticed that the hundreds (perhaps thousands) of baby bass that were in shallow water lately have done a disappearing act. I believe that signals another change as we get further into our fall bite. Be it part of the maturing process or due to the colder weather, they’ve gone deeper like the larger of their kind.
Artificial lures are still a tough sell for largemouth bass. Typical lures and techniques this year are lipless cranks, jerk baits – both hard and soft, drop shot rigs and jigs. Look also to some of your smaller hand-poured swim baits.
Crappie hunters have found some nice fish at Kono Tayee and Shag Rock. Action is on-again, off-again as the schools move through the area. Find the school and you’ll find the bite. For best results go with a live minnow on 4-pound test under a slip bobber.
Pay attention to what other anglers are doing, often the school is so concentrated that one angler on the boat is on it while others, just a few feet away, are not.
Catfish are taking jumbo minnows, shad and mackerel readily these days. Drifting live bait at night has been the trick for several of my dedicated anglers. Bass Alley and Rattlesnake Island have been good producers for us.
Bob Rider owns Lakeshore Bait and Tackle, 14913-D Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake, telephone 707-994-FISH (3474). Visit him online at www.994Fish.com.
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- Details
- Written by: Lake County News Reports
Bass are pushing baitfish up against the shoreline in the morning hours. Anglers using jumbo minnows are doing very well with reports up to about 20 fish during this early morning frenzy. As the morning wears on, the bite shifts – and here’s the change – to deeper standing docks and dock ends. They’ve been moving to deeper water and lingering over rock piles.
Certainly, they still are, but finding willing-to-bite bass at the ends of docks in 15 to 20 feet of water is a shift. It is the kind of shift that’ll allow a persistent angler to continue the bite into mid-day.
Now our guys throwing artificials are still having a tough time of it. Many seasoned anglers are struggling to put together a limit. Try your soft and hard jerk baits up close to shore in the morning and shift to lipless cranks and deeper running cranks during late morning and early afternoon. Keep a jig rod and a drop shot rod handy, too. Work the tops and edges of submerged rock piles as well as steep drop-offs. The water is getting colder by the day, so slow down – way down.
Crappie are biting reasonably well at most of our known crappie hot spots. Kono Tayee and Shag Rock are getting a lot of attention (especially on the weekends). Konocti has produced with an on-again, off-again bite. If you are willing to put in the time and wait for the action to turn on, you’ll do fine there. If you’re impatient, Konocti probably isn’t the place for you.
The word is that the crappie are making an appearance there a couple times a day – with no particular pattern established yet. Savvy anglers would speculate that morning and evening times are most productive – but we’ll have to wait and see. Most anglers are finding the bite to be best on live minnows. Some folks are experimenting with jigs in different varieties, but no pattern has emerged yet.
Catfish are liking the big jumbo minnows they’ve been offered the last few weeks. All of the regular baits seem to be working too. Most folks fishing for other species are finding themselves with catfish on the end of their line. Drifting Bass Alley, Rattlesnake or other popular catfish holes is a winner.
Our local Clearlake Chamber of Commerce is running a wonderful shop local campaign for Christmas. It works like this – shop our local participating merchants and ask for your FREE entry forms. Add your name and phone number then drop your form into box and you’re entered. On Dec. 20, they’ll draw one winner for a $1,000 Chamber Bucks giveaway. Chamber Bucks then spend like cash at any of the merchants that participated in the program.
Every purchase you make here at Lakeshore Bait and Tackle gets you an entry. Could you use an extra $1,000 bucks to spend right before Christmas? I know I could … Just look for the Christmas in Clearlake signs – they’re all over town.
Bob Rider owns Lakeshore Bait and Tackle, 14913-D Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake, telephone 994-FISH (3474) or visit them online at www.994Fish.com.
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