Clear Lake Conditions

Water level today is documented at 2.8 feet Rumsey. Even though it looks and sounds like we have been getting pounded with rain in our little microclimate, the reality is most of the volume has either been to the North or us or the South of us. We are currently 4 feet behind last year’s water level to date and last year we were a foot low to normal so that puts us about 5 feet lower than normal at this point. Dam releases are for the most part low with the exception of releases the night of the last predicted whopper storm when the releases almost doubled for the night…go figure.

As a reminder, you can check out lake level and dam releases shown on an hourly graph with the links available on our web site (clearlakeguideservice.com).

Water temperature is improving to the point that I saw the 50 degree mark this week. I am sure that the storms this week will make it dip a bit again but it still should maintain itself in the high 40 range. We only experienced one day of frost this past week and it doesn’t appear that more days are coming in the 10 day but you know how that goes.

Water clarity is pretty good over most of the lake. Of course where runoff is entering the lake things are muddy to stained, but overall the lake is still pretty clear. Areas of the lake that typically get muddied up include the Redbud launch area with two creeks running in, the State park area with one creek running, the area around Adobe creek, and of course, the inflow area adjacent to Rodman slough. Other than those areas, the lake water looks pretty good.

Activity This Month

Tournament activity is full blown this month. As this is being compiled a (supposed to be) major pro am is underway, this week the FLW Stren series kicks off, and the following week, one of the biggest team tournaments, the Holder Ford tournament will get under way. The great news is that other than the unknown Triton Owners tournament the first week of April, this spring is going to be wide open for the rest of us.

There is a total of six permits current for the month of March. The previously mentioned majors are taking place and then on the 21st, 22nd, 28th, & 29th sanctioned team tournaments are taking place. These events will have fields of 25 to 40, not a big deal.

As always, if you are planning a trip to Clear Lake and don’t know if your dates are going to be shared with a competitive event, drop me a line and I will let you know what I see listed on the calendar maintained by DFG. Just another service we offer.

February Fishing Recap

February fishing posted some challenges. We had quite a few trips scheduled but most fell victim to the weather. We did get in some days on the water and caught fish each day were out. We didn’t really smoke ‘em, but the average day produced 15 fish, mostly on live bait. The best day was a day this week when an friend and I went out and in about 6 hours of fishing landed 30 fish, and missed or lost another 10. What can I say…they were biting the old trick worm!

We found fish in two depth ranges during most of the month; 2 to 6 feet on the North end of the lake and 20 to 27 feet on the South end of the lake. The most interesting thing about the deeper water was that we did not see any bait or fish on the meter where we caught fish.

We caught quite a few fish this past month but not very many that exceeded the 4 pound mark. The numbers for December include 6-four pounders & 2-five pounders. March’s numbers are going to explode in comparison.

March Fishing

Boy do I look forward to this month all year long! March signals the time of year that I expect to land larger fish. It is not the only month, but records show that it is definitely the best month for landing bigger bass.

The interesting part about this month will be working around the lower water. Right now, several good areas that I like to fish in March are still mostly out of the water or just barely in the water.

Early in the month, the shakey head bite will be good, actually, it is pretty good most of the year but when they won’t respond well to the reaction baits, they will take the worm. As the month unfolds, we will really start to work swim baits and rip baits and of course, plastics and live shiners.

While many think the spawn begins in March, technically a few fish will spawn, but the bulk of spawning really begins in earnest as the weather turns warmer in early April. One helpful hint, look for the redbuds to start blooming, and when that happens, start looking for spawning bass. It works every year.

Plastics this month will include weightless Senkos, drop shotting, shakey heads, and Carolina rigs. Worms, creature baits, and lizards will work on fish that are staging. To a lesser extent jigs and rip baits and last but not least our personal favorites swim baits.

Look for the upper end of the lake to take off first and then the mid section and lower ends of the lake follow.

March Dates

A few of you have used the new calendar system on the web page and I appreciate the feedback. Through that system you may now use a credit card to place a deposit or pay for your trip. The payment system is through PayPal which is about as secure of a system as I could find.

I only have a couple of dates still available in March. They are the 9th, 10th, and 11th, 19th, and 31st. This is a great month to fish so if you want to get in on the action, call me now! I will be fishing one way of the other so you may as well be out there with me!

New Items

It looks like I will have a new spinner bait from Ray at Precision Tackle (Revenge) to work with this month so look for a report on it in next month’s newsletter. He makes great stuff with uncommon attention to detail and quality so I am looking forward to passing along my review to you all.

Quagga Reminder

Just a friendly reminder that when you make your first trip to the lake this year with your own boat, make the time to get it inspected and put your 2009 sticker on your hull. Even with all of the publication, we had some anglers here for the West Coast Bass event who ignored the process and were cited. All of the tackle shops around the lake will take care of the inspection and the sticker is $10.

Gift Certificates

Just a reminder that we do offer gift certificates that can be for a complete trip or can be used against the price of a complete trip. If you are interested, just drop us a line or give me a call.

Class Update

We must have picked a bad weekend for the first class date so we have cancelled it. The March 28 and 29 date has been deleted. For further information on our class schedule, please check out last month’s newsletter.

A Little Humor

Enjoy the following clips, just don’t think that this is the way I work…

Closing

2009 will be a challenging year for all of us. My position is that if you take care of your customers, they will take care of you. If there is something we can do, a service we can add, or a way to make it easier for you this year, drop us a line and let us know. We will get through the current environment and besides, the fish don’t care.

Thank you for your continued interest and support of Clear Lake Guide Service! Our business continues to grow with the help of you and your spreading the word and my wife Deb and I both thank you. Good fishing and keep a tight line.

two fish one fish

blue fish

Believe it or not, these are all bait fish swimming in Clear Lake. How many of them have you seen? Can you identify them?

Miss an Issue of the Clear Lake Report?

We have archived all of our past Clear Lake Report Issues on our Clear Lake Fishing Guide Service website! Go to our Clear Lake Fishing Report Index!

There is a lot of useful information available on the Clear Lake Website. Even insights into the best times to fish the lake and other fishing tips. Local lodging, weather, and even lake level reporting is available through the links we have set up.

Good fishing, and I look forward to seeing you soon!