In This Issue:
Activity This Month
September Fishing Recap
October Fishing
Rod Guide Wear
Bonus Dates in October
Quagga Reminder

Volume 3, Issue 10
October, 2009

Clear Lake Conditions

Water level today is documented at .94 feet Rumsey, a drop of about one half of a foot.  Last year on this date it was 1.39.   As a reminder, you can check out current lake level and dam releases shown on an hourly graph with the links available on our web site clearlakeguideservice.com.

Water clarity still is predicated by the direction the wind blew last night or the day before.  In most areas algae remains on the surface and the water clarity underneath is pretty good.  Some areas have clarity of close to 5 feet deep.  Algae growth is thick enough in many areas to clog up the tip of your rod and gum up the line eye on your bait casters.  Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing if an area that was clear yesterday remains clear today without actually checking it out.

The water temperature is still running in the mid 70's though that will begin to drop with the weather front coming through today.

Weeds continue to thin out although there are still some extensive areas that remain offshore.

All of the main launch ramps around the lake are still usable and there is still just enough water depth to get into or out of Konocti Vista Casino.


Bass Fishing

Activity This Month

According to the DFG list of tournament permits we review, there are three tournaments this month over a period of 7 days of competition.  On the 10th and 11th a two day Triton Owners tournament takes place that has fielded around 90 to 100 boats in the past.  Practice for the FLW National Guard series will begin on the 19th and then the actual competition days start on the 21st and wrap up on the 24th.  Look for 90 to 100 boats in this event.  Finally, Anglers Choice has a team event on the 25th, lucky them, I am guessing that this will be a 30 to 40 boat field.
 
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.

Bass Fishing

September Fishing Recap

This past month was a slow month regarding trips on the water so the results reflect that fact. Too bad too as we continued to have some success with surface baits and picked up some better fish correspondingly. While the action continued to be inconsistent by area it was consistent with respect that we could just stay with our bait choices and create action. The morning bite has remained off and begins to just build during the day.

Numbers per day improved as we had several days with over 20 fish. Average weight of the keeper size fish also improved as we started seeing more fish in the 3 pound range and several 4 pounders per trip. Fishing pressure was very light, especially during the week. Even during the major events that took place during the month, boats were really scattered around the lake in comparison to a normal September where we typically see groups of boats concentrated on certain areas.

When we got off the surface bite, because it wasn't working, drop shotting was better than the shaky head. Our two best fish in September came on the drop shot worm. Most fish came from either real shallow docks or in 10 to 15 feet of water on structure.

Drop shot worms and top water baits accounted for most of the fish last month. September's numbers showed some improvement even with the fewer days on the water. The numbers for September include: 10-four pounders, 5-five pounders, 1-seven pounder, 1-eight pounder, and 1-ten pounder. That made September the most productive month for fish of 4 pounds or better since April this year. Based on 2008's numbers, October should be good too.

Ken Ban's personal best

Ken Ban with his new personal best, a typical looking Clear Lake double digit. Short, deep, and thick, when they grow like this one they always pull the scale farther than you first think. Great fight, even though his first comment was, "oh...it is a small one..". Congratulations Ken for breaking into the rarified air of the ten pounder club!

Jeff Flett's Birthday Catch

Jeff Flett was celebrating his birthday on the lake as a present from his wife and had already watched his fishing buddy Ken land a ten when he hooked up with this eight and a half. This fish was huge! As the picture reflects, it was probably 3 inches longer than Ken's fish but had no belly, very little thickness, and should have weighed around 11 pounds if in typical Clear Lake shape, still, a very nice bass and one of those that showed its head early in the fight so we all knew we had another good fish on.

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October Fishing

October brings the official transition from summer to fall. That brings cooler weather, cooling water temperature, and disappearing vegetation on and in the water. The only down part of this month is that with cooling days, sometimes comes wind. Overall though, October is still a month of potential with reaction baits and we also start using some live bait again for some fun.

Typical presentations for the month include surface baits, crank baits, spinner baits, small rip baits, and swim baits.  Last year we really started using the super fluke too with very good results.

As long as the water temperature remains in the mid sixties, at least during the middle of the day I will go with top water.  It is just too much fun to put down if I can get a bite once in a while on it.  My choices for the month will include the buzz bait, walkers, and poppers.  Each day presents a different set of conditions and one of those three classes of lures will work and the possibility of catching the fish of a lifetime is real good.

Two series of crank baits are good choices this month, one is the deep diving series that will run 12 to 20 feet and the other series is the rattle bait.  The deep divers are good choices on structure and rock banks, especially steep rock banks.  Typical choices include the Norman DD series, Rapala DT series, and Strike Kings versions of deep divers.  Reliable color choices include crawdad, sunfish, and shad patterns.  The key to fishing these baits is to keep them in contact with the bottom.  The rattle baits are great choices in shallow water for covering water and in areas where bait is concentrated by yo-yoing them off the bottom.

Blades can be a good choice in some of the shallower areas with bait and vegetation as well as in some of the shallow dock areas.  Chartreuse and shad patterns are the basics, primarily in tandem willow leafs.

If you don’t want to work too hard and just kind of want to loaf along enjoying some of the last warm, sunny days of the year, tie on a super fluke and fish it weightless around the shallow docks of the north end of the lake.  It is an easy way and low impact method of fishing that can be incredibly effective and the slower you fish it, the better the results.
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Rod Guide Wear

I was asked recently about wear and tear on rod guides and specifically on the impact of braided line on guides.  It’s a great question since I have been using braid regularly for about ten years now I can at least share my experience with you.

First of all, I can only share my experience with better guides.  Titanium and Sic guides are considered premium guides and all of the rods I have used either have one or the other, most have the Sic models.  The wear and tear on other guide compositions I can’t really share due to lack of experience.

All of my spinning gear rigs have braid on them.  Even though you can hear noise as the cast pulls line through the guides and you can hear the tension through the guides in the process of fighting a fish I have seen no visible wear on my guide rings.  The best way to test for wear is to run a Qtip through the interior of the guide ring and if a crack exists or the surface is rough the material on the Qtip will start to pull off the stick.

So far, I have not seen any wear on the titanium guides of my swim bait rods either from the heavy monofilament.  Typically, the only problem you will see with titanium guides is that while they hold up to bending and bounce back to the original shape, they will not do it forever.  When the Loomis rep brought in one of their first rods loaded with the titanium guides, he bent back a guide and let it spring forward so I could see how well they worked.  Obviously he had done it a time or two before showing me because when I tried the same thing, on the same guide, you guessed it, I broke it.  Everything has its limit.

The most predominant guide failure is the Sic insert popping out of the guide frame.  This comes primarily from the guide frame being stepped on and bending in the process.  Once the frame is bent it puts pressure on the insert and they will pop out either while being bent under load of a cast or while fighting a fish.  Usually, they can be reinserted but care needs to be taken to prevent damaging them as they can be pretty fragile.  A small amount of crazy glue will also help keep the insert in place.

So overall, if you are using premium guides to start with and take reasonable care of them, the likelihood of having to deal with damage from your line is small.  A quick related story from my past to prove that there is potential for damage.  One of the small lakes I fished a lot when younger was Tulloch and it was full of smallies.  I found that I could throw a small crank bait farther and crank it back faster on a spinning outfit.  One day, the roller guide of the bail froze on my reel and I didn’t notice it until seeing some real weird wear on the 6 pound test mono I was using.  Upon inspection, the wear came from the frozen roller not moving, my repeated heavy cranking speed, and the 6 pound mono had actually sawed two thirds of the way through the roller and bearing!

I appreciate the question and if any of you have a question, send it to me, I will be happy to answer it either through the newsletter or personally.
bass fishing clear lake, California

Bonus Dates in October

Some of you took advantage of last month’s offer so I decided to extend the same offer to specific dates in October.  Book the 6th, 7th, 8th, 13th, 14th, or 15th and get a full day for the price of a short day!  That is a savings for you or you and a buddy of $100!  The fishing will be fun and the chance for a good fish is good this month.  This offer is available only on a new booking and must be booked by 6 p.m. Sunday, October 4.  Dates are available in October so check out the calendar on the web page, drop me a line, or give me a call to get out on the water.

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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.  Citations have been issued by the sheriff’s boat patrol and the fine runs a little over $100 at this time but is being discussed about moving higher.  All of the tackle shops around the lake will take care of the inspection and the sticker is $10.

If you want to make sure you are not “carrying” in your boat, keep a gallon of bleach around and dump a cup full into your bilge and live wells.  Also put a light solution of bleach in a standard garden sprayer and spray the parts of your boat trailer that get wet when launching your boat.
bass fishing clear lake, California

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.

bass fishing clear lake, California

Closing

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.

bass fishing clear lake, California

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!

Bass Fishing 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!

bass fishing clear lake, California
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Kelseyville, CA 95451
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