Clear Lake Conditions

Guess what?...oh jeezohhz...another storm, what a surprise! Man, I am so sick of wearing rain gear...but at least the lake is full. We are due another predicted inch of rain which could equal another 3 to 4 inches of lake rise. Lake level stands today at 7.6 Rumsey, a little over the full mark. Last year on this date the lake was measured at 4.0 and the historical average for the date is 6.08. Dam releases have been ranging from 6 to 11 CFS (Cubic Feet per Second). 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).

Due to all of the questions I receive about Rumsey, we have added to our web site an article recently published in the Record Bee, written by our local fountainhead of all knowledge, Terry Knight, that explains the historical beginnings of the Rumsey gauge.

Water clarity is less than optimal and decreasing. Some areas of the lake have clear enough water to see bottom at 5 feet, others you can barely see bottom at 2 feet. Some days it clears in some areas and you can see 4 to 5 feet and a little wind and boom, 3 feet of visibility is all that is left. Surface temperature is still running around 56 degrees in the am and on good days getting up to 61-62 in the pm.

Activity This Month

Weekend tournament activity is down a notch in May. According to the event calendar the 2nd, 16th, 22nd, and 23rd are dates of Team tournaments that should have fields of 25 to 35 boats. The 15th and 16th is a weekend for an Anglers Choice Pro Am. The previous pro am saw 73 boats at Shasta so figure about the same here.

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.

April Fishing Recap

We spent a lot of time on the water in April and spoke with a lot of anglers during that time on the water. Disappointment presentations were swim baits and rip baits. Yes there were some fish caught using these methods but not what we hoped to see.

Our most effective presentation of the past few months of the shakey head gave way to the drop shot, especially towards the end of the month when we could start sightfishing. Excluding fishing for fish we could see, all baits had to be pretty much dead sticked to be effective. On quite a few days, the angler moving his bait the slowest and the least was the guy who caught most of the bites. This was true whether fishing a drop shot or a senko.

All fish caught this month were in 3 to 5 feet of water and some were seen so shallow that their fins were out of the water. Overall, the fishing remained tough. Many times we spoke with anglers on the water who had 1 to 3 fish for a day’s work. Our average was 16 fish per day.

Regarding our fish count, we still have a couple of trips to complete this month but so far we caught 24 four pounders, 15 five pounders, 2 six pounder, 6 seven pounders, and 1 eight pounder. While we did not do a whole lot of live bait trips, the majority of the 5 pound and above fish came on live bait during three trips that produced 30 pound plus limits.

There is no question that the overall fish population is down. We are handling way too many fish that show signs of being on culling floats (torn outside gill plate membranes) and removing an usually high number of secondary and on one fish, three hooks. In years past we would handle one to five fish showing tournament handling through out the entire year. This year it is every day we handle at least one and I have seen as many as 4 during a trip. The average fish size remains good, there are just fewer of them.

Note to tournament anglers, there is no valid reason to put a cull float on a 5 pound or bigger fish, period. I have handled 2 fives, a six, and a seven this month that all had gill damage due to cull floats. Some of us have had the privilege to cull a 5 in a tournament and a few of us have even culled a 6, but honestly, those size fish just are not going to be culled so leave them off the float.

May Predictions

Florida strain bass and inconsistent weather are a bad combo, always have been, always will be. This year’s weather pattern of 7 days having two good ones and two bad ones keeps the fish population in a state of confusion. Regardless of the relatively low water temperatures, fish are spawning and have been since the first of April, maybe even earlier.

Looking at the initial forecasts for May, the first third of the month looks to be warmer than normal. Match that with some calm winds and weed growth and the water will clear up in many areas of the lake. Sight fishing, one of my favorites should be good. Keep in mind that where you saw them last year will have 3 more feet of water this year so you may or may not be able to see them. With all the tules in the water though this year, go shallow in your search.

Also, look for opportunities to take advantage of post spawn fish and fish protecting fry. Topwater baits like a frog, popper, and walkers will produce fish this month in areas near spawning stations.

Rodman Slough will continue to produce fish this spring although they may be a little hard to reach with the higher water. I kind of like the looks of the water right now in the Keyes, for a change it looks like real water. I was down there during the past week and could actually see some fish in about 3 feet of water. There is quite a bit of the little weed the delta rats call “frog weed” in there so that bite should be right around the corner if not there already.

One of the residents of the Keyes asked me to pass along a request for anglers to be respectful of the docks, improvements, and to keep the wakes down while fishing in the area.

Availability in May

April was a sell out! Thanks to all for making it a great month. May currently has 3 open dates left, the 14th, 17th, and 25th. The easiest way to see if a date is available is via the booking calendar on the web site. Thanks to all of you who have already set up your trips, I appreciate it.

Hitch in Flight

My wife bought me this picture taken by a local photographer L. O. Madison. The story goes that he was rapid fire shooting pics of this Osprey carrying a hitch back to its nest at Adobe Creek when this Red Shouldered Hawk grabbed the hitch, pulled it away from the Osprey and then proceeded to drop the hitch so that neither bird got the benefit of the meal. He did not know he had captured the moment until reviewing his shots in the camera. Hope you enjoy it and please do not get after me if it isn’t a red shouldered hawk, it is his story, and I don’t care, it is just an awesome moment captured.

Speaking of hitch...all indications from the spawning observations this year are that their numbers are increasing which is very good news.

Quagga Reminder

The newly revised inspection program is now in place. The changes only impact boaters who have a boat registered outside of Lake County. Out of county boaters now must have their boat inspected monthly. Each month upon a successful inspection, the boat owner will be issued a set of colored ribbons, one goes on the boat and the other on the trailer. The paperwork is the same and the same places are handling the process. The fee is $10. What this means is those of you bringing a boat here on a regular basis from outside the area are now required to follow through with the inspection process on your first trip of each new month, and pay the $10 fee, each inspection. Each month the color of the ribbons will change.

A lot has been said about the inspection process but here it is in a nutshell. Show up for inspection with the bilge plug out, the bilge dry, the live wells dry, the ice chest dry and the inspection is a breeze. It is not meant to be difficult because you are signing a declaration that says you have not had your boat in an infected body of water. One angler told me that he keeps a towel in each inspection area so the inspector can tell by the dry towel that the area is good to go.

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.

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.

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.

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!