Clear Lake Conditions

Water level today is documented at 1.3 feet Rumsey. This is a drop of about one foot in lake level during the past month. The lake level is now hanging at the same level as last year. Dam releases have dwindled to a near standstill so water level from this point forward will be based on evaporation and future rainfall.

Water temperature is running in the low to mid 70’s throughout the lake. This will begin to change as overnight lows will start dropping into the high then mid low forties as the month of October moves along.

Water clarity during the past month is still o.k. in most areas and still real clear in some of the weedier areas. We have experienced some algae blooms over the past week of hot weather, though it is in isolated areas. In some areas deep in the weed beds you can still see bottom in 4 to 5 feet of water. In other areas of the lake, 5 feet or so is about it.

The annual fall carp die off is in full swing. Dead carp are seen all over the lake floating in weed beds, basking on the beach, and in open water. Seems to be some disagreement locally regarding the reason but the two most argued thoughts include a virus specific to carp or the dropping dissolved oxygen content of the lake water. Don’t know which is right but apparently carp are extremely sensitive to low oxygen levels so it makes sense to me that the stress of that combined with the stress brought about by warm water temperature is doing the most damage. Locals are being advised to simply bury any carp carcasses washed up on their waterfront property.

Activity This Month

Fishing pressure continues to increase as the fish off time of year is here. Again, if there is no tournament here, there are a bunch of tournament anglers here getting ready for one coming soon. Most weekends in October are booked with tournament activity of some form. A total of 13 tournaments are permitted on the lake in October, most are small club one day tournaments.

There are three team championships taking place this month that will put 100+ boats on the water. Angler’s Choice has one on the weekend of the 11th and 12th, a second one the weekend of the 18th and 19th, and ABA has the lake the following weekend of the 25th and 26th.

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 have listed on the calendar. Just another service we offer.

September Fishing Recap

We had a wide range of weather conditions in September. No real heat though we experienced some warm days. We did have a 4 day period of cold drift through that messed up the fishing for several days due to a 9 degree drop in water temperature. And finally, towards the end of the month we actually had a couple of days that included cloud cover and even one afternoon that produced almost a quarter inch of rain.

Last month’s newsletter had this line in it predicting a good month for better fish, “We have to go back to April to find a better big fish month and September should follow right along”. Well, September produced better big fish numbers than August! The numbers for September include 6-four pounders, 5-five pounders, 3-six pounders, 1-seven pounder, 2-eight pounders, 2-nine pounders, and 1-ten pounder. Again, we had quite a few clients landing their personal best fish in those totals. I was out the one afternoon that it rained and my two clients landed a fish each in the 6 pound range and lost one in the 8 pound range due to the split ring on their personal bait opening up and letting go of the hook, fish and all.

We caught big fish this past month on frogs, Ricos, swim baits, and jigs. Since the lower ends of the lake were getting so much fishing pressure I spent a little more time on the shallower upper end of the lake fighting the vast mats of weeds and the effort paid off.

Rico Lure

The perfect place to store a Rico!

October Fishing

This month is a month of transition. Most afternoons will feel like the summer is still alive and kicking. Many mornings will remind us that fall is indeed here and winter won’t be far behind. Fall’s cooler nights and mornings mean we will have plenty of dew on the boat first thing in the morning. The surface water temperature of Clear Lake will slowly begin to maintain a decline and the bass will pick up on that and activity will increase.

This is also the month when weed decay can turn the water into a coffee colored mix that can really ding an angler’s confidence in finding active fish. Along with the bad color comes a lower dissolved oxygen content that can alter a bass’s activity.

Finding and staying on bait is a key this month. In the deeper portions of the lake the silversides will be a key food source for the smaller bass. In the shallower portions of the lake juvenile crappie and bass will be the key food sources. Of course, this is a time of year when the crawdad comes into play on all parts of the lake.

On Clear Lake, bass follow bait into extremely shallow water during the fall and by shallow we can be talking about water as shallow as two feet or less. Bass can be found from the surface to depths of up to 30 feet and every level in between. This is a time when the jig bite usually comes on strong as well as reaction baits such as crank baits and rip baits, as well as some surface activity. The key here is the surface activity might not bring fast action but it can bring a big result.

Big Fish of the Month

This month’s big fish will not be pictured, nor will the second big fish as, unfortunately, they were not caught by a client, they were caught by me…the same day. Those two fish could have been caught by you but you weren’t here! Last year I had a 9 plus and a ten plus on the same top water bait at the same time, my biggest pair of fish on one cast. Last month I landed a 9.75 and a 10.25 about 5 minutes apart on a swim bait.

Here are pictures of the two clients who fished in the rain for big results. Kaz Ichiki and his day partner Mitsuhiro Uchida of Cupertino showing off the two nice fish they landed which were both smaller than the one Mitsuhiro had take a hook off of his bait

Big Fish of the Month x1 Big Fish of the Month x2

October Dates

We already have trips booked for the month around the tournament activity. This month should give us an opportunity to do some ripping, a little swim baiting, and towards the end of the month maybe a little live shiner fishing. Give me a call for availability and let’s get you on the water.

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. In the coming months, look for some changes and updates of our web site as well as some new services that will be available the first of the year. Good fishing and keep a tight line.

My partner Jim, took a fellow fireman out checking for new water for our trips and he caught his first frog fish, that 9.75 will be hard to beat!

big fish

While Jim’s guy was doing that…my two guys were doing this…..

small fish

…ahhhh, Jack and David, you are such good sports!

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!