Clear Lake Conditions

Water level today is documented at 4.2 feet Rumsey.  We are currently 3 feet behind last year’s water level to date and last year we were a foot low to normal so that puts us about 4 feet lower than normal at this point.  Dam releases are low.  At this point it looks like Yolo county will be able to pull approximately three quarters of a foot of water for agriculture this year.  That will leave us about 3 feet left for evaporation over the year which means seeing zero Rumsey this fall is a real possibility.
 
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).

This paragraph on water temperature is sponsored by Duncan Yo Yo Company!  The warmest I have seen is almost 60 degrees one late afternoon.  Many mornings the temp is hanging around 53 to 54 depending on your location on the lake.  We have had frost 3 days this week and storms coming so don’t look for an improvement soon.
 
Water clarity is still pretty good over most of the lake.  Runoff has not been an issue but the flippin winds have done their part to stain entire sides of the lake up at once.    

Activity This Month

Tournament activity is going strong this month and becoming a little bit bigger deal.  The team tournaments have been drawing bigger turnouts, up to the 40+ range so they will be a bigger factor as the month moves on.

There is a total of five permits current for the month of April.  Anglers Choice, WON, and ABA will host tournaments on the 11th, 18th, 19th, 25th, and 26th.  These events could have fields of 40 to 50, which becomes a bigger 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.

March Fishing Recap

March fishing was productive and difficult.  We had a month that avoided a major tournament and had some nice weather issues.
 
We will report on some good fish and one really good day of fishing.  Overall, even using live bait did not guarantee a smoking hot day.  The tules were still brown all around the lake and fluctuating water temps did not help at all.  What we did learn was that the bass were bunched up when you found them and you better catch them now because they might not be there tomorrow.  We never really got on a great bite on rip baits or swim baits.  Some of the better days were with the old shaky head and a couple of pretty good jig pitching days were thrown in for good measure.  And when I say a good day of jig pitching, I mean they were just flat swimming off with the thing and you better catch up.

We caught quite a few fish this past month but it was definitely not our normal March production.  The numbers for March include 24-four pounders, 10-five pounders, 5-six pounders, and 1-nine pounder.  Hopefully, April will show a typical March’s numbers.

Big Fish of the Month

Caught by David Kemp, the big fish of the month tied his personal best of last year, actually bumped it up by a quarter of a pound at 9.25 pounds.  The fish was a beautiful Clear Lake specimen of being short, deep, and thick.  It was caught on a live shiner in 18 feet of water on the south end of the lake.  Nice fish David!

Best Fish Caught After a Day with the Guide

Rory Watkins nailed his personal best at 10.25 pounds while working a drop shot around the narrows area of the lake the day after he and his buddy Jim Burrow bombed around the lake with me.  Nice fish Rory!  Wish I could take a little credit for this one but they did it all on their own.

Best Day of March Fishing

Ken Ban and Jeff Flett hit a day that we didn’t even know if we were going to fish it was so windy.  I even managed to let a wave sneak over the bow for a little morning Clear Lake face washing.  Their best 10 fish totaled 49 pounds with only a couple of fish in the 5 pound range.  Awesome day guys!

Ken Ban holding a true chunk of a bass.

Jeff Flett with one of the many they caught on a miserable day.

Best Batch of Fish by a Husband and Wife

The Stanglands, John and Deb, as usual, holding a nice bunch of bass.  Good people and a great day.

Best Swim Bait Fish so far...

Kevin McIntosh with an 8.5 pounder that flat ate a swim bait.  He did this last year too!

April Fishing

Well, let’s start out by saying the lake is fishing a month behind so what I said last month still holds for this month.  Rather than rewriting the same thing I wrote for last month, here is the scoop from the last newsletter.  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.

April Dates

It appears the calendar is getting a pretty good workout and so far, so good.  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.

April for all intents and purposes is full at this point.  Start thinking about May and thanks to all who helped complete the month!

Fish Identification from the March Newsletter

The 3 fish I pictured last month in order were the tule perch (one of only two fish native to the lake), the clear lake hitch (the other fish native to the lake), and a rainbow trout (a holdover from heavy spring rains a few years ago).

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.

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 this 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.

A rare time when you will see my picture on this newsletter.  Here I am standing with one of the most gifted anglers around, and one heck of a nice guy, Al Lindner of In Fisherman fame.

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!

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Clear Lake Guide Service
5020 Steelhead Drive
Kelseyville, CA 95451
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