Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2012! It should be an exciting year here on Clear Lake. We had a great batch of 4 and 5 pound fish in the system last year that will be 5 and 6 pound fish this year. Still a little light on the truly big fish but we are seeing signs of them showing up as evidenced by several good fish just this week. Thanks for your interest in the newsletter and what we provide as a guide service here on the lake. Our commitment is to do our best to keep you up to speed with what is happening on this truly special fishery.

Current Conditions Clear Lake

We have been experiencing some awesome winter weather, not necessarily good for the lake but really good for the angler. Cold mornings and end of day highs in the low to mid 60‘s make for some outstanding days on the water.

The water temperature around the lake is running in the low to high 40‘s, rising about 2 to 3 degrees during each sunny day. Clarity and color varies around the lake from clear and 5 feet of visibility to stained and about a foot of clarity with a brownish tint to it. A few spots are showing some light and sporadic algae blooms.

Lake level is about normal for this time of year and dropping slightly.

What is happening on the Lake

Fishing pressure on the lake remains light, extremely light. With the exception of the end of a week with a couple of team tournaments, the middle of the weeks I am seeing a handful of boats. For the most part, I am not going to even report on the team tournament activity as they have dwindled to 20 to 30 boat fields that don’t really bother anyone. I will continue to report on any large field events that you may want to schedule around.

Brief Review of the High Points in Tournament Activity

We did fish one circuit last year, ABA Clear Lake. We missed one, each of us had to fish one alone, we tanked one, should have won one, took second in one and big fish (6 pounds), and won another with second big fish (8 pounds).

Most of 2011 we saw winning tournament big fish in the 5 to 6 pound range with just a few larger than that for the most part. Still not a big number of the larger fish showing up, but they are coming back.

New Technique

A new presentation surfaced late last fall on Lake Guentersville, back in Alabama. The technique was so effective that of the final 10 anglers who qualified to fish the final day, all but one used the technique. Like anything new, especially something so effective, the pros would like to keep it a secret but the technique’s coming out party was a televised event so there was no keeping it quiet. It is called the Alabama Rig.

This rig is actually a modified version of the umbrella rig that has been used in salt water to trail teaser arrays as attractors. The key difference is that it has been modified so that an angler can cast and retrieve up to 5 baits at a time.

Those of you who spent some winter days fishing with me 7, 8, even 9 years ago should remember going out and throwing small rip baits and catching 15 to 20 fish per day in the two to three pound range and thinking that was pretty good winter fishing....and it was...until now!

A friend of mine from Oregon brought the rig down and started fishing it back in November and did well with it. I started fishing it shortly after he left and have been throwing it ever since learning the nuances and fine tuning the hardware. We have experienced a number of 27 to 32 pound days on 10 to 20 fish over the past 3 - 4 weeks. I have never seen a presentation that fires fish up in the winter like this one, ever!

The short explanation is the rig is built from a heavy stainless wire and has either 5 arms or 3 arms depending on the version. We are hanging various types of swim baits off of each arm that are attached directly to the wire by a snap or split ring. That is it, now go throw it! There is a legal twist to it for our state (California) that only allows 3 baits with hooks to be thrown on one rig. So we adapt two of the baits without hooks as teasers and leave the hooks good on the other 3 baits.

The results this winter have been absolutely phenomenal! Get on the phone or email me so you can be up on one of the hottest techniques going by getting out with me to show you the basics while catching fish. Be ready for spring wherever you fish by learning this new deal now.

Jon Denton from Oregon with an 11 lb 5 oz Alabama Rig fish taken this week. And yes, that is his “I am a serious fisherman” face for fear of showing that it really is a big deal to him when he catches a “good ‘un”. Does that look like the face of a guy who will text or phone the details to everyone he knows while his hands are still wet and the fish is heading to the bottom?

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!