A few spring bass tips for Clear Lake Ca.
As march,april and may bring longer hours of sunlight to Clear Lake California the bass begin there spring movements. This is one of the best times to get out and fish Clear Lake as the average bass will go 4-6 lbs with fish up to 9 or 10lbs taken on the right days.
Understanding the movements of Clear Lake bass at this time of the year is the key to a successful outing. The fish will begin to move to the shore to look to spawn. Fish will funnel into creeks,bays,marinas and any area offering protection from the cold northern winds that come with a typical spring. Intercepting these fish can be tricky as they move in big pods/schools waiting for the weather to get just right. The shallow North part of the lake from State Park to Lakeport is a good area to check in early spring. This area has many tules and shallow flats for the bass to use for spawning. Bass will stack up near the mouths of creeks or coves and will move in and out as the weather changes. On warm calm days look for the bass to funnel in to the shore and be shallow and tight to the bank. When the weather changes or cools look for the bass to move off shore , but stay close to the areas they want to use for spawning. Areas with sparse tules or willow trees near bye will clue you in that your in the right areas in spring.
In the south the deeper part of the lake the keys will offer a protected area for the bass to migrate into and spawn. This area is a good place to go when the winds are strong making the lake rough and difficult to travel to the north part of the lake. Houses with many boat docks and coves make up the keys making for excellent bass fishing in spring. Other areas that will be good in the south part of the lake are any of the bays such as Konocti Bay, and other protected bays. These areas will see less pressure in early spring and the bass will tend to stay deeper longer in the south before moving up.
There are so many tactics to catch bass at Clear Lake in the spring so well just cover a few of the top producers on this great bass fishing lake. In march look to fish very slow with rip baits such as the Lucky Craft pointer 127’s in the north and staycee 90’s in the south chartuese shad will work just fine make sure you use long pauses when ripping in spring. Next will be slow rolling a spinner bait right on the bottom this will work well in both the north and south part of the lake fish 1/2oz Persuader Spinner baits when fishing shallow and 3/4oz DM Custom Baits Sniper Spinner baits when fishing deeper . Shortly after this the swim bait bite will heat up and continue for some time! Berkley hollow bellies will work well, but if your looking for the bigger fish you had better be throwing bigger baits such as the BVD 3d or the Osprey Talon in light hitch colors. When the weather warms and the fish move up to spawn it will be tough to beat a senko type bait and a frog! This will usually happen in april and may. Many may bass tournaments are won there on a frog! So think shallow, think FROGGY!
There are many more ways to catch bass on Clear Lake and this lake is good year round for bass fishing. There are many hotels and ammenities close to the lake.
Good Luck!
