Another healthy Clear Lake largemouth for the Big Man
So the calendar says spring, but here in California at least, it’s like the dead of winter…cold, rainy and windy. It’s wacky weather like this — sunny and 70 degrees one day, then pouring the next — that can make bass fishing tough. Still, our pal
Big Fred Contaoi has been sending us some pix of big bass from Clear Lake lately, so he’s obviously figured something out. In fact, he finished 4th in a big tourney there last week…and the weather was super funky then, too.
But, this is all a long preamble to say that the spawn’s not far off…so it’s time to target pre-spawn bass. Learn how
HERE 
The arrow shows the bite mark from a huge largemouth!
Practicing for an upcoming tournament this week, a friend of ours hooked a giant bass at Clear Lake on a swimbait. He said that he never got a good look at the leviathan before it pulled free, but it felt HUGE.
And just look at where the leading edge of the fish’s jaws clamped down on this swimbait (see arrow). He also said that the lunker
Micropterus salmoides smashed his hook down (it had been repaired before the photo was taken), leaving me to think these fish have a lot more power in their big ol’ bucket than I originally thought.
In any case, just yet another example of why it would suck to be a baitfish!
Okay, if the sight of a little blood and gore isn’t for you, you may want to skip this one! Here’s a set of grainy camera shots taken by our pal Big Fred Contaoi on a dark night on Clear Lake when a marauding catfish decided to strike back! [click to continue…]
by JD on February 18, 2010
On Wednesday, the Three Amigos (Me, Riles and Big Fred) that just returned from that epic Oregon steelhead mission were back in action: This time our target was Clear Lake’s winter bass. Armed with a mixed bag of live minnows, drop-shot gear and swimbaits, we took to the water for a rip-roaring bucketmouth blitzkrieg.
The weather was decidedly “unwinter-like” for the dead of February and the bass were feeling frisky. When the smoke cleared, we put probably 30-40 chunky largemouth in the boat. Here’s a little photographic evidence… [click to continue…]
by JD on January 24, 2010
Hey JD,
Spring hopefully is on the way and I’ve got a question for you. One of my friends is really hot on crappie fishing, so much in fact that we have a little wager going now. He doesn’t fish much in the ocean for lincgod and I have never fished for big crappie before. We are going to go head to head on either of these specie. My question is , where in hell can I find some big crappie and how do I catch them? I have started looking on the internet but then I thought about you. You answered a question I had awhile back about rainbows over 16 inches in the sac system. Can you help me out buddy?
–Craig D.
Craig, well normally I’d say you can catch some huge ‘slabs at Clear Lake in February and March, but the fish are in a down cycle there now. Black Butte Reservoir has always been a hot crappie producer, though I haven’t heard much out of there this season. Camp Far West is another good bet.
Find some submerged cover near deep water and drop small live minnows or white crappie jigs (1/34-ounce size). Good luck!
by JD on November 17, 2009
Okay, so may it sounds a bit like a sappy chick flick: “Clear Lake in the Fall,” but there is some seriously epic fishing to be had on this Northern California lake in the late autumn.
Everything — trophy largemouth, scads of big catfish and dinner plate sized crappie — are all putting on the feed bag before winter kicks in and the action can be non-stop. Great fishing, nice scenery…and hardly another soul on the water. What’s not to like?
[click to continue…]
by JD on November 3, 2008
Northern California’s Clear Lake is no stranger to pumping out jumbo largemouth bass and that’s certainly been the case this fall.
Our man on the scene, FLW Touring pro Big Fred Contaoi put his clients onto some good ones today, Nov. 3 — including this sweet 11.7 pounder that gobbled up a swimbait.
What are the best fishing lakes in California? Well, let’s just take a look…
My extremely unscientific formula to come up with these rankings took species diversity, average fish size, aesthetic value, length of season, proximity to other attractions and available facilities into account.
I also employed the very technical and complex system of Rock, Paper, Scissors when there was a tie. So, without further adieu, here’s my list of Northern California’s 5 Best Fishing Lakes (feel free to chime in, complain or add your favorite in the comments section below).
[click to continue…]
