Catfish Report-August 27 1999 The fishing is great in the south end of the lake and improving considerably in the north end. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in Clearlake Oaks reports excellent fishing. One pair of anglers caught 14 channel cats to 18 pounds using fresh clams while fishing at Two-Bit Island (near Rattlesnake Island). Another pair of anglers nailed 8 cats to 18 pounds near M&M Campground. Bob rates fresh clams and mackerel as the top baits. Kim Freitas of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake lists Cache Creek, especially near the mouth and the White Rock/Indian Island area as the top spots. Shore fishermen are catching quite a few off the Redbud Park Pier. Kim says most of the fish are running from 8 to 15 pounds and fresh clams are the number one bait followed by extra large and jumbo minnows. The drift fishing has finally started to materialize in the north end of the lake especially in the Nice/Lucerne area. I went out for an hour and a half on Wednesday and again yesterday. I caught a couple of small ones (5 to 10 pounds) both days using shrimp. I also missed a few. I was drifting in 20 to 25 feet of water off of Barnes Yard. I know there are plenty of big fish in the area as I saw a lot of them on the graph. I hope to catch a couple of them during the derby this weekend. I would like to remind everyone that the Clearlake Family Catfish Derby is starting today at 12noon. I hope to see all of you out on the lake during this fun event. I'll probably be fishing off of the Nice/Lucerne area and will be in my 17' Boston Whaler. Cruise by and say howdy. Good Fishin.................Catfish Ed As of 9:00PM last night the lake level is at 2.84 feet ---above rumsey.   Catfish Report-August 20 1999 Catfishing remains good in the south end of the lake and fair in the north end. Kim Freitas of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake rates Cache Creek as the number one catfish spot in the south end of the lake. Kim says they are catching a lot of pan-size cats as well as plenty in the 10 to 14 pound class topped by a 27 pound monster taken at the mouth of the creek. Kim adds that Redbud Park Pier is kicking out a fair number of good size catfish also. The top baits have been clams, minnows and crawdads in that order. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in Clearlake Oaks reports good results drifting around Rattlesnake Island and fishing near the docks at Indian Beach and Bluefish Cove. Bob rates clams as the top bait and live crawdads the next choice. It is still difficult to get information for the north end of the lake due to the lack of serious catfishermen. There are a few cats being taken off of Aurora RV Park in Nice using clams and nightcrawlers. A few knowledgeable anglers are catching some nice fish by working open spots in the weed beds with shrimp or crawdads 4 feet under a slip bobber in the Nice/Lucerne area. I would like to remind everyone that the Clearlake Family Catfish Derby is only one week away. I hope to see all of you out on the lake during this fun event. I'll probably be fishing off of the Nice/Lucerne area and will be in my 17' Boston Whaler. Cruise by and say howdy. Good Fishin.................Catfish Ed As of 8:00AM this morning the lake level is at 3.08 feet above rumsey.    Catfish Report-August 13 1999 The catfishing is good to very good, especially in the south end of the lake. Al Freitas of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake suggests fishing late night to early morning at Bass Alley or the White Rock/Indian Island area for fish from 8 to 12 pounds with an occasional larger one to 20 pounds. Frozen jumbo minnows, extra large live minnows and fresh clams are the top baits. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in Clearlake Oaks reports a lot of cats being taken at Rattlesnake Island, Anderson Island, Indian Beach and Horseshoe Bend. They have been running in the 8 to 12 pound class with a few going to 18 pounds. Bob touts fresh clams as the number one bait with nightcrawlers being the next best. I haven't been able to get much info from the north end of the lake since there are so few fishermen going out. There are still a few large cats being caught off docks at night with clams and cut bait such as mackerel and anchovies. It's about time to start trying some drift fishing off of the Nice/Lucerne area in 20 to 25 feet of water, last year it broke wide open in late August. The Clearlake Chamber of Commerce Catfish Derby is only two weeks away so I hope everybody is signing up for this fun event. It promises to be lots of fun for the whole family. Good Fishin.................Catfish Ed The last available lake level report is from Aug 7 at 9:00am: 3.58 feet above rumsey.   Catfish Report-August 6 1999 The unseasonable weather has taken it's toll on the catfishing as well. There are very few fishermen on the lake trying for cats. Al Freitas of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake reports good action in Cache Creek with clams as the top bait followed by cut bait such as mackerel or anchovies. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in Clearlake Oaks says there are very few catfishermen going out. There are a few small channel catfish being caught around Rattlesnake Island with clams and cut bait but that's about it. The north end of the lake isn't much better. There are a few channel cats up to 12 pounds being taken in the Nice/Lucerne area fishing from the bank after dark with clams or shrimp. Rodman Slough is giving up a few small cats fishing at night with clams or cut bait. I feel confident that the fishing will improve considerably over the next couple of weeks as the weather returns to normal and the fish go into their late summer pattern. Good Fishin.................Catfish Ed As of 9:00AM this morning the lake level is at 3.65 feet above rumsey. Back to Old Reports