January 7 2000 The bass fishing is still rated very good using live jumbo minnows. The ripping and worming bite has slowed down a little. The water temperature has dropped to as low as 44 degrees. Percy Oved of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in Clearlake Oaks (707-998-1006) says the minnow bite is still going strong and they keep running out of minnows. Brush Hogs and Dead Ringer worms are the best artificial lure choices. Al Freitas of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake (707-995-9668) confirms the hot minnow bite. Kevin Hall of Middletown tried minnows for the first time yesterday and caught a 11 pound 4 ounce and 6 pound 8 ounce bass near Buckingham as well as a bunch of smaller ones. There are a lot of fish being taken at around 5 feet near docks and also at 14 to 20 feet over rockpiles. Al recommends using a bobber for minnow fishing in 8 feet or less and just a split shot for the 14 to 20 foot range. The north end of the lake is still producing some fish ripping Shad Raps and clowns. Baby Bass Zipper worms have been working well in the Rocky Point area. Good Fishin.......Catfish Ed .The lake level continues to hold steady at around 1.40 feet above Rumsey.   January 14 2000 The overall bass fishing picture is still looking good. The live minnow bite is still productive but you need to do a little more searching to find a school of fish. Ripbaits and plastics are getting a fair share of fish as well. Jeanette Owen of Lakeport Tackle (707-263-8862) reports lots of action in the north end of the lake. Little Rocky Point and the State Park have been the most productive areas. Rattletraps and Shad Raps have been the hot lures for fish averaging around 2 to 3 pounds. Live jumbo minnows have been accounting for some larger fish up to 9 pounds. Al Freitas of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake says the minnow bite is still good but you have to spend a little time locating a school of fish. Al suggests trying either docks in around 6 to 8 feet of water or rockpiles and breaks in 14 to 20 feet. When you locate some bass with the minnows try slow-twitching a Shad Rap or ripping a Rattletrap. There have been several fish taken in the 9 to 10 pound class in the past week. Percy Oved of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in Clearlake Oaks (707-998-1006) confirms the minnow action and says there have been some nice fish taken carolina rigging a Brush Hog. Percy also suggests ripping Staysees or Pointer78s for fish to 5 pounds. Good Fishin.......Catfish Ed January 21 2000 The bass fishing remains in a typical winter pattern. The fish are schooled up so when you locate a fish there are usually a lot more around. Al Freitas of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake says jumbo minnows are still the top producer by far. Bass guide Sandy Haegar had two fishermen catch 42 bass with minnows in one day. Bass guide Jim Munk took his family out and his 4 year old daughter caught a 10 pound 3 ounce bass on a jumbo minnow. Al adds that the rip and crank bite is still decent for knowledgeable fishermen. Bob Higgins of Limit Out Bait and Tackle in Clearlake Oaks reports that ripping and cranking are producing quite a few good fish with several in the 7 pound class taken last weekend. Bob also rates jumbo minnows as the overall top producer for both size and numbers of fish. Jeanette Owen of Lakeport Tackle (707-263-8862) reports good fishing in the north end of the lake. Rocky areas such as Rocky Point and docks with at least 5 feet of water are the best bets. Throwing blades and slow cranking have been productive and some of the regulars have been doing real well with carolina rigs. Jeanette adds that jumbo minnows are accounting for a lot of fish as well. Good Fishin.......Catfish Ed The lake level is up to 1.9 feet above Rumsey as of 8:00PM last night.   January 28 2000 More and more anglers are going to jumbo or extra large live minnows for incredible bass action. A lot of artificial lure buffs, including some professional guides, are jumping on the minnow bandwagon. Percy Oved of Limit Out Tackle in Clearlake Oaks (707-998-1006) says that minnows are working so well that even he caught fish with them. He caught a 7 pound 8 ounce and 7 pound 1 ounce bass plus a bunch of smaller ones. Dick Schlough of Clearlake Oaks nailed a 11 pound 14 ouncer with a minnow and a 4 pound 14 ounce smallmouth bass on a dead ringer worm ( smallies are very rare in Clear Lake ). Percy adds that plastics and ripbaits are catching their fair share as well. Al Freitas of Don's Bait and Tackle in Clearlake confirms the hot minnow bite and adds that ripping minnow type crankbaits such as Rattlin Rogues is accounting for a lot of quality fish. Jeanette Owen of Lakeport Tackle (707-263-8862) lists minnows as the number one bait. Ripping minnow type jerkbaits is another good option as is throwing blades. The County Park area and Rocky Point are some of the better areas in the north end of the lake. The Nice/Lucerne area is kicking out a lot of good fish. The Nice Community Pier, the mouth of Holiday Harbor and Aurora RV Park are some of the hotspots. Jumbo minnows, live crawdads and black/brown pig-n-jigs have been the top baits. I saw one angler catch 5 bass in the 3 pound range in less than one hour with crawdads outside of Holiday Harbor. I tried a couple of jumbo minnows wednesday afternoon and caught a 3 and 4 pounder in less than a half hour right in front of my house. Good Fishin.......Catfish Ed The lake level is up to 2.39 feet above Rumsey as of 9:00PM last night. Back to Year 2000 Bass Reports