July 3, 2002 The south end of the lake continues to kick out big catches of catfish and the Clearlake Oaks Arm is producing some good stringers around Rattlesnake Island but the north end is still very slow. Brad Farrin of Don's Bait & Tackle in Clearlake 707-995-9668 reports excellent fishing at Bass Alley and in Cache Creek. Jumbo minnows and mackerel are the top baits at Bass Alley and nightcrawlers, clams and chicken livers are doing the trick in the creek. Most catfishermen are catching at least 5 or 6 fish for a day's or night's effort and they are running from 8 to 15 pounds apiece. Well known catfish expert Catmanw from San Jose fished last Friday evening from about 11:00pm through Sunday morning around 10:00am at Bass Alley and in Cache Creek. He caught and released 17 cats weighing from 5 to 13 pounds. Five of his fish were caught on mackerel and the other 12 on jumbo minnows. He only caught two fish in the creek, he caught the rest drifting Bass Alley. For a detailed account of his trip go to my forum and click on the post entitled "The Real Report from the South End" dated 7/02/02. Rattlesnake Island in the Clearlake Oaks Arm is producing 3 to 5 catfish per trip with mackerel and anchovies. Most of the fish are weighing from 7 to 13 pounds. A few good cats are being caught from shore at M & M Campground in Clearlake Oaks. The top baits are nightcrawlers and mackerel. July 11, 2002 Well I wish I could come up with a good report for the north end of the lake but unfortunately it's still very slow. The south end is still producing good stringers of big catfish. Brad Farrin of Don's Bait & Tackle in Clearlake 707-995-9668 reports most of the action has been at night or very early in the morning due to the 100° + temperatures we've been experiencing. The hot spots have been Monitor Island, Wheeler Point and the ever popular Bass Alley. Drift fishing with jumbo minnows and mackerel is producing 4 to 6 fish per person with most of the fish weighing from 8 to 15 pounds. Cache Creek has slowed down quite a bit but persistent anglers are catching one or two nice cats for a night's effort. Quite a few fish are being taken off the docks of local resorts at night with mackerel and nightcrawlers. The Clearlake Oaks Keys are producing some nice catfish including an 18 pounder caught by local angler Vic Fung with a chunk of hot dog off his dock. Rattlesnake Island is kicking out a few nice cats with jumbo minnows and mackerel but it's a long wait between bites. The only action in the north end of the lake is a few 5 to 9 pounders being caught at night off docks in the Nice/Lucerne Area with nightcrawlers and clams.   July 18, 2002 Most of the catfish action is still occuring in the south end of the lake. A lot of locals are blaming the slow fishing in the north end on all the spraying for aquatic weeds by the county plus the Hydrilla spraying by the state. Although they say it doesn't harm the fish, it certainly drives them away from their normal haunts. Brad Farrin of Don's Bait & Tackle in Clearlake 707-995-9668 reports good catfish action for drifters in deeper water over breaks in 10 to 15 feet of water. Some of the more productive spots have been Wheeler Point, Bass Alley and Monitor Island. Brad rates nightcrawlers, mackerel and anchovies as the top baits. Most of the fish are weighing from 8 to 12 pounds with an occasional 15 or 16 pounder in the mix. The fishing in Cache Creek has slowed down to a crawl with only an occasional catfish being taken by persistent anglers. Bass 'N Guide Sandy Hager of Tackle It Sport Shop in Lakeport 707-262-1233 says they are catching quite a few big catfish, including a couple of 20 pounders, while drop-shotting for bass with 6 inch plastic worms in of the south end of the lake. I haven't heard of any serious catfish action in the north end of the lake. Hopefully they will cut down on the weed spraying activity soon and the fishing will improve.   July 25, 2002 Although there are a few nice catfish being caught in the north end of the lake, most of the action is in the south end. Cary of Don's Bait & Tackle in Clearlake 707-995-9668 says the fishing slowed since last week but most anglers are catching 2 or 3 fish for an evening's effort. Rattlesnake Island and the mouth of Cache Creek at Indian Island in 7 to 10 feet of water are producing most of the evening action while drift fishing in 20 feet of water off the Pipeline is producing good catches in the daylight hours. The top baits have been mackerel, nightcrawlers and dead jumbo minnows. Most of the fish are running from 8 to 14 pounds with a few 16's and 17's in the mix. Bass guide Sandy Hager of Tackle It Sport Shop in Lakeport 707-262-1233 says the only catfish that she's heard of are being taken accidentally by bass fishermen while drop-shotting with 4½ inch plastic worms over rockpiles in 13 to 20 feet of water in the Rattlesnake Island area. She suggests that if you're targeting catfish try rocky areas in 10 to 25 feet of water and use small baits such as shad or small chunks of cut bait. There are a few big channel cats being caught in Rodman Slough and off docks in the Nice/Lucerne Area with nightcrawlers and shrimp but the action is still rated slow.