Kevin VanDam

Big-Bag Shootout Again – Or Not

March 17, 2010
(bassfan.com, March 17, 2010)

The Clear Lake Bassmaster Elite Series could be either a slugfest or a grind – it all depends on what the bass in California’s largest natural lake decide to do over the next few days.

One of two scenarios is almost certain to play out. Either a bunch of fish will migrate to the shallows and the Elite anglers will clobber them with swimbaits like they did 3 years ago, or they’ll continue to cruise around at depths of 6 feet or more and play hard to catch. Opinion on whether the former will happen is split – some say the fish are right on the verge of moving up for the spawn, while others think the still-cold nights will keep them out until sometime next week.

One thing is certain – they weren’t easy to entice during the 3-day practice session that concluded this afternoon. Tales of woe, of course, must be taken with a grain of salt because nobody wants to divulge anything that’s proven effective under the current conditions, but even some anglers who reported getting a fair of amount of bites lamented that they were scattered and unpredictable.

Even if it stays relatively tough, the Top 2 or 3 finishers will likely weigh bags that average somewhere around 20 pounds – there are just too many big fish here to prevent that from happening. But at the same time, much of the field will struggle, as it did last week at the California Delta.

Before delving further into the bite, here’s the low-down on the lake itself.

BassFan Lake Profile

> Name: Clear Lake
> Type of Water: Natural lake
> Surface Acres: 43,000
> Primary structure/cover: Docks, rocks and tules
> Primary forage: Shad, Clear Lake hitch, crawdads
> Average depth: 30 feet
> Species: Largemouths
> Length limit: 12 inches
> Reputation: A big-fish factory that suffered a decline in the early 1990s, but has made a strong recovery. Huge population of 4- to 6-pound fish
> Weather: A mix of clouds and sun with daytime highs in the 70s, but cool nights in the high 30s to low 40s. A tad cooler for the weekend.
> Water temperature: Low to mid 50s
> Water color/visibility: Very clear in most places
> Water level: About a foot below full pool
> Fish in: 6 to 20 feet
> Fish phase: Pre-spawn
> Primary patterns: Swimbaits, dropshots, jigs, Senkos, maybe some sight-fishing
> Winning weight: 85 pounds (4 days)
> Cut weight (Top 12, 3 days): 48 pounds
> Check weight (Top 47, 2 days): 28 pounds
> Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 2 for Clear Lake, but that could change
> Biggest factor: Water temperature
> Biggest decisions: Which end of the lake to fish
> Wildcard: A big movement of fish toward the banks

http://www.bassfan.com/news_article.asp?id=3555

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