Fishing Report #1 for 2006

I had a good time up at Clear Lake with my friend and his dad. It was a guys weekend, but hey we behaved ourselves! My family has had a little place on the water there since the 60's. We always went up on weekends. Sure in the summer, but dad also went up in the winter. I had this country boy thing going on for 2 days a week then would come home and go to school in the Richmond Unified School District. I had really good country friends up there and then kids I would hang with at home. It was a fine way to grow up as a kid. I never really "got" what the attraction was for dad at Clear Lake. I mean we always had fun in the summer, boating, fishing etc. But in the winter what could we do? Now as an adult and with the place fixed up I see that looking for something to do often means you miss out on what comes to you. You sit, relax, see the many birds, watch the sky change colors, feel the warm sun, and the cool breeze. The nights are clear and cold and if you take the time to notice, very quiet.

We had good meals at The Saw Shop Bistro and Rob and I hit the water to do some fishing.

A tip: go to Clear Lake and get a guide. You use his boat, his gear, and his gas. You'll have an epic time, see the lake from the water, and it only costs 40 bucks an hour. What a deal! Never fished before? Even better you'll really be blown away!

Here's what I wrote up fom my KFOG page:

Spent 3 lovely days (well ok Saturday was a little cold...) at Clear Lake. I went up to relax and go fishing with guide Bob Myskey.

Bob lives on the lake and guides all year long. While you can catch largemouth bass all year long at Clear Lake, a cold winter day is not know as the best time to go. But President's Day weekend didn't want to wait for 60 degree water temps and warm days. So we went Sunday.

In the cold water fish tend to just move slower. They kind of shut down. So it really helps to have a guide take you out that knows where they could be holding. The fish aren't going to spend much energy leaving their rock or structure to feed. You have to almost be right on top of them. A matter of just a few feet can make the difference between on fish or just casting practice.

We fished the south end of the lake along a rocky shoreline and threw out baby brush hogs. They are a plastic bait that looks like an 8 legged salamander. Bob did a little custom work on them to add more action. We caught a fair number of fish around 2 pounds each. I got the big fish of the morning at around 3.5 pounds.

Bob switched us up to some Carolina rigged worms and a drop shot rig. No matter what we were using we were on the bottom. Bump bump bump, hitting whatever was on the bottom of the lake bed. The bites were pretty light, it was hard to tell if you had a hit or were dragging over a rock. Bob says "swings are free" so if you think you have a fish set the hook. If it wasn't a fish, no worries. The guys you see on tv almost always swing and set the hook on a fish. Hey they swing without a hookup all the time. It just never makes the tv show!

As the wind died down and the sun came out (thankfully) we started to warmup. Bob decided to move us to a secret little spot on the east side of the lake. He knew of an underwater rock pile and thought we should try it. We saw it on his fish finder and started to cast out. We were still throwing baby brush hogs and a 4 inch worm. As the sun was beaming down straight above our heads Rob was working his lure back into the boat and felt 2 quick bumps. He said it wasn't a rock, and Bob quickly said "set the hook!"

Rob took a big swing and the fight was on. About 10 feet from the boat we all saw a big flash of color as the lunker turned on her side and sped away. Rob very calmly loosened the drag a little and was patient as the fish took line. Bob quickly got the net and as Rob gained more line on his spool Bob stabbed the net in the water and pulled up a nice big 6 pound 11 oz classic Clear Lake largemouth. Wow it was cool!



Bob thought maybe she had moved to the top of the rock pile to warm up in the sun, and Rob was casting right over the top of the rocks.

Well that was about it for the day. We passed lots of crappie fishermen at "4 Pipes." Man there was everything from a kayak to bass boats, to ski boats to a rental with a little motor on the back and guys all bunched up catching their 25 fish crappie limit.

Back at the dock we took photos and chatted up Rob's dad about the fun. If we combined our fish for a five fish total (of about 20 caught) we would have had about 17 pounds at the weigh in. Not bad. I'm not sure I'll ever enter a tournament, but I'd take a day like that every time. After some photos all the fish went back in the water, healthy and happy to again start filling their bellies. Every fish we caught, even the little guys, had pot bellies on them from feeding all winter. I think there will be some big fish caught at the lake in 2006.

Most of the winter bass fishing at Clear Lake is done with minnows because it is so hard to get the fish to bite the artificals so it is a credit to Bob for getting us on the fish and knowing what to use.

How much does it cost? 40 bucks an hour for 1 or 2. That includes using his gear. With tip Rob and I dropped 100 bucks each. Well worth it.

Big Rick says: check it out!


photos by Bob Myskey

PS:

ESPN Bass Center's top 10 bass fishing destinations at a glance

1-Lake Armistad, Texas
2-Clear Lake, CA
3-Lake Guntersville, Alabama
4-Old Hickory, Tennessee
5-Toho, Okeechobee and the lakes of central Florida
6-Lake El Cuchillo, Mexico
7-Pasimoni River, Venezuela
8-Lake El Salto, Mexico
9-Lake Comedero, Mexico
10-The Amazon Basin, Brazil