BY MIKE STEVENS
CLEARLAKE— Power-Pole Pro Todd Kline visited Western Outdoor News headquarters to once again film a video overview of the fishery serving as the venue for the upcoming WON BASS event. His presentation on Shasta Lake was well received, so cranking out one on Clear Lake was a no brainer. The video is available HERE but here are some of the primary takeaways.
Before getting into the locations on Clear Lake, Kline stressed the importance of one particular forage fish that’s a huge factor when hunting the fishery’s bigger bass.
“For me growing up in Florida, hitch were like the wild shiner we had, and that’s why the big swimbaits and glidebaits really come into play this time of year,” he said. “If you can’t find the hitch, the fish are still going to be feeding on crawfish, crappie, bluegill and the shad, but the holy grail is the hitch. If you see them swimming around, you know there are big girls not far behind.”
From there, Kline took a top-to-bottom, clockwise lap around the map of Clear Lake (more details in the video found at WONews.com) and not only touched on key individual areas, but the big differences between the north and south half of Clear Lake. According to Kline, the north and south ends of Clear Lake are, “to some extent, polar opposites” which their own advantages as well as challenges.
North
“The north is much shallower with much more extensive flats, and it warms quicker so generally they spawn first in the north where the deepest spots you’re going to find are about 30 feet, he told WON. “In the north, it’s more of an emphasis on grass, docks and tules. The lake high right now, so that water is going to be up into that stuff similar to what we saw last year in this event. It’s going to be very similar conditions across the board.”
Kline suggested playing close attention to your maps and pre-tournament research before firing up a bird’s eye-view map of Clear Lake and starting his “hot lap” around the lake.
“We come out of Library Park in the north end and go up toward north Lakeport, and it’s going to be similar all the way up,” said Kline. “You’re going to see long flats, docks, tules, grass and maybe even some trees in the water. A common area is called Rodman Slough, and you can go under the bridge and fish back there, and on the outside of Rodman Slough, you’ve got Tule Island.”
Clear Lake regulars know most of the rocky areas are found in the south portion of the lake, but the north isn’t completely void of it, if you know where to look.
“There’s not a lot of rock in the north, but on that North Lakeport side there is an area called Rocky Point and sneaky rockpiles you guys are going to have to find on your own.”
The Narrows
“As you come down through the Narrows (separating the north and south) you have Glenhaven on the left side, and that’s an area where the rock will start to kick in, and from there all the way through that left arm which is referred to as ‘Rattlesnake’ there’s tons of rock.”
Being an area where traits of the north part of Clear Lake gives way to those of the south, there is some crossover in the Narrows as anglers can still find areas of tules, grass and more docks mixed in with the rocky zones. As anglers work their way down to the community of Clearlake Oaks, there are a lot of canals to choose from where bassers tend to probe from one to the next looking for bigger fish. And there are no shortage of “sneaky spots” there, either.
“Within Rattlesnake, aside from the rock you’re going to see on shore, there’s a lot of high spots out there too that will come up to 25 feet with big boulders on them, and a lot of times those big females coming out of that more dormant time in winter are going to be moving up on to those humps looking to feed before they go to spawn,” Kline said.
South
“Much deeper. In the south the deepest spot is going to be about 55 feet, give or take. Something you’re going to also see a lot more of in the south is the rock, especially the volcanic rock,” said Kline. “Swinging around the point and heading into the south, and all the way at the bottom is the area known as Redbud, and at the very bottom of that is Bass Alley. When you come out of Bass Alley, you start seeing more of the big boulders once again.”
At this point, Kline is moving back up the other side toward Konocti Marina, approaching the other side of the Narrows.
“Once you get to the Narrows and you turn the corner, that whole left side is a long stretch with isolated tules and a lot of rock that goes out pretty far, and as you’re starting to head back into the north you’re going to see Shag Rock which is a very common spot,” he said. “Buckingham Point is another one, and those two corners are kind of staples for holding big fish.”
Continuing along the bank, anglers turn another corner and head down through ‘Horseshoe’ and out to Henderson Point which according to Kline are “great areas.” Moving along this bank eventually leads to Soda Bay which is another productive area for Clear Lake bass as is nearby Dorn Bay.
“Once you leave Dorn Bay by the campground, you’re going to see it change from the south (back to the north) with long extensive flats again,” said Kline. “You’ve got a lot of sloughs and creeks, and those are areas where you’re going to see boats stacking up because a lot of times that’s where the hitch goes to spawn, and the bass follow the hitch.”
Clear Lake has a lot to offer as far as the type of areas, structure and depths an angler can target, and most of them “pick their poison” according to their own strengths and take it from there, a tournament can be won by fishing any of these environs, especially on this lake at this time of year. Kline mentioned well-established differences between the north and south halves of the lake as well as the transition area between them, along with some specific areas and what they have to offer, but the most successful anglers in a tournament situation will drill it down even further, because wherever you are on Clear Lake, there’s no shortage of opportunities to find your own fish.