Right now the big thing bass guys are talking about is the amazing swimbait bite going on at Clearlake and the insane bags guys were weighing in at the BASS tour event. I hear a lot of guys talking about the hot baits and how to fish them. The Hudleston ROF5 & ROF12, the 7” and 9” Osprey Talons, the BB2-1 in Slow Sink Silverfish and the River 2 Sea Bottom Walkers.

That bite was all about good weather, good anglers, great bait and the habit big bass seem to have of staging on points and deep water docks while they await perfect spawning conditions.  After a month of heavy pressure and great bass fishing, the fish started to lay off on the swimbaits so when the temperature dropped and the water cleared it was pretty much finished. Unlike during the Winter time, nasty weather does not spark a larger fish bite, but rather pushes the fish back down deep or into heavy cover areas near the spawning beds. The wind is so bad right now that the main lake on the north end is unfishable.

The best bet is to drop shot 6” Roboworms, 3.5” Tubes, Sweet Beaver, Flukes and such. Or fish 4” to 5” Senkos wacky style and 5”-6” Senkos Texposed. If you go you will need to hide from the wind and focus on deep water docks on the South end or flip heavy cover on the North end with 65 lb Powerpro, a heavy flipping stick, 4/0 – 5/0 EWG hooks, 1 oz Tungston bullets, and Sweet Beavers, Tubes, Craws, Senkos, or Brush Hogs.

Watch for better weather on the horizon which should bring fish back up and into either another staging binge or directly to spawning beds. This time of year can be tricky but it’s also your best shot at catching a real monster.