Clear Lake Top 5 Patterns Day 1
Sight-fishing rules, but other options are in play
Clouds came and went on opening day of the Costa FLW Series Western Division event presented by Mercury on Clear Lake, leaving open windows of clear visibility that allowed Jim Moulton to take the lead by catching 33 pounds, 2 ounces of bedding bass. Others near the top of the leaderboard sight-fished as well, but a mix of moving and reaction baits also played a role.
Read about Moulton’s leading pattern here.
2. Todd Woods – San Dimas, Calif – 32-12 (5)
Prior to today, the biggest bag Todd Woods ever weighed on Clear Lake was 23 pounds. Woods crushed that personal best today.
He did find some fish on beds, but his primary pattern was using reaction baits on what Woods calls the “new lake break.”
“The water has come way up, and the fish are on that break,” he says of the spot where the old shoreline is now submerged. “I’m making long casts to the bank and getting some bites next to it, but most come a little farther out.”
Woods is ready to execute a similar strategy tomorrow, when rain and clouds are in the forecast.
“I’m hoping the weather helps me tomorrow, but it’s one of those deals where I’m not going to give up on what I’m doing,” he says. “When you catch 32 pounds, you have to keep doing what you’re doing.”
3. Michael Caruso – Peoria, Ariz. – 29-13 (5)
When asked if he had a big one in his bag today, Michael Caruso replied, “No, I just had three in the 8-pound-class range.” This fishery is in a league of it’s own.
Caruso is not looking at them but is instead throwing a combination of finesse and moving baits.
“We threw reaction baits in the morning and finesse in the afternoon,” he says. “I had most of my weight by 10 a.m. There was an hour-and-a-half window where it was on fire, catching them every other cast.”
4. Wayne Breazeale – Kelseyville, Calif. – 28-3 (5)
Fresh off a victory in another Clear Lake tournament held last weekend, Wayne Breazeale is keeping the momentum rolling. He ran all around the lake today and did a bit of everything, but relied mostly on sight-fishing.
Breazeale used light line and finesse baits.
“I had a limit by 8:30, then clouds came in and they shut down,” he recalls. “When the clouds cleared up at the end of the day, they started biting again.
“I used up everything I had today. I’m going to be searching for new ones tomorrow.”
5. Kevin Stewart – Elk Grove, Calif. – 26-9 (5)
The runner-up to Breazeale at last weekend’s tournament on Clear Lake, Kevin Stewart has fished on Clear six out of the last seven days. It’s been a stellar stretch. Stewart has yet to catch less than pounds on a given day in that span, including day one of the Costa FLW Series event.
Knowing the incoming weather would hinder sight-fishing, Stewart concentrated on fishing offshore.
“I’m fishing moving baits anywhere from 6 to 12 feet deep,” he says. “I’ve got about seven areas I’m rotating when there are not five or six boats on a spot.”
The heavy cloud cover didn’t hinder his bite today, and Stewart expects to catch them again tomorrow.
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