Clear Lake Top 5 Patterns Day 2
Anglers overcome changing weather conditions
Mother Nature threw everything she had at the Costa FLW Series Western Division anglers on Clear Lake today. Conditions seemed to change by the hour. There were clear skies in the morning, dense overcast conditions shortly after, heavy rainfall by the afternoon and scattered showers to finish the day. Todd Woods leads all anglers. He’s targeting prespawn fish with moving baits. The rest of the top five anglers’ used a mix of reaction bait tactics and sight-fishing.
Read about Woods’ leading patterns here.
2. Michael Caruso – Peoria, Ariz. – 57-14 (10)
Michael Caruso started his second day in the areas where he caught 29 pounds, 13 ounces yesterday. After only having three fish by noon, he scrapped everything to fish new water.
“I ran down the lake and stopped on something that looked similar to what I was fishing,” he recalls. “On the second cast I caught a 5-pounder, and 20 minutes later I caught a 9.”
Caruso was leery of giving out too much information but gave some generalities on his pattern.
“I’m throwing a combination of moving and finesse baits,” he says. “I’m playing it by ear. I’m adjusting depending on the area, time and what the weather is doing.”
3. Jim Moulton – Merced, Calif. – 55-04 (10)
Jim Moulton is staying the course with the sight-fishing pattern that produced the biggest bag of the tournament – more than 33 pounds – for him on day one.
Despite the cloud cover, Moulton could see them on beds throughout most of day two, unless it was raining. Good glasses and jigs were the keys to his success. When it was raining, Moulton tossed an umbrella rig around flats.
“My weights are going down, and I’ve burnt up most of my fish. Tomorrow it’s going to be sunny again. I’m going searching and hoping news ones are moving up,” he says.
Check out this GoPro video of Moulton bed fishing today on Clear Lake.
4. Wade Curtiss – Meadow Vista, Calif. – 51-0 (10)
Yesterday, Wade Curtiss landed a 25-pound, 3-ounce bag by sight-fishing for bedding bass, but overcast conditions had him switching to the moving-bait program today.
“I think most of them have pulled off with this colder weather,” he says. “It made it a lot tougher. Today I just had to go fishing.”
Curtiss concentrated on prespawn and postspawn fish by throwing a swimbait in shallow water. The quantity of the bass was not there, but quality has Curtiss fishing tomorrow.
5. Garrett Dixon – Durham, Calif. – 47-12
Garrett Dixon caught an early limit of bed fish yesterday in southern part of the lake. He spent the remainder of day one searching and marking for fish to catch today, which paid off. Dixon ran all his waypoints and quickly had three good fish off of beds in his livewell. But then the overcast conditions had him in need of a new pattern.
He found it later in the day. Though Dixon wouldn’t reveal all the details, he did say that he’s fishing Northern Bay using a homemade reaction bait called a Walking Mouse.
Dixon plans on sight-fishing early tomorrow and switching to his newfound pattern as a plan B.
Tournament Details
Format: The top 10 boaters and co-anglers fish on day three of competition. The winner is determined by the heaviest cumulative three-day weight.
Takeoff Time: 6:30 a.m. PT
Takeoff Location: Konocti Vista Casino Resort & Marina, 2755 Mission Rancheria Road, Lakeport, CA 95453
Weigh-In Time: 3 p.m.
Weigh-In Location: Konocti Vista Casino Resort & Marina
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