Top 5 Patterns from Clear Lake – Day 2
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. Western Division anglers were met with clear skies and a lot less wind on Day 2 as classic post-frontal conditions graced Northern California. Anglers were able to navigate to all reaches of Clear Lake and they started to see ideal conditions to target bedding fish and staging fish alike.
Kyle Grover sacked back-to-back 19-pound bags to take the lead after Day 2 with a total of 38-10, but a slew of local sticks are nipping at his heels as he holds just a 7-ounce lead on Scott MacKenzie.
Here’s how the top pros sacked up their two-day totals.
2. Scott MacKenzie – 38-3
Scott MacKenzie went to work on Day 2 targeting bedding fish he was unable to reach in the Day 1 wind.
“Today was actually about the same as yesterday, but I was able to get to my best spot today,” MacKenzie said. “I started with those and was worried someone else would get there. I’m just in one little bay, and I don’t know why, but there’s just a lot of fish there.”
MacKenzie said that his primary area was relatively unscathed by the high winds from the opening day of competition.
“I’m fishing in an area that hasn’t had any wind the last few days,” he said. “I mean, getting there has been pretty bad, but today was nice. It was flat all day where I was.”
MacKenzie’s bite is consistent in his primary area, but he opted to leave and let it rest as Day 2 rolled on.
“I had a limit about 9:30, my [co-angler] got his limit about 10:30 then we left there and went and tried a few other things,” he said. “You could sit there and catch fish all day if you wanted to, just hopefully I can get a couple better ones tomorrow. I’m not doing anything special. I think I can go out and get them; my goal is another 17 to 20 pounds, which I’ve been trying to do every day. We will see where the pieces lay after that.”
3. Ricky Shabazz – 38-1
Ricky Shabazz backed up his monster 24-pound stringer on Day 1 with a solid 14 pounds to stay near the top after Day 2. He continues to target a shad spawn near the mid-lake region.
“I feel good, the fish are there,” Shabazz said. “I’m sharing the spot with someone who caught 19 [today]. So, we know they’re there. Hopefully, I can get some big bites tomorrow.”
But even with Shabazz’s confidence in his area, today was much tougher fishing for the La Mesa, Calif., angler.
“I probably stayed in there longer than I should have (today),” he said. “I only had six fish today, yesterday I caught 20, so we will see what happens tomorrow. I’m going to get out of there earlier tomorrow if I have them by 9:30 and go start to look for big ones.”
Shabazz’s primary area is more protected than most spots on Clear Lake and that may help his case as the fish (and anglers) continue to adjust heading into the final day.
“It was completely calm, I don’t think the wind affected it,” he said of his starting spot. “Where I’m fishing, I’m sharing the spot and there’s a dock in the middle. I definitely didn’t get as many bites today, but we will try it again tomorrow.”
Even with the struggle Day 2 brought, Shabazz knows his area fits the bill for a potentially giant Clear Lake bag.
“It’s a small area and there’s a ton of bait back there so I don’t think they’re going to leave. It’s just a matter of which side of the dock they’re on.”
4. Joshua Adams – 37-14
Joshua Adams overcame boat troubles as well as changing conditions on Day 2 to weigh a limit of fish totaling 18 pounds even, sliding him down a position into fourth with a two-day total of 37-14.
“It was a completely different bite than yesterday,” Adams said. “We didn’t have the wind we had yesterday. I tried to catch them the same way I caught them on Day 1. But I probably only had one fish at 10 o’clock. So, I left that bite. I was actually able to fish for the fish I found in pre-fish.”
Even so, the bite evolved for Adams on Day 2 as post-frontal conditions made things difficult on the second day.
“They just weren’t going to react to the baits the same, it was an early bite yesterday,” said Adams. “By 8:30 I had 18 1/2 pounds. I think I cleaned out that area. There’s new fish moving up to spawn in other parts of the lake, so I looked for them. I caught them all around the whole lake, one 4-pounder there, one 3-pounder here.
“I had to slow down more today, I was very methodical in my areas, but I wasn’t scared to ditch my plan and how I caught them yesterday. I was feeling a little uneasy if I was going to catch them today and it ended up working out.”
As for the final day, Adams isn’t sweating it too much. He knows it’s a matter of sticking to his program and hoping the right ones eat.
“I think I’ll do the same (as Day 2), I mean hopefully I’ll get some big bites. I need a 5-plus tomorrow.”
5. Daniel Andrusaitis – 37-3
Like many of the top anglers, the key difference for Daniel Andrusaitis was being able to finally reach the water he wanted to target with the wind playing nice on Day 2.
“I was able to go where I wanted to go, everyone probably said the same thing,” Andursaitis laughed. “I mean because it was nice and calm I was able to go where I wanted, I was able to look at them. But it didn’t really matter. A little bit more wind could have helped the bite, but with it laying down it was easier to get there.”
Andrusaitis’ fish are staging for the most part and conditions bode well for him to run into his fish again on the final day.
“They’ve been there, if they bite is another question,” he said. “Those good ones today, it’s a blessing. It’s that time of the year where it can happen. I don’t wanna say it was ‘luck’, but it doesn’t happen every day.”
Andrusaitis is unsure if it was location or timing that truly made the difference for his Day 2 bag, but he knows for sure the reaction bite he’s on is likely to be a big player going into the final day.
Overall, Andrusaitis is more than happy with how the week has gone having proven himself a little more with his limited tournament experience.
“Are you kidding me? I’m stoked! I haven’t fished that many tournaments, so to be able to compete at these high-level ones is really nice.”