Western Division Rolls on to Clear Lake
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. Western Division schedule continues on legendary Clear Lake at the end of April. The second stop in the division, Clear is a perennially productive fishery that has seen some of the biggest bags in MLF and FLW history weighed over the years. It might also be a good chance for some anglers eyeing the Wild Card Division route to pick up some points toward the Toyota Series Championship this fall on Lake Guntersville – though it’s a bit of a hike from the central part of the country, the fishing is bucket-list quality.
Tournament Details
Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. Western Division
Clearlake, Calif.
April 28-30, 2022
How the Fishery Sets Up
Topographically, Clear Lake seems to be comprised of two very different water bodies, linked by a tapered central section known as the Narrows. The shallow, bowl-like upper end holds a greater presence of vegetation such as tules, pads, bank grass and various brush, while the deeper lower end presents more of a rocky complexion with islands, riprap and docks spread across its two major arms, Red Bud and Rattlesnake.
Set amid the mountainous grandeur of California’s wine country, Clear Lake is situated below a dormant volcano known as Mount Konocti, which dominates the mid-lake region’s landscape.
With 68 square miles of surface area, Clear Lake boasts the title of the largest natural lake located wholly within California. It’s also known as the oldest natural lake in North America, with several natural inflows, including Rodman Slough at the upper end. Cache Creek in the back of Red Bud is the major outflow.
What to Expect
While still excellent fishing, Clear Lake isn’t quite at the level it was in the past, and it has not been immune from the drought that has affected the West in recent years. In fact, the last three years in California have been the driest on record since 1895, which means Clear is a bit different than some of the history.
Todd Woods, who won there in 2016, still thinks the fishing will be really good.
“It’s still about 5 feet below normal pool, and when I won it was about 4 feet above normal pool,” Woods said. “Fishing’s great there, you can catch all the 2-pounders you want. The days of 35-pound bags are almost completely gone – a huge bag there is 27 pounds now. To make the Top 25, I would say it’s gonna take 16 pounds a day.
“Typically, they stack, you might catch 20 that are 2-pounders, and then all of a sudden you’ll catch a 6-pounder,” Woods said. “The days of pulling up on a spot and catching five 5-pounders, that’s very unusual.”
Still, even with some of the size not there, the fishing should be pretty good, and Woods expects a lot of different techniques to play that time of year.
“They spawn there ‘til June, it’ll definitely be a prespawn, spawn, postspawn deal, just depending on the weather and the moon phase,” Woods said. “Definitely there will be a shad spawn. The year that I won, there were shad everywhere, I would throw an underspin, and there would be six or seven shad trying to spawn with it every cast. It’s not like that anymore. Now, I think it’s a hitch deal, if you find the hitch, you’ll find the better quality of fish.”
Even if the weights aren’t truly amazing like the old days, Woods still sees a good event in the offing.
“I absolutely love Clear Lake any time of the year,” Woods said. “I absolutely love Clear Lake, because even when I don’t cash a check I have a really good time catching fish.”
Baits and Techniques
Seasonally, Clear Lake has a few really iconic bites and some that have bled out across the country. Back in the day, it was one of the lakes that truly ignited the big bait movement across the US, and the deep cranking bite later in the year can be truly special.
For this event, Woods expects basically anything in the tackle box to work.
“Sight fishing, swimbaits, finesse fishing – like Senkos and drop-shots, reaction baits, a ChatterBait and a little bit of crankbait,” Woods said. “Really, you’ll be able to do whatever you want to do.”