Clearlake Tournament

[mudcatwilly]

I have fished 4 or 5 times with a guy I met in this forum who goes by the handle "Abelfisher."  We first met last August after I answered a post of his about northern California bass lakes.  He graciuosly took me out on his boat a few times and we became fast friends.  After a few times out on the water learning from each other, we decided, hey let's fish a tournament and see how we do.  Well, we opted for the Future Pro Tour circuit and fished our first tournament on the world famous Clearlake.  This was the first tournament for both of us and neither of us had ever fished Clearlake.  Well the tournament experience was real exciting for both of us as we blasted off with 140 or so boats and tried our luck with a section of that huge lake that we agreed to fish a few days before the tournament.  We caught a couple of 2 pounders early in the day, but the post frontal conditions and strong winds made us decide to seek relative shelter in a creek arm and try our luck there.  When we started to figure out a pattern, we stared nailing 3 and 4 pounders, culling fish by 11:00 am.  Both of us were having career days, pulling big bass out of little pockets of shade in some heavy cover.  At the end of it all, we ended up weighing in just over 18 pounds.  Not bad for our first tournament and in a lake neither of us had ever fished.  It just so happened that the record for that circuit was destroyed that day.  The winning team weighed in at 38 plus pounds.  The second place team was at 27 pounds.  Our 18 pounds got us 40th place!  Still, out of 140 boats, 40th place seemed like a victory for us, not to mention, we had an absolute blast.  If you are considering a trip out to California, you must fish Clearlake!  That is by far the most awesome lake that I have ever fished.  The bass there are just bigger and you can find them everywhere.  We are going to fish another tournament this year on the California Delta, another big bass factory.  I can't wait!  Thanks so much Greg (Abelfisher) for being a gracious boater and letting me, the backseater, have a shot at some good water.  Big props to the Future Pro Tour.  They put on a great tounament.

[David P]

Good to see you had fun! I haven't been able to fish clear lake this year yet because I'm in the midst of getting a new car. That's my favorite lake, and it's ticking me off that I can't get out there.

Congrats on the tourny, 40th may seem like you're far from first, 2nd place was 27 you really weren't too far behind.

Goodluck on the Delta, I'm waiting to get a jonboat in November till I start fishing the delta ;D

Best of luck!

[edbassmaster]

Awesome job guys. Clear Lake is one of my dream spots to fish.