Well, the acorns are dropping and the geese have flown in – both are typical signs of autumn and both are a few weeks early this year.

While we’ve had some pretty warm days this week (90s), the nights are cool with cloud cover. Overnight Wednesday night we saw the onset of a pretty stiff wind – you know the kind that blows your bedroom door shut with a SLAM just after you’ve finally fallen asleep. That kind of gusty wind.

The weather guess for the weekend has it warm and a bit more calm. The bass bite is unchanged from the last couple of weeks. Most would call it tough. The catfish are still biting readily. And, we’re seeing the occasional crappie or bluegill. Here’s what we know …

Like I mentioned above, the bass bite is generally regarded as tough right now. Explosive weed growth coupled with an abundant baitfish population seem to have had a synergistic effect on the bass’ lack of willingness to take artificial lures. Some savvy folks are on the water well before daybreak and are catching bass until the sun comes up over the horizon. Generally, the bite drops off sharply around the 8 am. to 8:30 a.m. mark. Moving deep, downsizing your offering, and moving slooooowly can help your cause.

There is good news, however, on the minnow front. We received a load of Extra-Large Minnows for the first time in weeks. For most of this season we’ve only been able to get the smallish “large” minnows. The XL’s should help us get bit down deeper for improved mid-day action.

The crappie and bluegill are still widely scattered. Daytime action has been virtually nonexistent. However, we’ve heard tell of a decent night bite along one popular area near Clearlake Park. (Four Poles, perhaps.) The party that fished this area was keeping their cards pretty close to their chest so there isn’t a whole lot of detail to share. One could surmise that the crappie bite is following the bass bite and is at its best late at night or very early in the morning. Live medium minnows would be your best bet for finding hungry slabs. If you get into a tear of ‘em, please let us get some pictures!

And for catfish – definitely a better bite during the nighttime hours. And definitely a better bite from boat that from shore. I mentioned last week that most of the good shoreline areas are choked with weeds – that hasn’t changed. I have heard that the Jago Bay area (a couple of spots over there, actually), the pipeline/Leubow Point area, Indian Island, Windflower Point and Rattlesnake Island have all been productive. Best baits include the ever popular mackerel, the shrimp and marshmallow combination, or good ol’ fashion night crawlers.

With catfish on our mind, this is a great time to mention Saturday’s CatFest being held here at Lakeshore Bait and Tackle. The barbecue starts at 4 p.m., we’ll play games and whatnot until about 6 p.m., clean up and head for the launch ramp. You’ll donate $10 to eat, play, and fish with a portion of the funds going into a “Big Fish” pool.

The angler with the biggest fish when we return at 11 p.m. wins the pot. We’ve got brand new CatFest shirts that’ll be on sale for $10/each, too. Bring your buddy, bring your boat, and come out to enjoy some good clean fun. Drop by and reserve your spot now so we have a good head count for the food.

And last, but certainly not least, we’ve got a steady stream of new Shimano rods and reels coming in – everything from the new entry level Convergence rods to the new mid-priced Clarus, and a great selection of high-end Crucial and Cumara rods. Reels from the entry level AX series, to the mid-priced Sedona and Sahara models, to the stunning Saros and Stradics.

We have a HUGE supply coming of the completely redesigned Curado reels. These reels are going to knock your socks off. If you’ve been a Curado fan in the past, but didn’t fall in love with what they did on their last release, they’ve listened and revamped again into a smaller, lighter, faster reel that’ll actually cost less and should best most anything on the market in the same price point. I’ve seen ‘em, they’re great! And, the new Curados should be arriving very soon. (As in just before our fall bite kicks into high gear and all the tournament trails go into their TOC’s.) I hope you’ll come by and see our expanded selection.

Bob Rider owns Lakeshore Bait & Tackle in Clearlake. Visit his Web site at www.994fish.com or call him at 994-FISH (3474).

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