Clear Lake Ia Sept 2/3

Went to lake Sunday with a good friend to try the bait bite and we were not dissapointed.Early mourning the yellows were aggresive and would hit just about anything plastics/hair jigs plain or tipped with crawler or minnow.As the mourning wore on they started to get finicky and by far the best presation was a piece of cut bait rigged on a lindy rig with a 3ft snell drifted slowly over the bottom.The cut bait worked nice as you did not have to rebait very often.Also this rig produced 3 14to 15 in eyes with a 17 in fish lost at boat and the majority of our yellows.Monday I went back to lake and had another good outing with the chart/black jointed shad rap trolled at 2.5 mph inches off bottom.I trolled for 4hrs and got 15large yellows a 15 in crappie and 3 keeper eyes.The fishing has just been good and now that the big summer weekend is behind us it should even get better

Thanks for the report Joe. Sounds like you had a very fun weekend. And fall fishing hasn’t even started yet. I think everyone is in for some good fall fishin not too far away from now.
Thanks, Bill

Joe are you actually using the yellows as cut bait or something else. I have heard of this but am unsure of what this actually is. We caught a few trolling tonight but definitely would like to try and focus on some of the schools of crappie as we picked up 3-4 13 inch plus fish. All in all a good bite that should hopefully only get better.

I can’t speak for Joe but from what I am hearing is that the yellows are good eating and a very popular fish on Clear Lake. Alot of people fish for them. They are almost more popular than the walleyes. Knowing Joe I know he loves to fish for eyes but when the eyes are slow hes targeting the yellows.

Thanks, Bill

I use a piece of meat under the chin of a yellow if I think it will not live in livewell I will put it in the boat cooler to keep it for cleaning.I do know some have figured out the crappie as a angler was cleaning a nice mess of 10in plus fish at cleaning station