As is typical for the month of February, we experienced a "false spring" with temperatures climbing into the low 70's and water temperatures quickly rising from the mid 40's to the low 50's. Fish were moving up big time on the north end of the lake and for two consecutive weekends, I was catching quality limits of Clear Lake largemouth averaging 4 to 5 pounds. In fact, the Saturday morning before the tournament, I nailed a five fish limit weighing about 28 pounds in less than an hour.

The week of the tournament rolled around and the weather went straight into the can. Day time highs went back into the 50's and wind and rain replaced those warm, sunny days. Needless to say, all of my areas that were brimming with fish only a week earlier were suddenly barren and I never managed a bite during the entire weekend.

While the tournament was tough for most, several anglers managed to adjust to the changing weather. Most notable was the winner of the event, bass fishing legend and Fresh Water Hall of Fame inductee Dee Thomas. The majority of the contestants were tightly packed into a few key areas that were holding staging fish at the north end of lake. As many as 25 boats were clustered together in one spot, all hoping for a few bites a day.

Thomas, on the other hand, decided to avoid the crowds and make the long run to Cache Creek at the south end of the lake. He knew the fish would be holding tight to the bank as the latest of a series of storm fronts passed through the area and decided to fish the heavy cover in Cache Creek. While he knew this water wasn't holding big numbers of fish compared to a few spots up north, he also knew the fish down south were unmolested and he would have the area all to himself. His quick thinking paid off handsomely to the tune of 10 fish weighing just shy of 50 pounds and a brand new Ranger Bass Boat parked in his garage.

Local bass fishing legend, Gary Dobyns of Yuba City, showed us another great example of adapting to prevailing weather conditions at the Western Bass Classic held the weekend of March 9 at lake Oroville. This is a year-end Tournament of Champions for the Pro and Amateur anglers where the top 35 Pros are paired up with the top 35 Amateurs and the winners on both fish for a fully loaded Ranger boat/Yamaha outboard package.

Dobyns managed to bring in the largest limit both days of the tournament by targeting suspended bass in the middle and north forks of the lake. The majority of the fish had backed off the bank because of the post front conditions during the first day of the tournament. While most anglers were pounding the banks with plastic worms and jigs, Dobyns was catching suspended fish on Lucky Craft rip baits. And was he ever catching fish. He and his amateur partners conservatively estimated catching 125 fish the first day and close to that on the final day of competition.

While most of us will never be able to catch fish like Gary Dobyns or Dee Thomas, we can all learn from their actions and try to apply those lessons when we are confronted with similar conditions.