Terry Knight ”The Outdoorsman”
The bass pros return to Clear Lake this weekend for a WON BASS Pro/Am tournament. The tournament should draw approximately 100 boats and will operate out of the Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa with the weigh-in starting at 3 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
The winner of the pro division will be guaranteed at least $20,000 and could win even more depending on the number of contestants. Many of the top bass pros in the West will be in the tournament.
Overall the bass fishing has been holding steady at Clear Lake. Most of the fishermen are catching from 10 to 20 fish per day and plastic worms continue to be the top lure. Senkos have also been very effective. There have been a few bass caught on plastic frogs and that bite should improve over the next few weeks as the bass move off the spawning beds.
Tom Jolin of Lakeport teamed up with Scott Green of Windsor to win the WON BASS team tournament held on the lake on Saturday. They weighed in 24.43 pounds of bass in the one day event. According to Jolin all their fish were caught by sight fishing. It was the final WON BASS team event for the season and Jolin and Green were declared the WON BASS Team Angler”s of the Year for the Vineyard Division.
Crappie action has been slowly improving as the crappie are now spreading out. The best action continues to be in the south end of the lake near Jago Bay and Luebow Point. Crappie are also being caught off the docks in the Lakeport area. The trick is to fish each dock with a red-white crappie jig and keep moving until you locate a school of fish.
A number of people have been surprised about trout being caught in Clear Lake. Recently two trout were caught. One was taken just south of Lakeport near the Lagoons and the other was caught near Indian Beach.
Actually trout have been in the lake in very small numbers for many years and three or four are caught every year. Most of the streams that flow into the lake have a small population of trout. The trout that finally end up in Clear Lake probably got there during the winter months.
Normally the lake water is too warm for trout to survive throughout the summer.
At Indian Valley Reservoir the kokanee and trout fishing have been excellent. The kokanee are holding a a depth of about 40 feet and for the fishermen who don”t have downriggers, it”s been difficult to get the lure down to the suspended fish.
The answer is to use lead core line. The line can be rigged on a casting reel. Attach a monofiliment leader to the line and then attach a small set of flashers followed by either a Needlefish or a Cripplure. A small Panther Martin spinner will also work. Let out about four or five colors of line which should put the lure down in the fish zone.
The trout are holding at a depth of 15-25 feet. Kokanee action has been excellent with limits being common. The best action has been near the dam.
Bass fishing remains excellent with some fishermen catching up to 30 fish per day. Catfish are also being caught as well as a few crappie
Upper Blue Lake was scheduled to be stocked with trout this week and the East Branch of the Russian River was stocked with trout last week. The fishing at both locations should be good for the weekend. Trout and bass are being caught in Lake Pillsbury. The good news is that there have been very few anglers out on the lake.
Ocean salmon fishing out of Fort Bragg is definitely improved. Most of the party boats limited out earlier this week with some of the salmon weighing as much as 30 pounds. The ocean salmon regulations are now in effect. Salmon fishing is closed during the following dates: June 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27 and July 10-11.
