Clear Lake is now known as the “Bass Capital of the West,” but long before it earned that title, the lake was known for its outstanding catfishing.
Clear Lake produced some of the largest catfish in Northern California for many years, but about 15 years ago the catfishery began to slide, and this tasty fish nearly disappeared.
In 1940, catfish comprised nearly 80 percent of the sport catch at Clear Lake. However, by the mid-1990s that number had slipped to 6 percent. But that has all turned around of late because the catfish are making a dramatic comeback. It could be because of the abundance of food in the lake such as threadfin shad and crawfish. The other factor is that the catfish are having a successful spawn. For whatever reason, the resurgence of this fishery has excited a lot of folks.
Despite what many people may think, there are only three species of catfish in Clear Lake; the brown bullhead, the channel catfish and the white catfish. Many fishermen claim there are blue catfish in the lake but according to the Department of Fish and Game (DFG), there has never been a blue catfish identified at Clear Lake.
The channel catfish is the largest of the three species at Clear Lake and the lake record is 33 1/4 pounds. The white catfish rarely weighs more than 6 pounds and the brown bullhead is usually less than a pound.
Catfish aren”t native to Clear Lake or even the West. The first channel catfish were bought to California from Mississippi in 1874 and stocked in the San Joaquin River. Catfish were first introduced into Clear Lake around 1910. They are thought to have been in North America for at least 3,000 years.
Members of the catfish family are considered omnivorous, meaning they will eat plant and animal matter. They also are mostly nocturnal, meaning they feed at night. One method they use to locate their food is their whiskers, which are called barbels. These sensitive whiskers can feel out edible food in the muddiest of waters.
In fact, the catfish got its name because the barbels resembled the whiskers of a house cat.
Unlike other members of the catfish family, the channel catfish seeks out hollow logs or holes around submerged rocks to spawn. At Clear Lake, many of the channel catfish spawn in the hundreds of submerged tires that are strewn across the bottom. The ideal water temperature for spawning is about 70 degrees and the eggs hatch in five to 10 days.
Young catfish eat mostly insects, small crayfish or other small fish. They will even eat seeds. The channel catfish reaches sexual maturity at about five years of age and they can live as long as 25 years. With the exception of man, an adult catfish has very few enemies.
The other two species of catfish in Clear Lake are the white catfish and the brown bullhead. The white catfish is a much smaller fish. They prefer muddy areas and will spawn back in the tules or sloughs. At one time the white catfish was the most popular catfish in the lake because of its superior eating qualities. However, their numbers have dwindled in recent years.
The brown bullhead is the most common species of catfish in the lake. However, it is less desirable for eating than the channel and white catfish. It is often called a “mud cat.”
Back in the 1960s and 70s, catfish were the top game fish at Clear Lake.
Fishermen would spend hours anchored near Rattlesnake Island and other favored catfish holes. In those days it wasn”t unusual for an angler to catch 20 to 30 fish during a single outing.
However, by the early 1980s the catfish population began its decline. The Department of Fish and Game placed large concrete culverts in the lake as spawning habitat for the channel catfish. For several years the project was successful and during the spring spawning season, just about every culvert would have several spawning catfish.
However, after a few years, many of the culverts silted up and no longer could be used by the catfish.
According to Ed Nassarre of Lucerne (he has a Web site, www.catfished.com, that has a lot of information on catfish and the other types of fish in Clear Lake), the catfish fishery began its comeback two years ago. Nassarre said he has been seeing a lot of juvenile catfish, which means the fishery is well on the way to recovery.
