Scorching hot weather has kept the fishermen off Clear Lake. A few fishermen have been venturing out at daylight but most are calling it quits by noon.
A good example of just how hot it has been came on Tuesday when the water temperature at the Fifth Street ramp in Lakeport was 91 degrees. One resident of the Lagoons said the water temperature reached 93 degrees in front of his house. In all the years I have lived in Lake County, I can”t ever remember the water tempertature being this high.
A number of people have asked if the bass and other fish in the lake can survive the hot water. The answer is yes. All the fish in Clear Lake are classified as “warmwater” species of fish. Actually, bass, crappie and catfish can tolerate water temperatures as high as 96 degrees for a short time.
The major factor is the amount of oxygen in the water. When the oxygen level drops, many of the smaller fish die. As the water heats up in the channels and sloughs and there is little or no current or water movement, the fish can”t absorb enough oxygen and if they can”t swim to better water, they will die.
In fact, there have been reports of fish swimming near the surface and gulping in some of the channels such as Cache Creek. When oxygen levels are low, a fish will often swim near the surface seeking water that contains more oxygen.
Fish don”t have lungs. Their gills supply the oxygen to their blood the same as lungs do for humans. The gills are made up of tiny filaments, which the blood flows through. The fish draws in water past the filaments, which extracts the oxygen molecules from the water and mixes them with the blood.
The reason a fish will suffocate when taken out of the water is because it can”t extract the oxygen from pure air. It must come from water flowing through its gills.
When the water temperature rises like it has this past week, the fish will seek a comfort zone. Because Clear Lake is so shallow, the water temperature normally varies only a few degrees from the surface to the bottom, with the exception of some of the deeper rockpiles in the south end of the lake. However, only a few degrees difference from the top to the bottom is often enough for the fish.
That could be the reason the bass fishing has been much better in the south end. Most of the fishermen are working the rockpiles with either jigs or deep-running crankbaits.
The hot weather hasn”t slowed the bass fishing. A good example was Mike Rothstein of Kelseyville and Jim Craig of Upper Lake. On Wednesday, between the hours of 6 a.m. and 2 p.m., they caught and released 92 bass, several in the 5-pound class.
According to Rothstein, they caught 44 bass in the north end of the lake and the remainder of their fish were caught in the south end. Their top lure was a crankbait called a “Speed Trap” in the bluegill pattern.
The topwater bite has been very slow although a few bass are being caught on buzzbaits and plastic frogs.
Catfish action remains very good in many areas around the lake. The catfish are ranging in size from a pound to more than 20 pounds. Cut bait and nightcrawlers are taking most of the catfish.
Crappie action has been best in the south end of the lake near Luebow Point.
However, it is still a hit-or-miss affair. One day you can load up on crappie, while the next day you will be lucky to catch only a few fish.
The hot weather has slowed the trout and kokanee action at Indian Valley Reservoir. The kokes are holding at depths of 40 to 50 feet.
Trout action at Upper Blue Lake has slowed to a crawl. A few fish are being caught by trollers working the middle of the lake. The East Branch of the Russian River was scheduled to be stocked this week.
