The bass pros return to Clear Lake this weekend for a two-day team tournament,the annual Bob”s Marine Stratos/Champion Team Tournament. It”s a two-day event with a six-hour limit per day.
The pros should find excellent fishing as just about all the fishermen report catching loads of bass, and the size has increased, with a number weighing between 4-8 pounds. Guide Larry Hemphill of Yuba City has guided on Clear Lake for years and says he has never seen anything like this year.
“This has been a phenomenal year for bass fishing on Clear Lake and the best part is the number of big fish being caught,” Hemphill said. According to Hemphill, the bass are constantly moving as they chase baitfish. To be successful you have to keep moving until you locate fish.
Lately the topwater bite has taken off and fishermen casting Zara Spooks and RICCOs have been loading up on bass early in the mornings and late in the evenings.
The Zara Spook is a big-fish lure and looks like a big cigar with treble hooks. The lure is cast under the docks or tight to the tules and retrieved with short jerks, which makes the lure move in a zig-zag pattern — called “walking the dog.” When retrieved correctly, it resembles a crippled baitfish and will drive a big bass crazy.
During the day, the top lure has been a brown or dark blue 3/8-ounce jig worked slowly through the tules or beneath the docks. The trick is to work the jig slowly over the bottom. Plastic worms also have been effective.
Both the north and south ends of the lake are producing good numbers of bass, with some of the better areas being Henderson Point, the rockpiles near Rattlesnake Island, the docks at Luebow Point, Rocky Point and the tules between Nice and Lucerne.
Crappie action has been sporadic. While some areas are producing five to 10 fish each day, others areas are producing nothing. Compared to last year, the crappie fishing hasn”t taken off this summer.
Catfish action has been very good all around the lake, with Long Tule Point being one of the better areas. Another good area continues to be between the Lakeside County Park and the state park. The south end of the lake is also producing a lot of catfish. Some of the catfish are weighing up to 20 or more pounds.
Upper Blue Lake and the East Branch of the Russian River were scheduled to be stocked with trout this week. The bass fishing at Upper Blue Lake has been rated good for fishermen drop-shotting a plastic worm at depths of 25 to 35 feet.
Lake Pillsbury has been providing excellent bass fishing (especially for topwater action). Napa angler George Carl recently fished the lake and caught an 8-pounder plus several fish in the 7-pound class using nothing but topwater lures.
At Indian Valley Reservoir, the lake level continues to drop as water is being drawn out for irrigation. The kokanee salmon fishing has slowed down and is basically winding down for the year. The bass fishing remains excellent for both largemouth and smallmouths.
The Zone A deer hunters only have two more weeks to go in their season. To date, the hunters have experienced mixed results. Some of the private clubs have been very successful and others say the take is down at least 50 percent. Most of the hunters are waiting for the B-zone season, which opens on Sept. 16.
Ron Sneed and Jeremy Jernigan of Lakeport traveled back to Colorado for an archery elk hunt and, according to Sneed, Jernigan bagged a trophy elk that had six points on each side.
They have now switched to mule deer hunting.
