Bass fishing at Clear Lake continues to range from fair to good. The good news is that the size of the bass being caught has increased as illustrated in the Angler”s Choice team tournament held on Saturday.
The winning team of Bob Myskey of Nice and Russell Stansbury of Santa Rosa weighed in a five-fish limit of 29.42 pounds. Their big fish weighed a healthy 10.45 pounds.
The hot lure continues to be a lipless crankbait in the bright shad color. The best technique is to just cast and crank. In other words, keep casting and reeling in. Sooner or later you will catch a fish. Plastic worms rigged split-shot style have also been effective.
The bass also are tightly schooled. Typically the fishermen report working a long stretch of shoreline and catching nothing. Then, all of a sudden, they catch fish after fish in a very small area.
The cooling water temperatures apparently haven”t hurt the fishing. The water temperature has been ranging from as low as 55 degrees in the mornings to as high as 65 degrees by late afternoon.
The lake will get a brief rest from tournaments as there are none scheduled until January. The Dec. 3 Angler”s Choice tournament has been canceled. This means the recreational fishermen will have the lake pretty much to themselves. This lack of fishing pressure also should improve the fishing.
With the holidays coming up, now is the ideal time to take a youngster or even a novice fisherman fishing. All you need is a medium-action spinning or casting rod rigged with 8-pound test line. Buy a couple of the Lucky Craft lures at the local tackle shop and head out on the lake. Cast to the pilings at the docks and make a medium speed retrieve. The trick is to keep moving until you catch a fish and then work the area thoroughly.
The big news on the lake continues to be the huge crappie being caught. Three-pounders have been common and a 2-pounder doesn”t even raise an eyebrow.
One of the most enthusiastic crappie fishermen is Franz Bingel of Clearlake. Bingel is recognized by many fishermen as the expert when it comes to crappie fishing. He fishes just about every day for crappie and the best part is he shares his secrets with other fishermen.
Catfish action has slowed a little on the lake although some fishermen are catching from five to 10 fish per outing.
There is very little news coming out of Indian Valley Reservoir. The lake is in excellent shape and the trout should be biting. The best lure to use during the winter months is either a red-gold KastMaster or Cripplure trolled behind a set of small flashers. Fishermen should troll from the dam to mid-lake.
Bass fishing has been excellent and the top technique has been drop-shotting a 4-inch plastic worm in the blue or purple colors. The worm should be dropped tight to the flooded trees in about 25 feet of water.
The trout fishing is rated from fair to good at Upper Blue Lake.
Duck hunting in the Sacramento Valley is in its typical mid-season slowdown. Most of the refuges are averaging only about 1 1/2 birds per hunter. The problem is that most of the ducks are still holding in the Klamath and Tule Lake refuges and it will take a hard freeze to send them south.
The fall turkey season closes on Sunday and the success rate to date has been extremely high. Just about all the turkey hunters report that they are seeing a lot of birds and most have bagged their turkey.
A big thumbs up to the Department of Fish and Game and all the volunteers who helped out with the Lake County Junior Pheasant Hunt held on Saturday. The event gave youngsters the opportunity to enjoy an exciting hunt and experience a quality day in the field with their parents or chaperones. The hunt was successful because of the volunteers who showed up to help out.
