Bitterly cold weather continues to stymie the bass fishermen at Clear Lake. The water temperature has been hovering around 42 degrees in the mornings and is only rising to 48 degrees by the afternoon. Even the fishing guides who use live jumbo minnows report that the fishing has slowed considerably.
Actually, this is typical for this time of the year. January and February tend to be the slowest times of the year for bass fishing on Clear Lake. A few fishermen have been catching from five to 10 fish per day but most are settling for only a few fish.
Jerkbaits and lipless crankbaits have been the top lures. The more successful fishermen are using lipless crankbait and are fishing them yo-yo style. This means casting the lure and letting it sink to the bottom. The lure is then jerked up and down, which causes it to flash and resemble a crippled shad.
Some of the better areas have been along the tule shoreline near the Lakeside County Park, Henderson Point and the area around Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa. The Nice-Lucerne shoreline is also holding a few fish but the threadfin shad are so thick it makes the fishing tough.
The docks at Library Park in Lakeport as well as at the Lakeside County Park are producing a fair number of bass. Most weigh from 2 to 6 pounds. Jumbo minnows have been the top bait.
Licensed fishing guides are required to maintain a running log of their clients and the number of fish they catch. It”s purpose is so that the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) can monitor the fishery.
Guide Bob Myskey of Nice recently provided me with his log book for 2006 and it makes for some interesting reading. Last year he guided 185 days. During these guided trips his clients caught 3,121 bass. His clients averaged 16.8 bass per trip.
Breaking down the data, of the bass that weighed 3 pounds or more there were 282 3-pounders, 126 4-pounders, 24 5-pounders, 13 6-pounders, seven 7-pounders, one 8-pounder, two 9-pounders, one 10-pounder and one 11-pounder. That left a total of 2,664 bass that weighed less than 3 pounds but were at least the 12-inch legal size.
The vast majority of Myskey”s clients are novice fishermen, which means he has accumulated a pretty impressive record for his clients.
A lot of local bass fishermen will be traveling to Lake Shasta next week for the big FLW-Stren tournament. The tournament is scheduled for Jan 10-13 and the purse is $275,000. The FLW-Stren series visits Clear Lake on April 25.
Crappie fishermen continue to find sporadic action although the fishing has improved at Shag Rock. The crappie are ranging in size from less than a half-pound to more than 3 pounds. There are also a few crappie being caught off the docks at Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa. But remember that the only fishermen allowed on Konocti”s docks are guests of the resort.
The hot news on the fishing scene is the outstanding bluegill fishing. Some of the bluegill have been huge (weighing up to a pound). Just about every location around the lake is producing bluegill and the best baits have been either red or meal worms.
Upper Blue Lake was scheduled to be stocked with trout this week. The rainbows range from 10-12 inches and both bank fishermen as well as those trolling Kastmasters or Needlefish should find plenty of success. The bass fishing is also starting to improve.
The Russian River should be decent shape for steelhead fishing by the weekend. Prior to the recent storm there were steelhead in the river and a few were being caught near Dry Creek. Fishermen are reminded that they can”t keep any salmon in the Russian River and the only steelhead allowed are the hatchery-raised ones that can be identified by the missing adipose fin (the fish will have a scar where the fin is normally located). The adipose fin can be located on the back of the fish, just in front of the tail.
