Bass action on Clear Lake continues to be a hit-or-miss affair. A few fishermen are doing reasonably well whereas others are struggling to put a couple of fish in the boat.
Cold water temperatures are still being blamed for the slow action. Most mornings the water temperature is holding at 40-41 degrees, and by mid-afternoon. It is only rising a couple of degrees.
The best action has been in the north end of the lake. Areas like Rocky Point and the docks at Lakeport are kicking out a decent number of bass. The Nice-Lucerne area is also worth a try.
Jumbo minnows are the best guarantee of catching a limit of fish. Here is a tip if you”re buying minnows buy the extra large instead of the jumbos. You”ll save about three bucks on a dozen and they work just as well.
For those who are casting lures and plastic worms, the best lure remains the lipless crankbait and the best technique is to yo-yo it off the bottom. Jerkbaits are also worth a try.
Plastic worms and jigs are working for those who are patient enough to work them super slow. In other words, you want the worm or jig to just inch along the bottom.
Tony Smith is the new manager of the Clear Lake Outdoors tackle shop in south Lakeport. Smith lived in Lake County back in the 1980s and was a very successful and popular fishing guide and tournament fisherman. He moved to Florida and continued his guiding career, but is now back in the county. He welcomes his old and new friends to drop by and see him. There is no question that Smith knows fishing.
Crappie action is still a very “iffy” proposition. A few of the more knowledgeable anglers are catching up to 20 crappie a day although most are working hard to put five or six fish in the boat.
Cold weather has kept the fishermen away from Upper Blue Lake as well. A few anglers have been catching trout by trolling in the middle of the lake. Bass fishing has been slow.
At Indian Valley Reservoir, both trout and kokanee are being caught. The few fishermen who have been out are catching their fish in the middle of the lake near the dam by trolling near the surface. The lake level is down about 30 feet.
Duck and quail season closes on Sunday. The duck hunting at the refuges in the Sacramento Valley has improved. However, the big question among the duck hunters is what happened to the mallards? At the start of the season there were predictions that this would be a banner year for this favorite duck and the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) even increased the daily limit of mallards from five to seven. But for some reason most of the hunters report seeing very few mallards.
While on the subject of wild ducks, the DFG team currently assigned to Clear Lake is doing a fantastic job retrieving the dead ruddy ducks, victims of the avian cholera outbreak. When the dead birds first starting showing up on Saturday, Lake County”s game wardens were instantly on the scene. Warden Lynette Shimek reported the die-off to the DFG regional headquarters in Rancho Cordova and they responded by sending three air boats plus two regular boats and a team of more than a dozen DFG employees, including a couple of senior wildlife biologists. This quick response has resulted in curbing the spread of the avian cholera.
As the dead duck numbers approach 4,000, many are wondering what becomes of the dead duck carcasses. The DFG transports the dead ducks to the county”s landfill site where they are buried.
A new game warden has been assigned to Lake County. Loren Freeman lives in Spring Valley and his telephone number is 998-9208. Freeman joins wardens Shimek and Ryan Maki as the three wardens who cover Lake County.
Game wardens do a lot more than just write citations to game and fish violators. They assist hunters and fishermen as well as look out for our wildlife. For example, Shimek recently was required to pick up a dead mountain lion that was killed by a vehicle on Highway 20 in Clearlake Oaks. The lion was a young male that weighed about 50 pounds.
Actually, mountain lions are common in the hills above Clearlake Oaks but it”s rare for one to get killed by a car. Earlier this year a bear was hit and killed by a car in the Oaks. It goes to show that we have many wild creatures living right alongside of us.
