After a slow start, the entries for the Record-Bee”s free guided fishing trip came flooding in. The contest closed earlier this week and a grand total of 68 entries were received. The contest was open to all youngsters in the third through eighth grades.
The winning youngster will receive a free guided fishing trip with professional guide Ross England. The youngster can take a parent, grandparent, relative or legal guardian along with him or her. In addition, the winner will receive a new fishing rod and reel plus a tackle pack from the Tackle It tackle shop in Lakeport. Lakeport Safeway also will provide the lunch and drinks for the fishing trip.
Free fishing rods and reels also will be presented to the second- and third-place entries.
I”ve receive a number of inquiries about how the entries will be judged. The judges will be three professional journalists from the Record-Bee (I will not be judging any of the entries. Each judge will be given one-third of the entries to grade and will grade each one 1-5 (five being the best). The field will be narrowed to the top 10 and each judge will grade those remaining letters again to determine the winner and runners-up.
The winning authors will be announced in the Record-Bee sometime next week and their letters will be published in the paper in the near future.
Around the lake
On the fishing scene, the brisk winds and cool weather have slowed the bass fishing on Clear Lake, but the fishing is expected to kick back into high gear for the weekend. Most of the bass have completed spawning and are holding above the rockpiles in the south end of the lake and beneath the docks in the north end.
Actually, the best action has come from the south end and the top lures have been jigs worked slowly over the bottom. Drop-shotting also has been very effective.
Most of the fishermen are having little trouble catching a boatload of 2-pounders, and a few are finding larger fish. The water is exceptionally clear and a look beneath any dock will reveal eight to 10 suspended bass. The tule shorelines are also producing good numbers of bass for fishermen casting topwater lures such as the Skitterpop or Zara Spook. The best times to fish have been at daylight and late in the afternoons.
Bank fishermen also have been catching good numbers of bass off the docks at the Fifth Street ramp and at Library Park in Lakeport. The docks at Lakeside County Park are also providing good action.
WON BASS will hold a pro/am two-day tournament out of Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa on Saturday and Sunday. The weigh-in starts at 3 p.m. on both days.
A few crappie are finally starting to show. According to crappie expert Franz Bingel of Clearlake, crappie are now showing up in decent numbers near Redbud Park in Clearlake. Bingel says you have to keep moving until you locate a school of fish. He also has been catching some huge bass.
Trout action has been slow at Upper Blue Lake. One problem is that the Department of Fish and Game hasn”t stocked the lake in a number of weeks. Bass action has been fair.
Bass are still the main attraction at Lake Pillsbury. The water clarity is exceptional and there has been a good topwater bite at daylight and the last hour before dark. Trout action has been very slow.
High winds also have played havoc with the fishermen at Indian Valley Reservoir. However, even on the good days the kokanee and trout action has been very slow.
The lake level continues to drop.
The best news on the fishing scene is the ocean salmon action off Fort Bragg. On Monday, the party boat the Rumblefish scored easy limits for all on board. Even private boaters are cashing in on the action with quick limits. The salmon are ranging in size from 10 to 20 pounds with an occasional 30-pounder.
