Few fishermen spend as much time on Clear Lake as local fishing guide and tournament fisherman Bob Myskey of Nice. The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) requires all licensed guides to keep a count of the fish they catch when guiding. Myskey has gone one better as he logs all the fish he catches including fish caught while guiding, caught in tournaments, and caught when recreational fishing.
Myskey”s logs for 2006 and 2007 provide some interesting data on the bass fishery at Clear Lake. In 2006, he fished 185 days and caught a total 3,121 largemouth bass. Of that number, 1-3 pounders made up 2,664 fish, 3-4 pounders 282, 4-5 pounders 126, 5-6 pounders 24, 6-7 pounders 13, 7-8 pounders seven, 8-9 pounders one, 9-10 pounders one and 11-plus-pounders one.
In 2007, he spent 183 days on the water and caught 2,798 largemouth bass. The breakdown was 1-3 pounders, 2,798; 3-4 pounders, 444; 4-5 pounders, 142; 5-6 pounders, 43; 6-7 pounders, 24; 7-8 pounders, eight; 8-9 pounders, seven; 9-10 pounders, six; 10-pounders, one; and 11-plus-pounders, none.
Myskey also averaged 16.8 bass per outing in 2006 and 18.9 bass per day in 2007. It should be noted that these figures include his clients catching most of the fish. On most days, he had two clients fishing. Myskey used artificial lures as well as live jumbo minnows.
The data shows that, by a very large margin, most of the bass caught in Clear Lake weigh 1-3 pounds, very few weigh more than 8 pounds, and it”s rare to catch a 10-pound-plus bass in the lake.
On the fishing scene, the bass action remains very slow. A good indication was the results of the Clear Lake Bassmasters club tournament held Saturday. The tournament had seven boats (14 fishermen) and they caught a total of three fish. No fisherman caught more than a single fish. Another club also held a tournament Saturday and their total catch was only four bass.
The water is clear in many areas but because it has been so cold (40-45 degrees), the bass just aren”t biting. Most of the fishermen report getting only a couple of bites for an entire day on the lake.
American Bass (ABA) will hold a team tournament Sunday. The tournament operates out of the Skylark Shores Motel in Lakeport and the weigh-in starts at 3 p.m. Fishermen can enter the tournament just prior to blast-off at the Tackle It tackle shop, which is located next to the motel.
Crappie action has come to a standstill. In fact, most of the fishermen have given up fishing for the slabsides. Where the crappie have gone is one of the big mysteries at Clear Lake. There were large schools of crappie last fall at Kono Tayee and Shag Rock, but those have pretty much disappeared. One theory is that because the threadfin shad are no longer at these locations, the crappie have moved along with them.
Trollers are catching a few bass in the middle of Upper Blue Lake, but overall the action has been slow. The lake won”t be stocked again until next month. Bass fishing has been slow mostly because very few anglers have been out after them.
Waterfowl hunters go into their final week of the season, which closes Jan. 27, and overall the hunting is only rated as fair at the refuges in the Sacramento Valley. Most of the refuges are averaging about two birds per hunter and these are mostly teal and spoonies. Very few mallards are being taken.
