Cold and wet weather will greet fishermen this weekend. With the water temperatures hovering around 42 degrees at Clear Lake, the bass fishing remains very slow. In fact, the poor fishing and miserable weather has kept all but the hardiest fishermen off the lake.
The best action has been for those using live minnows and working them super slow, but even here the action has been nothing to brag about.
The successful fishermen have been finding schools of bass holding in small areas. That”s what the few successful fishermen who were in the American Bass team tournament did Saturday. They found a school of fish and stayed with it.
The good news is that the clarity of the water continues to improve in many areas, which means jerkbaits should start to catch fish. Typically jerkbaits are a winter fish lure and the ideal conditions are when you can see down about 2 or 3 feet. The other advantage of using jerkbaits is that you can cover a lot of water in a short time, which allows your lure to pass in front of a lot of fish.
WON BASS will hold a team tournament Saturday. The tournament operates out of Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa and the weigh-in starts at 3 p.m.
It will interesting to see the results of the tournament as there are some very good fishermen entered in the event. How many fish they catch could be an indicator of the health of the lake”s fishery.
My Wednesday column on the state of the bass fishery at Clear Lake drew a lot of comments, including a number of negative ones. I didn”t say the bass fishery was in trouble, I simply stated the facts. A number of fishermen have contacted me and complained about the poor fishing. I also take a long look at tournament results. Tournament fishermen are for the most part very good fishermen and if the entire field is struggling in a tournament, that”s a good indication something is amiss. This is especially true if the results of several tournaments show a lack of fish.
I have been reporting on the bass fishery at Clear Lake for 23 years and have seen the fishery go up and down like a yo-yo. The bass fishery basically crashed in 1991-92 and was so bad that some of tournament organizations moved their tournaments away from Clear Lake. Within a few years it turned completely around and the fishing was excellent. That”s the nature of Clear Lake. Unlike other lakes where changes occur slowly, the fishery can literally change overnight at Clear Lake.
Down through the years I have spent hundreds of hours on the lake with fishery biologists who have conducted electro-shocking studies and fish behavior studies. When you go out with a biologist it”s a completely different world, much different than just going fishing. All the biologists believe that Clear Lake”s bass fishery is unique in comparison to other lakes.
Other news
A check with Indian Beach Resort in Glenhaven showed very slow fishing for both crappie and bluegill. According to Ken Taddie, the cold weather and lack of baitfish has moved the fish. However, the fishing should improve as the weather warms up.
Upper Blue Lake has been kicking out a few trout for the few fishermen who have been braving the cold. The lake won”t be stocked again until next month.
No one has been fishing at Indian Valley Reservoir. It”s just been too cold for anyone to make the trip. The lake level has come up about 10 feet but is still down nearly 80 feet from full.
Duck hunters close out their season Sunday and overall the season has been only fair. Most of the refuges averaged about two birds per hunter throughout the season. Quail season also closes Sunday.
