Without question, Clear Lake had a phenomenal record for bass fishing in 2007. The lake set national records for both the Bassmasters and the FLW-Outdoors circuits. In fact, the lake was rated the No. 1 bass lake in the United States by FLW-Outdoors and No. 2 in the world by ESPN Bassmasters. Fishermen from around the world visited the lake last year to test their skills.
The question a number of fishermen are asking is can Clear Lake repeat its accomplishments in 2008? Most of the local tournament fishermen and fishing guides expect to see another good year, but whether or not it will be as good as last year is a topic of debate.
Last year there were more than 40 team and pro/am tournaments held on the lake. Taking an average of all the winning weights it took 5.25 pounds per fish or a total of 26.25 pounds per day to walk away with first place. Not many lakes in the country can boast of figures like that. There are 43 team and pro/am events scheduled for 2008 and that doesn”t include the dozens of bass club tournaments.
Mark Crutcher of Lakeport is considered one of the better tournament fishermen in Northern California. He said that despite the poor fishing in recent tournaments, the spring and summer should provide excellent fishing, especially in regards to the size of the fish.
“I think that in 2008 Clear Lake will continue to be the top lake or in the top five in the country. That”s in regards to trophy bass,” Crutcher said.
Crutcher added that because of the slow economy he also thinks fewer fishermen will be competing in tournaments, especially the team events.
“Fishing tournaments have become an expensive sport and with many people out of work or having high house payments, I see fewer people willing to travel three and four hours to compete in a tournament,” Crutcher said.
Crutcher is correct. The number of fishermen entered in team events has declined by at least 25 percent during the past three years. Whereas a few years ago it was common to see 75-100 teams in a tournament, that number has dropped to about 50 teams, or even less than that. Many team events draw fewer than 40 teams.
The good news is that special-event tournaments such as the Holder Ford-Mercury, the Triton Boat Owners and the Stratos-Champion Owners tournaments still draw more than 100 teams. It”s the smaller team circuits that are shrinking in size. Of course, not all fishermen who visit Clear Lake come here to compete in tournaments. Many are simply recreational fishermen. Local fishing guide Richard Pounds guides on the lake about 200 days per year and he is looking forward to a good year as far as guiding goes.
“Last year I guided 200 days on the lake and my clients caught more than 4,000 fish. This year I already have a lot of bookings well into the summer. Whereas the bass tournaments could be seeing a slight downturn, it”s been just the opposite for the guiding business. We are doing very well,” Pounds said.
Guides typically have two clients per trip and the cost varies from $30 to $60 per hour. The guides furnish all the equipment and use both artificial lures as well as live jumbo minnows. There are approximately 10 guides who operate on the lake.
Crutcher, Pounds and several of the other guides on the lake said one thing they noticed last year were the lack of juvenile bass in the 1-pound class and under. Pounds said his clients mostly caught bass in the 2-pound-plus class, which was unusual in that drop-shotting a plastic worm was one of the primary methods of fishing during the summer months. Normally this style produces a lot of smaller fish.
On the other hand, the tournament fishermen target larger bass and use larger lures such as big swimbaits, jigs or crankbaits.
The good news for the lake”s bass fishery this spring and summer will be a full or nearly full lake, which means the bass should have ideal spawning conditions. Clear Lake”s reputation as the top fishery in the country could also be its undoing. Now everyone automatically thinks they should catch bass weighing more than 5 pounds and don”t want to accept anything less.
