Clear Lake will be a busy place for the three-day Fourth of July holiday. Not only will the lake be crowded with fishermen, but there will be plenty of recreational boaters out on the water as well.
The bass fishermen should find excellent action. There is both topwater action as well as jig or plastic worm fishing. The one thing that just about everyone agrees on is that to be successful you must keep moving as the fish are widely scattered.
The topwater action has been very good and should even improve as we move deeper into summer. The weed mats are starting to form, which means it”s time to use plastic frogs or the latest fishing fad, the Horny Toad. A number of people have wanted to know what a Horny Toad is and how to fish it. It”s a soft plastic lure with a twin tail.
A special size 5/0 hook is used and it”s rigged weedless. The lure is cast to the weeds and retrieved with a steady action. When a fish grabs the lure, count to three before setting the hook. Normally you will get three or four blowups to every fish hooked, and that”s what makes this type of fishing so exciting. I also keep a spare rod rigged with a Skitter Pop handy and when I see a small opening in the weeds I cast to it. This also has been a very productive technique. The Horny Toad and the special hooks can be purchased at all of the local tackle shops.
Both the north and south ends of the lake are producing good numbers of fish. In the south end it”s the rockpiles and the shoreline with tules that have been productive. The shoreline along Highway 20 at Pepperwood Cove also has been very good. In the north end, bass are being caught all the way from the state park to Rocky Point.
For those who prefer to use jigs or plastic worms, the fishing also has been very good. The top technique continues to be drop-shotting a plastic worm and that goes for most of the areas. One of the more popular plastic worms has been the oxblood-blue or watermelon colors. Actually just about any color of worm will work. Senkos, rigged wacky style, plus brown jigs also have been effective.
Catfish action has been fair to good for those fishing cut bait or nightcrawlers in Cache Creek or Horseshoe Bend. The docks at Redbud Park in Clearlake also have been giving up a few catfish along with the occasional bass. The same applies to the docks at Library Park in Lakeport.
For those who don”t care to fish, then a day spent observing the thousands of birds on the lake can be nothing short of awesome. Some of the better viewing areas are from Long Tule Point to Lakeport. There are hundreds of western grebes as well as osprey, blue herons and other water birds. Another good viewing area is from Lakeside County Park to the state park. Despite the fact there are hundreds of grebes on the lake I have yet to see any young. However, I have noticed a lot of courtship antics going on so it could be they will be nesting late this year.
Upper Blue Lake and the East Branch of the Russian River are scheduled to be stocked with trout this week. There are several resorts at Upper Blue Lake that will allow you to fish from their docks for a small fee. You can also fish for free from the bank along Highway 20. If you have a float tube, then a trip for bass at Lower Blue Lake is well worth the effort. Senkos or other plastic worms are the hot lures.
Striped bass action has been good at Lake Mendocino. Most of the successful fishermen have been trolling lures at a depth of 15-20 feet. There also have been a few stripers caught on topwater lures.
