Bass fishing at Clear Lake remains steady, but it”s still nothing to brag about. In fact, a number of fishermen are confused by the lack of a frog bite. The weed mats are there and a lot of fishermen have been casting plastic frogs to the mats, but few are receiving any blowups.
The topwater action on buzzbaits and Zara Spooks has switched to the early morning or late evening hours. The more successful fishermen are either pitching jigs or drop-shotting to the edges of the weed mats midday. Without question the best action has been in the south end of the lake. Areas such as Monitor Rock and the rockpiles near Rattlesnake Island have been kicking out most of the bass. The shoreline along Highway 20 south of Lucerne is also producing a few bass.
Local fishing guide Richard Pounds says his clients have been averaging from 15-20 bass a day with most coming on drop-shot rigs in the deeper water at mid-lake. He said the bass are averaging from 2-4 pounds and appear to be in good shape. He also said he often places the bass in his livewell so his clients can take photos, and then he releases the fish back into the lake. Three weeks ago the bass in the livewell would vomit up large chunks of crawdads, but lately he hasn”t seen any dead crawdads in his livewell. That could mean the bass are having a difficult time finding crawdads. He said the dropping lake level has moved the bass out into the deeper water.
WON BASS will hold a special team tournament Saturday. The fishermen can only use plastic frogs and the hours of the tournament are from noon to 6 p.m. The weigh-in takes place at Skylark Shores Motel in Lakeport. Fishermen can sign up for the event between the hours of 10 a.m.-11 a.m. at the Tackle It tackle shop located next to the Skylark Motel.
The future of the lake”s fishery looks bright if the results of the Lake County Vector Control net seining results are any indication. According to the University of California”s Greg Giusti, who accompanied the crew from Vector Control, there appears to be plenty of juvenile fish. Giusti said the nettings revealed millions of silverside minnows, a good population of this year”s young bass, young bluegill, sculpin, hitch, Sacramento suckers as well as a few threadfin shad.
The most encouraging news was the large number of young crappie netted in a couple of areas. These are the first juvenile crappie to show up and that means there was a good hatch this spring. These crappie should be adults within the next two years.
Catfishermen are finding fair action in Cache Creek. The best action has been at night with fishermen drifting cut bait. The massive weed beds in the north end of the lake have made fishing off the bottom for catfish nearly impossible.
A number of people have asked about Indian Valley Reservoir. The lake level is down 125 feet and the boat ramp at the dam is out of the water. The campground is still open. A few fishermen with four-wheel-drive vehicles have been launching small boats and the bass fishing should be very good near the dam. No kokanee or trout are being caught.
No local waters are scheduled to be stocked with trout this week. The trout action at Upper Blue Lake has been slow, with only trollers working the middle of the lake finding any action. Bass fishing has been fair.
Deer hunters are still waiting for some cooler weather to get the bucks on the move. The Zone A season is only two weeks old but the hunting has been very slow. As expected the more successful hunters are hunting private ranches. The public land is producing very few deer.
