The Zone B, C, D and even a few of X-zone deer seasons open Saturday and hunters can expect a season similar to last year when the hunting was rated from poor to fair.
Most of northern Lake County is in the B zone. A dry spring along with loss of habitat is blamed for the continued decline of the deer herd in the B zones.
Most of the wildlife biologists say the reason for the decline of the deer herd is a loss of habitat and predators. Control burning is now a thing of the past and there is little feed for the deer. Predators such as coyotes and mountain lions are also taking a toll on the deer herd. Not to be left out are the poachers. Did you know that poachers kill nearly as many deer as legitimate hunters?
The Mendocino National Forest will draw most of the B-zone hunters. Areas such as Hull Mountain, the Snow Mountain Wilderness Area and the Mendocino Pass are among the more popular areas.
The bucks will be in the high country early in the season but the first storms should send them scurrying to their wintering grounds. All the deer in the B zones are blacktails and they don”t like cold weather. It doesn”t take much of a change in the weather to move the deer out of the high country. The season runs through Oct. 26 and the final two weeks of the season are normally when the hunting is the best.
The Zone A deer season closes Sunday and most of the hunters are happy to see it end. This year will go down as one of the poorest seasons in recent memory. Even the better deer clubs had a poor season.
I hunted the burn at Walker Ridge near Indian Valley Reservoir on Wednesday and did see a few does but no bucks. The good news is that green shoots are already sprouting up in the burn. This means there will be a good food source for the deer in the area this winter.
On the bass fishing scene, the changing weather and dropping lake level has slowed the fishing at Clear Lake. The water temperature on Thursday morning had dropped to 62 degrees and the lake level was holding at 1.6 feet on the Rumsey Gauge. The lake level should start to stabilize as Yolo County cuts back on its water releases. By far the most successful method of fishing has been drop-shotting a plastic worm or casting a Senko in the deeper water in the south end of the lake.
The good news is that the fishing pressure has dropped off considerably. There are only a few boats out on the lake on most days.
The Department of Fish and Game has issued 41 bass tournament permits for Clear Lake for 2009. That”s down about 15 permits from past years.
A few fishermen are catching catfish in Horseshoe Bend and in Cache Creek. Cut mackerel or nightcrawlers have been the top baits.
No local waters are scheduled to be stocked with trout this week. A few fishermen continue to catch trout at Upper Blue Lake by trolling the middle of the lake. Bass remains fair to good along the Highway 20 shoreline.
The lake level at Indian Valley Reservoir is down 140 feet and the lake is less than half full. I checked out the lake on Wednesday and you can still launch a small boat at the dam. By small, I mean 14 feet or less and if you”re using a trailer, you should have a four-wheel drive vehicle. Bass and a few catfish are still being caught near the dam.
The low water means it”s unlikely the lake will be stocked with trout this fall. The Department of Fish and Game normally stocks the lake during November with Eagle Lake-strain trout. The lake wasn”t stocked last year because of the low water and it probably won”t be stocked this year.
