The shad are back and the bass are busting into the schools of the baitfish. Whereas seeing a shad was a rare event a few months ago, there are now reports coming in of shad being seen scattered throughout the lake, and the bass are gorging themselves.
A good example was Wednesday when guide Tony Giorgi found a large school of shad holding near a dock in the Lakeport area. He and his client caught more than 25 bass within a space of four hours.
“It was wild with bass blowing up all around us,” Giorgi said. “I accidentally hooked a couple of the small baitfish on a lure and they were definitely shad because they had the black spot over the gills.”
Giorgi said they were using live jumbo minnows, but they also used some of the shad they had accidentally hooked.
It”s legal to use shad for live bait in Clear Lake. You can catch them with a dip net but not a throw net. The only problem is that they don”t live very long on a hook. There also have been a lot of young hitch being seen. Hitch cannot be legally used as bait.
The schools of shad also can be found at the docks near Library Park.
Earlier this week I observed bass chasing shad at several of the docks. The docks at Lakeside County Park are also attracting the little fish.
The trick to success is to keep moving until you can locate a school of bass. It”s the old story of fishermen who are locating the fish catching 15-20 bass per day and the other fishermen coming up empty.
The top lure has been a lipless crankbait such as a Rat-L-Trap or a Lucky Craft LV500. The lure can either be retrieved in a steady retrieve or with sharp jerks. The purpose is to mimic the baitfish.
Drop-shotting a plastic worm also has been successful.
A few crappie are starting to show up around some of the docks in the deeper water. Catfish action continues to be good off the docks at Indian Beach Resort in Glenhaven.
No local waters were stocked with trout this week. The trout action at Upper Blue Lake is rated from fair to good for trollers working the middle of the lake. Bass fishing is rated fair.
Turkey shoot on Sunday
The Lake County Rod and Gun Club will hold its annual Thanksgiving Turkey Shoot at the club trap range on Sunday. The hours of the shoot are from 8 a.m. until dark. The shoot is open to the public and frozen turkeys will be awarded to the top gunners. The fee is $4 per shoot with no limit on the number of shoots a person can enter.
According to club spokesman Gene Lovi, the shooters are divided into groups that match their skill level at trap shooting.
“We don”t want the novices competing with the experts and we want to make it an even playing field for all shooters. There will be three categories ? amateur, intermediate and advanced. This should give everyone a good chance at bringing home a frozen turkey,” Lovi said.
The club also will serve lunch and other refreshments. The club is located on Highland Springs Road next to the county park. To reach the club take Highland Springs Road, which is located south of Lakeport on Highway 29. Go past the airport and continue on to Highland Springs Park. The club”s range is on the road to the left after you enter the park.
Fundraiser planned
The California State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation plans to hold a fundraising dinner in Lake County next spring. There will be a meeting for volunteers and other interested people on Nov. 11 to plan the dinner. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at Pogo”s Pizza at the Burns Valley Mall in Clearlake. For more information call 994-5891.
