It”s feast or famine for bass fishermen at Clear Lake. Those who are using jumbo minnows have been cleaning up, whereas the fishermen who are casting crankbaits and other artificial lures are struggling to put a few fish in the boat.
A good example of this was local guide Bob Myskey”s recent experiences on the lake. On Wednesday, his clients caught more than 30 bass with several topping 5 pounds. All were caught on live minnows. Myskey said he caught his fish at scattered locations around the lake. He looked for schooling fish that were chasing baitfish and had his clients cast a live minnow to the feeding fish.
Other fishermen are finding excellent success using live shad. This is especially true at the docks in the Lakepport area, including the docks at Library Park. In addition, many of the fishermen are loading up on catfish. Earlier this week one fisherman caught and released 15 catfish while fishing from the docks at Library Park.
Actually, shad are very effective for both bass and catfish. Most of the fishermen are getting their shad by casting a bass lure through a school of shad and snagging them. According to Department of Fish and Game warden Lt. Steve White, it”s illegal to intentionally snag any fish. A couple fishermen are obtaining the shad by using a long-handled dip net. While using a dip net is legal, fishermen are cautioned not to use throw or cast nets, which are illegal. They also shouldn”t use a bare hook in an attempt to snag the shad.
The fishermen hook the shad either through the lips or the dorsal fin and cast them to the feeding fish. A few fishermen are using bobbers, which give the shad more movement.
Bass fishermen who are using artificial lures have been finding success on the lipless crankbaits such as the Lucky Craft LV500 or the Rat-L-Trap. The trick is to keep moving until you locate active fish.
The Angler”s Choice team tournament held on Saturday out of Konocti Vista Casino, Resort and Marina saw the winning team bring in 23 pounds. The good news is that 12 of the 15 teams in the tournament brought a five-fish limit to the scales. Many of the fishermen said they caught from 15-25 bass during the tournament. Swimbaits and drop-shotting a plastic worm were the top lures.
A few crappie are being caught at Shag Rock and Kono Tayee, but overall the fishing has been very slow. Hopefully it will start to improve as the threadfin shad move in.
Catfish action has been very good in a few selected areas. Live jumbo minnows or dead shad have been the top baits. The Lakeport area has been especially good for catfish weighing up to 15 pounds.
Eared Grebes can be seen by the dozens off Library Park in Lakeport. They are the small gray-colored birds that are feeding on the shad. What is unusual is that there are three pure white Eared Grebes traveling with the other birds. It”s a condition called “leucism” and occurs about once in every 15,000 birds. For three of the white grebes to be together is a rare occurrence.
For those who want to view the white pelicans, Library Park is an excellent choice. On Thursday, there were approximately 500 pelicans swimming approximately 200 yards offshore from the park. In addition to the grebes and pelicans, a pair of otters has taken up residence at the Fifth Street ramp in Library Park. A recent visitor said that in all his years visiting lakes around the country he had never seen such a sight as the birds and other wildlife that exist around Clear Lake.
No local lakes were stocked with trout this week. Upper Blue Lake is scheduled to be stocked next week.
One fisherman launched a small kayak at Indian Valley Reservoir last week and enjoyed some excellent bass fishing. He said he caught both smallmouth and largemouth bass near the dam.
