Fishermen will be lining up at the Holder Ford-Mercury dealership in Lakeport on Saturday morning to sign up for the annual Holder Ford Mercury Clear Lake Team Bass Tournament. The sign-ups starts at 9 a.m. and the first team in line will be the first team to blast off on March 14.
According to tournament spokesman Richard Hoover, anyone can represent the team at the walk-in registration as long as the entry form is completed and signed by both team members. However, that person can represent only one team.
Bass tournament fishermen covet the early blast-off numbers because it often allows them to beat their competitors to their favorite fishing spot. For example, the first team out has at last a 30-minute head start over the last team, and that can mean the difference between winning and losing the tournament.
Most of the fishermen in the tournament already have prefished and located several areas where they believe bass are holding. If they can get to one of those areas first they can secure the area and fish it thoroughly. It”s all part of the strategy of tournament fishing.
According to Hoover, the blast-off numbers for the first day of the two-day tournament will be issued in the order that fishermen line up.
The mail-in applications will be processed after the walk-ins on Saturday. For more information or to get an entry form, call Hoover at 263-5603 or 1-800-635-8331.
Bass fishing remains very slow at Clear Lake. Many fishermen thought the unseasonable warm weather would turn on the fishing but it hasn”t happened. One problem is the cold water temperature. Early in the mornings the water temperature has been as low as 42 degrees and it”s only been rising to 50 degrees by late afternoon.
Another problem has been the low lake level. In much of the Lakeport area there is less than 2 feet of water at the outer edges of the docks and the bass aren”t there. There is deeper water in the Nice-Lucerne area and a few bass are being caught by fishermen using LV500 lipless crankbaits or by drop-shotting a plastic worm. Jigs are also taking a few bass.
There is deeper water in the south end of the lake, but few bass are being caught. In fact, so far this winter the bass fishing has been as slow as in the past five years. The only exception are the fishermen using live jumbo minnows, but even here most of the fishermen are only catching five to eight bass per day.
American Bass will hold a team tournament on Sunday. The weigh-in takes place at the Konocti Vista Casino, Resort and Marina and starts at 3 p.m.
Ed Clarke, owner of the Tackle It tackle shop in Lakeport, also owns Maverick Lures. He manufactures and ships plastic worms and swimbaits throughout the state. Clarke said he recognizes the poor economy has caused many people to lose their jobs and makes it hard to buy fishing equipment. To help these people out, he is going to give away the rejects from the plastic worms he pours.
“These are perfectly good plastic worms and swimbaits but they have slight imperfections which don”t allow me to sell them. So instead of throwing them away I”ll be giving them free to people who are on a low income and senior citizens on a fixed income.” Clarke said.
To arrange to get the lures, just call Clarke at 262-1233.
The drought has not only had an impact on the bass fishing at Clear Lake. Early this week FLW-Outdoors announced they were postponing their Stren tournament at Lake Oroville. The tournament was originally scheduled for Lake Shasta but low water levels caused the tournament to be rescheduled for Clear Lake. However, FLW then decided to move the tournament from Clear Lake to Lake Oroville. According to FLW officials, they hope to reschedule the tournament at Lake Oroville for later this spring. FLW-Outdoors has a Stren Series tournament scheduled March 5-7 at Clear Lake.
