Fishing pressure on Clear Lake is heating up as hordes of bass tournament fishermen begin prefishing for several upcoming tournaments.
American Bass (ABA) will hold a team tournament Feb. 15 and that tournament will be followed by a WON BASS team event on Feb. 21, and another ABA tournament on Feb. 22. West Coast Bass will hold a pro/am Feb. 28-March1, and the FLW-Outdoors Stren Series tournament is March 5-7, followed by the Holder Ford-Mercury tournament on March 14-15.
The West Coast Bass Pro/Am tournament means that one of the largest tournament circuits is back. Larry Viviano, who is an old hand at running bass tournaments, runs West Coast Bass, which was a popular tournament circuit for many years. It held a number of tournaments on Clear Lake. After a hiatus, Viviano decided to bring his popular circuit back and Clear Lake is the first stop on West Coast Bass” schedule. The tournament will operate out of Konocti Harbor Resort &
Spa. The entry fee is $640 for pros and $340 for amateurs.
The FLW-Outdoors Stren Series, scheduled for March 5-7, is expected to draw more than 150 boats and features some of the top bass pros in the West. That tournament also operates out of Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa.
Wrapping up the major tournaments in March is the Holder Ford-Mercury tournament, scheduled for March 14-15. That tournament is expected to draw at least 150 boats and it will operate out of the Skylark Shores Motel in Lakeport.
Many of the fishermen entered in these tournaments are already out on the lake prefishing. The reason tournament fishermen prefish prior to a tournament is because it”s vital that they locate schools of bass and also because they need to know what type of lures the fish are biting on. This is especially important during the winter months when the fishing is slow.
The good news is that despite the lake level being low and the water being extremely clear, there are fish being caught in many areas. A number of fishermen also have reported seeing bass suspended beneath docks.
The more successful fishermen are using lipless crankbait, jigs and even swimbaits. Of course, the top bait for the recreational fisherman is a live jumbo minnow fished in the deeper water in the south end of the lake.
A good example is Tony Benevento, owner of the Indian Beach Resort in Glenhaven. He cast a live jumbo minnow off his dock on Monday and hauled in a 9.2-pound bass. It”s the biggest fish he”s caught to date. He said that fishermen using live minnows are catching a decent number of bass off his docks. Other hot spots have been Konocti Bay, Jago Bay, Luebow Point and the rockpiles off Rattlesnake
Island. Many of the bass are holding in water as deep as 30 feet.
There is still very little action in the Lakeport area. Most of the fishermen blame the lack of bass because of the shallow water. At most of the docks there is less than 2 feet of water.
An ESPN television crew was filming a show on the lake this week. Mark Zona, the host of several ESPN bass shows, was filming the segment – to be aired at a later date – along with professional bass pro Skeet Reese of Auburn. What drew everyone”s attention was Reese”s brightly painted truck parked at the Fifth Street parking lot in Lakeport. The truck is a Ford F650 and it”s huge. He uses it to tow his bass boat. The good news is that Reese and Zona caught plenty of bass for the TV show.
White Pelicans are starting to filter back to the lake, which means there must be some baitfish available. I spotted one flock of about 75 birds milling around just south of Pepperwood Cove earlier this week.
A number of fishermen are wondering what happened to the crappie. There have been very few caught the past few months. Either they have moved out into the deeper water or they could have died. We”ll know in March when they start to spawn.
