Trout fishermen are gearing up for the first stocking of trout in Upper Blue Lake since September of last year. Mount Lassen Trout Farms of Red Bluff is preparing to stock the lake with more than 2,000 trout on Monday. Word is that several trout in the 10-pound-plus class will be among the 2,000 released.
The money to purchase the trout came from private funding as well as money contributed by Lake County. The county funds, which total $3,400, came from Department of Fish and Game fine money. The county receives 50 percent of all fish and game fines collected from guilty violators.
Hopefully the DFG will be able to resume the trout-stocking program in Upper Blue Lake within a few months.
The DFG will stock trout in the East Branch of the Russian River for the opener of the trout season on Saturday. The stretch of the river to be stocked is in Potter Valley. There is excellent access to the stream, just take Potter Valley Road off Highway 20 just before you get to Lake Mendocino. There are a number of parking areas along the road.
Lake Pillsbury has been stocked twice with trout within the past month but very few fishermen have been up there. The lake is in excellent shape and boats can be launched at the Fuller Grove Ramp.
Bass fishing at Clear Lake is swinging into high gear. In just the last few days the bass have moved into the shallow water and are staging near their spawning beds. The other factor helping fishermen is the extremely clear water. In many areas you can see down to depths of nearly 6 feet and see hundreds of bass swimming around. Lakeside County Park and the state park are good examples. It”s similar along the Nice-Lucerne shoreline as well as the southern part of the lake.
Most fishermen are catching anywhere from 10-15 fish per day and these are mostly recreational fishermen, not the experienced tournament anglers. The more successful fishermen are bed fishing. That”s where they tease a fish that is guarding a spawning nest to bite. One of the best lures to use for bed fishing is a chartreuse tube bait or curly-tailed grub. The reason for the chartreuse color is because you can see the bass inhale the lure and then you set the hook.
For those who just want to catch a bunch of fish, one of the best methods is drop-shotting a plastic worm back in the tules. All you have to do is spot a fish either cruising or locked on a bed and pitch the plastic worm in front of the fish. Shake the rod tip a bit and you”re almost guaranteed to catch the fish. Most of the bass you catch will be the smaller and more aggressive males between 1-4 pounds.
American Bass held a team tournament out of Konocti Vista Casino, Resort and Marina on Sunday and the winning team was Mark Crutcher of Lakeport and his father, Brian Crutcher of Ukiah. The Crutchers weighed in a total of 23.63 pounds and collected $2,700.
Wayne Breazeale of Kelseyville teamed up with son Tyler to take second place with 22.25 pounds. The tournament drew 33 teams and all but two weighed in limits. The overall average weigh per fish was 3.36 pounds.
There will be two team tournaments held on the lake this weekend. On Saturday, WON Bass will hold a team event. On Sunday, American Bass will hold a team tournament. The weigh-in for both tournaments begins at 3 p.m. at the Skylark Shores Motel in Lakeport.
The other good news is that hundreds of crappie are on their spawning beds. I checked out an area on Monday and counted more than 100 crappie on beds within a 200-yard stretch. They could be easily identified in the clear water.
There”s been only one report coming out of Indian Valley Reservoir and that was from a bass fisherman who caught both largemouths and smallmouths. He fished mostly near the dam and said that he was the only fisherman on the lake.
Turkey hunters are entering the final week of the spring season, which closes May 3. To date, the season has been rated as very good. Many of the hens have now left the flocks to sit on their eggs and the gobblers are on the prowl. The surprising news is the lack of hunting pressure. Even in the more popular areas such as the Cache Creek Wildlife Area there have been few hunters.
Here is one of my favorite stories. Michelle Andre-Newton, who works in the cardiology department at Sutter Lakeside Hospital, said that for the past three years the same mallard hen duck has hatched out a brood of ducklings just outside the cardiology department.
When the ducklings are big enough to travel, the staff at the hospital gathers up the mother and the babies and takes them to the lake. According to Andre-Newton, the patients, staff and visitors can”t wait for the mother duck to return each year.
