The big-fish contest at Upper Blue Lake gets under way today. Trout fishermen have an opportunity to catch three tagged fish worth $1,000, $500 and $250, respectively.
According to Narrows Lodge Resort owner Art Cerini, the rules for catching the tagged fish are as follows: Fishermen who want to enter the contest have to pay $25 for each day they wish to enter. For example, say a fisherman wants to enter the contest both Saturday and Sunday. He/she will pay a total of $50, or $25 per day.
Three fish have been tagged and released. To be eligible, the fishermen first have to enter the contest at one of the three Upper Blue Lake resorts ? the Narrows Lodge, Pine Acres or La Trianon.
Cerini said all the proceeds from the contest go toward future trout stocking in the lake. Cerini said the tagged trout all weigh more than 5 pounds each. Call 275-2718 for more information.
For those who just want to fish for trout, there were approximately 2,000 trout stocked earlier this week with an average size of just more than a pound. There were several trout in the 10-pound-plus class stocked. On Wednesday, an angler caught an 8-pound trout. As a bonus, the lake offers excellent bass fishing.
Boats can be launched at the Narrows Resort and Pine Acres. Fishermen who don”t own a boat can fish from the docks for a small fee. Fishermen can also fish off the bank along Highway 20 for free.
At Clear Lake, the bass fishing was excellent last week but slowed to a crawl over the weekend. Fishermen are blaming the cold and windy weather for slowing the fishing. A good example was last Friday when the fishing was wide open. However, by Saturday the weather had turned cold and windy and the bass had backed off from their spawning beds.
The fishing was so bad during this past week that local fishing guides were struggling to catch four to five bass for eight hours of fishing for their clients. The drop-shotting technique is producing most of the fish. Jigs are a close second.
The other factor is the absence of big fish. For example, only one fish was weighed in that topped 8 pounds last weekend during the American Bass team tournament. Most of the fish were between 3-4 pounds. Some of the better action has been near the state park and Lakeside County Park. Rodman Slough has been fair, with the best action coming on jigs flipped into the tules and flooded brush.
Crappie action has been decent for those who can locate the fish. The crappie are on the spawning beds and the more successful fishermen have been teasing them, much as you would a spawning bass. Some of the crappie have been huge. There have been reports of several weighing more than 3 pounds.
The cool weather has slowed the catfish action, which should improve when the water warms up. The ideal water temperature for spawning catfish is 70 degrees and some of the better areas are where there are sunken tires. The channel catfish like to spawn in the tires and a crawdad dropped inside the tires will usually draw an arm-wrenching strike.
The East Branch of the Russian River should be worth a try for trout this weekend. The stream was recently stocked and the fishing should be good. The only downside is the fishing pressure, which can be intense.
Turkey hunters wrap up their spring season Sunday. There is a special two-week archery-only season as well as a two-week youth hunt running until May 17. Adult hunters are reminded that they can accompany a youth hunter during the special hunt but they can”t hunt themselves.
Finally, who would have ever thought that bass fishing could be hazardous to your health? A pair of anglers competing in the American Bass tournament on Sunday received the surprise of their life while fishing in Rodman Slough. A gunshot rang out and the bullet went whizzing between them, just missing their heads and smacking into a nearby tree. They said the tree literally exploded when the bullet hit. No one knows who fired the shot or for what reason.
