“The recent stocking of trout has paid off big time and fishermen have been enjoying some of the best trout action in years,” Cerini said. “For example, last weekend our resort was full of fishermen.”
According to Cerini, the trout have spread out and are being caught all over the lake. The best action has been for those trolling the middle of the lake with Cripplures or Kastmasters in the red and gold colors. The lure is rigged behind a set of flashers and trolled at a depth of 10-15 feet. Bank fishermen have been scoring on nightcrawlers fished off the bottom.
Cerini said no one has caught any of the tagged trout. Three tagged trout were released and are worth $1,000, $500 and $250 for the lucky fisherman who catches one. To be eligible for the prizes the fishermen must first register at one of the three resorts, which are the Narrows, Pine Acres and La Trianon, and pay $25 for each day they wish to enter. All the proceeds from the contest go toward future stocking of the lake.
Lake Pillsbury is also scheduled to be stocked with trout this week. It will be the third stocking in less than a month. The strange thing is that very few fishermen have been at the lake. The lake is in beautiful shape and just waiting for fishermen, but few have made the trip.
The East Branch of the Russian River is scheduled to be stocked with trout next week. This will be the second stocking since the trout season opened on April 25.
At Clear Lake, the bass fishing is slowly improving and the magic lure is a Senko. The Senko is a deadly lure for spawning fish. It has a slow fall and when cast to a bass on a spawning bed, the fish can”t resist it. The problem has been the weather. High winds and rain have kept the water temperatures below 65 degrees and the bass still haven”t locked onto the spawning beds. That could all change by the weekend as temperatures are scheduled to hit 80 degrees, which should raise the water temperature.
Catfish action is improving just in time for next week”s Clearlake Oaks/Glenhaven Catfish Derby. The derby starts on Friday and runs through Sunday.
Clear Lake has much more to offer than the excellent fishing. There is an abundance of bird life as Buckingham residents Gary and Terri Miller discovered. They had the chance to see a once-in-a-lifetime event.
In Gary”s own words:
“One recent evening after returning from our winter in Palm Springs we were enjoying a drink on our patio overlooking the lake. Out of nowhere we saw a large bird dive-bombing something in the water about 75 yards from us. It made several passes and then came up with what appeared to be small fish.
“As it flew away it dropped the fish into the water and bird-flopped into the water and just sat there with its wings outstretched. After a few minutes it pounded its wings and became airborne. Then out of nowhere a second large bird with the same markings appeared and the two birds began to attack each other.
“The bird in the water turned on its back with its talons extended to defend itself. The attacking bird disappeared and the other bird swam over to our neighbor”s dock, dried itself and flew away.
“A check on the Internet showed both birds to be bald eagles and apparently they were mates. We have lived here 35 years and have never seen anything like it. It was incredible.”
