Catfish grab the spotlight this weekend as the Clearlake Oaks/Glenhaven annual catfish derby gets under way at noon today. The derby wraps up by noon on Sunday. The headquarters for the derby is the Clearlake Oaks Firehouse, where the awards ceremony begins at 1 p.m. Sunday. There will also be a barbecue and raffle.
If past derbies are any indication, it will take at least a 25-pound or bigger catfish to win the grand prize of a boat, motor and trailer. It”s unlikely the lake record for catfish of 33 1/4 pounds will fall, but it could happen.
Indian Beach Resort held its catfish derby last weekend. The event drew 30 fishermen and the winning catfish weighed 14 pounds.
Most of the catfishermen in the upcoming derby will be concentrating in the south end of the lake near Rattlesnake Island or near the City of Clearlake. Cache Creek should also see a lot of fishermen as will Horseshoe Bend.
The preferred bait for the derby contestants will be either jumbo minnows or cut bait, and many fishermen will be drift fishing. Fishermen are allowed to fish around the clock and many of the more knowledgeable fishermen will be anchored at their favorite fishing hole all night.
The weather is forecast to be perfect for catfishing, with temperatures predicted to be hot throughout the derby. The winds are forecast to die down, which should make fishing more comfortable for those spending the nights out anchored and fishing for catfish.
Bass fishermen also will be out in force this weekend. American Bass has a team tournament scheduled for Sunday. The tournament operates out of the Skylark Shores Motel in Lakeport and the weigh-in starts at 3 p.m. In addition there are several club tournaments scheduled.
Overall the bass fishing on Clear Lake remains only fair although a few fishermen are doing very well. For example, guide Tony Giorgi had a client out on Wednesday and they caught 16 bass in the north end of the lake. Many of the bass still haven”t moved onto the spawning beds and fishermen report seeing a number of bass just cruising around.Senkos remain one of the top lures on the lake. They can be rigged two ways. One is to use a wide-gap size 3/0 hook and rig it weedless style with no weight. The lure is either skipped under a dock or cast back in the tules and allowed to slowly sink. Another method is to rig it”wacky worm” style. That”s where the hook is pushed crossways through the body of the worm in the middle. It can be fished either drop-shot style or by itself.
The fishing pressure on Clear Lake has been intense. Even on weekdays the lake has been crowded with bass boats. One would think that with the bad economy and loss of jobs most of the fishermen couldn”t afford to come to the lake, but that”s not the case. In fact, there have been more fishermen here at midweek than during the boom times of a few years ago.
The East Branch of the Russian River is scheduled to be stocked with trout both this week and next week. Lake Pillsbury was stocked last week.
At Upper Blue Lake, the trout fishing has been excellent and the three tagged trout are still swimming in the lake. No one has caught the tagged fish that are worth $1,000, $500 and $250.
The other good news about Upper Blue Lake is that the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) has completed its study of possible red-legged frog habitat and hard head minnows and found none. The DFG has submitted a report to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and if the federal agency signs off on the report, the DFG can resume stocking the lake with trout.
