Clear Lake will be a busy place this long holiday weekend, Typically the Memorial Day weekend is the kick off for the summer vacations and Clear Lake will be the place that many of tourists will visit.
Overall the bass fishing is still only rated from fair to good on the lake, although it continues to improve. An American Bass team tournament held on Sunday had the winning team weighing 28 pounds of bass. Several teams weighed in 23-25 pounds.
Most of the more successful fishermen report catching from 8-12 fish per day. In many areas the bass are still moving onto their spawning beds and aren”t being aggressive. In other words, the males aren”t yet locked on the beds. When the water temperature reaches 68-70 degrees it only takes about two days for the eggs to hatch and the young fry will move off the beds. The past few days has seen the water temps holding at about 68 degrees.
Another reason for the slower than normal action could be the fishing pressure and the clearer than normal water. On any given day the parking lots at the boat ramps are full of boat trailers. The water is also exceptionally clear for this time of the year and the aquatic weeds are already starting to reach the surface of the lake in many areas.
By far the best technique to catch a bass is by drop-shotting a plastic worm in about 5 feet of water. Senkos are a close second. Both methods are producing a good number of smaller fish with the average weight per fish running about 2 to 3 pounds. A few larger bass are being caught on jigs in the deeper water in the south end of the lake. Some of the better areas have been the docks north of Lakeport, the tule shoreline at Lakeside County Park and the state park. The shoreline near Rattlesnake Island is also producing bass.
Some of the bass have competed their spawning cycle and as is typical with post spawn fish they are hard to catch. The trick to success is a slow retrieve. In other words just inch your plastic worm along the bottom.
WON BASS will hold a team tournament on Saturday with the weigh-in starting at 3 p.m. at the Skylark Shores Motel in Lakeport.
Catfish action is improving, especially in the Cache Creek area. Jumbo minnows are the top bait followed by cut bait and nightcrawlers. Rattlesnake Island has also been productive.
Very little crappie action. Ken Taddie of the Indian Beach Resort says his clients have been catching a few crappie of the docks at night, but overall it”s been slow.
For those that would like a tour of the lake in comfort, Indian Beach Resort will start their summer boat tours this weekend. They have a 21-foot fully equipped pontoon boat with plush seats and a cover to keep you out the sun.
The boat will accommodate up to eight people and the tour will include wildlife viewing, wine tasting, drinks and snacks. The boat is Coast Guard Auxiliary certified, licensed and insured. It will be skippered by either Taddie or Tony Benevento. Clients can book for a 1 hour, 2 hour or even 4 hour tour. Indian Beach Resort is located on Highway 20 at Glenhaven. Call (707) 998-3760 for more information.
Trout fishing has slacked off a bit at Upper Blue Lake, although there was a 6 pounder caught earlier this week. The more successful fishermen are trolling at a depth of 20-25 feet. None of the three tagged fish that are worth $1,000, $500 and $250 have been caught. Bass are being caught by fishermen drop-shotting a plastic worm at the deeper depths.
Lake Pillsbury should be worth a try this holiday weekend. The lake was scheduled to be stocked this week and trollers have been scoring by trolling deep.
Bass fishing has been very good with reports showing that several bass in the 8-pound-plus range have been caught.
The East Branch of the Russian River was not stocked with trout this past week and isn”t scheduled to be stocked next week either.
