Yolo County has started to draw water from Clear Lake but it shouldn”t have much of an impact on fishing.
Yolo has drawn out approximately 190 cubic feet per second the past few days, which means it will take approximately four minutes to draw out one acre foot of water. This year Yolo will be allowed to draw a total of approximately 21,000 acre feet. If Yolo continues to draw out water at the current rate, it will take about 58 days for them to use up its allotment, which would drop the lake level only 10 inches.
In many areas in the north end of the lake the water is only 2 or 3 feet deep next to the tules. In these areas the bass and other fish are moving out into the deeper water. Of course, when you add in the evaporation factor and local water use, the lake level will be at about 1 foot on the Rumsey Gauge by August, which means that much of the shoreline next to the tules will be high and dry.
Overall the bass fishing continues to improve with the topwater bite starting. One of my favorite topwater lures is the SkitterPop made by Rapala. This lure makes a lot of splash and drives a bass crazy, and the best part is that it costs less than $10.
Cast the Skitterpop beneath the docks or tight to the shoreline and let it rest for a few seconds before giving it a short jerk. Continue this style of retrieve all the way back to the boat. Often a bass will follow the lure right up to the boat and then smash it. I caught an 8-pounder on Tuesday using the SkitterPop.
Another lure that has been very effective is the Fluke, which is nothing more than a soft plastic lure resembling a minnow. It”s rigged on a size 3/0 or 4/0 hook without a weight. The lure is retrieved with short jerks, which makes the lure swims erratically. Retrieved in this fashion, it resembles an injured minnow. When a bass grabs the Fluke, wait a few seconds before setting the hook.
Many of the bass have completed their spawning cycle and moved back beneath the docks or out into the deeper water. However, there are a large number of bass still spawning. Bass will spawn at Clear Lake through June and sometimes even into July.
Some of the better fishing areas have been from Lakeside County Park to the state park, Soda Bay, the Clearlake Oaks Keys, the docks from Lakeport to Rodman Slough, and the Nice-Lucerne shoreline. Most of the fishermen have been catching from 10-20 fish per day, the average size ranging from 2-4 pounds. There have been very few fish weighing 7 pounds or larger being caught, even during the tournaments.
Catfish action continues to improve with cut mackerel being the top bait. The best areas have been in Horseshoe Bend, Rattlesnake Island and near the state park. Some of the catfish have been huge, weighing up to 25 pounds.
While a few crappie are being caught in the south end of the lake, overall the fishing has been slow and it doesn”t appear it will improve much this summer. The big question is where are the bluegill? A few small bluegill are being seen in the clear water, but no large ones are being caught.
No local waters were stocked with trout this week. At Upper Blue Lakes, the trout action is rated from fair to poor. Trollers working the deeper water have been having the most success. The trout fishing at Lake Pillsbury has been very good as has the bass fishing. The lake level at Indian Valley Reservoir will begin dropping this week when Yolo County starts drawing water from the lake.
