A number of fishermen are concerned that the algae blooms are impacting the bass fishing at Clear Lake. The algae has spread from the south end to the north end of the lake, but it hasn”t hurt the fishing. In fact, the best action this past week has been in south end where the algae has been the thickest.
Overall the bass fishing is still rated only fair and most fishermen are happy to catch and release five or six fish a day. The best action has been the first hour after daylight and the last hour before dark. These are the times when the bass have been actively feeding.
Jigs and shallow-running crankbaits have been the top lures. One problem facing the fishermen is a dropping lake level. As of Thursday, the lake level stood at 1.8 feet on the Rumsey Gauge and it continues to fall. Yolo County isn”t taking any water from the lake but there are more than 20 local water companies taking water from the lake. In addition, there is water drawn for agricultural use as well as lakeside residents drawing water for their lawns and gardens. When you factor in evaporation, it all adds up to a rapidly dropping lake level.
For example, many of the docks in the Lakeport have less than 2 feet of water in front of them. This means the lake is fishing very small and the bass are concentrated.
What is surprising is the lack of a frog bite this summer. In past years the weed mats would attract the bass and fishermen would have explosive fishing by casting a plastic frog to the mats. Not this year. For some reason the bass just aren”t concentrating under the mats.
I”m also convinced that the adult bass population is down considerably. Whatever the reason, there seems to be a lot fewer bass this year. This has been reflected in the fewer number of fishermen on the lake. Normally the parking lots at the launch ramps should have at least 20 boat trailers parked in them, but this summer the lots are virtually empty. The lack of fishermen can partly be blamed on the economy, but a lot of it has to do with the poor fishing and the condition of the lake.
WONBASS will hold an unusual tournament Saturday. All the participating fishermen are required to fish with plastic frogs only. Tournament hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the weigh-in at the Skylark Shores Motel in Lakeport.
Whereas the bass fishing is only rated fair, the catfish action has been very good. The only problem has been a lack of fishermen. The best action has been near Rattlesnake Island, Konocti Bay and in Horseshoe Bend. The successful fishermen are drifting cut bait.
Reports are coming in that western grebes are finally starting to nest at Clear Lake. One area that has hundreds of grebes on their nests is the entrance to Rodman Slough. The grebes are building nests on the huge floating weed mats. They are also nesting along the Nice-Lucerne shoreline.
Trout action at Upper Blue Lake is fair for those who are using downriggers to get their lures down to 30 feet. The Department of Fish and Game still hasn”t announced when it will be stocking the lake.
Indian Valley Res-ervoir is down more than 120 feet but the bass action has been very good. One fishermen visited the lake earlier this week and reported catching 25 bass by walking the shoreline near the dam and casting jigs and spinnerbaits. He said he caught largemouth and smallmouth bass. The catfish are also biting.
The Zone A deer season opened last weekend and as expected the hunting was poor. Most of the hunters reported seeing very few deer and practically no bucks. It”s the old story of a shrinking deer herd.
