The big question on the minds of many Lake County fishermen is what will Clear Lake”s level be by October? That”s when a number of major bass tournaments get under way and a low lake level could make launching boats and weighing fish a problem.
As of Monday, the lake level stood at 1.73 feet on the Rumsey Gauge. Since Yolo County stopped drawing water from the lake, the level is only dropping about two inches a week. The current lake level may seem low to many fishermen but there have been years when the lake level has been lower. In fact, 1.8 feet has been considered normal for many years.
Clear Lake will reach its lowest point in November. This year the lake level is projected to be .55 feet on the Rumsey Gauge as of Nov. 1, and it could go as low as zero on the Rumsey. If it reaches that point it will the lowest the lake level has been in more than 15 years. The last time the lake level was that low was back in 1993 when it dropped to .39 feet on the Rumsey Gauge. The last time the lake level reached zero or lower was during the drought in 1977 when the lake level was a minus-3.39. It has only been below a plus-1 on the Rumsey 11 times in the past 50 years.
A number of people are blaming Yolo County for the current low lake level. Whereas it”s true that Yolo County owns much of the water in the lake, Yolo is regulated on just how much it can take. This year Yolo County was limited to approximately 25,000 acre feet of water, which amounts to less than a 1 foot drop in the lake level. Evaporation and local use take more than Yolo County takes.
Even though the county should receive its first rainfall in October, the lake won”t start to fill until January. It initially takes at least five inches of rainfall before there is runoff into the lake. Most of the runoff from the surrounding hills occurs between the months of January and March. Once the hills are saturated with water the lake can fill rapidly. Of course, in drought years there is very little runoff. For example, this past winter the lake level maxed out at only 4.13 feet on the Rumsey Gauge. That”s more than 3 feet below a full lake, which is 7.56 feet, and the reason it”s so low now.
A low lake level does have an impact on fishing. Clear Lake is normally a shallow lake, especially in the north end. For example, the depth near the Lakeside County Park at the edges of the tules is only about a foot now. By October, that same area will be only a few inches. Vast areas of the north end of the lake will be too shallow to fish. The water depths at most of the docks in the Lakeport area are already less than 2 feet. That means most of the bass will move out into the deeper water and be harder to locate. Low water means the bass will also school up and that means increased fishing pressure. In fact, this is already happening.
Most of the bass tournaments are scheduled to go out of Konocti Vista Casino, Resort and Marina, Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa, and the Skylark Shores Motel. Zero on the Rumsey Gauge means all three launching sites would have very low water. Of course, it would also mean the Library Park in Lakeport and Redbud Park in Clearlake would also have low water at their launching ramps.
There have been predictions that this winter will be wetter than normal. I certainly hope so. Whereas I don”t want to see the lake rise to flood stage, I”m hoping that it rises to at least 8 feet on the Rumsey. If it does it would not only help the fishery but would be a deterrent against algae blooms and excessive aquatic weed growth next summer.
