Lake County will be a busy place for the outdoors crowd this weekend. The two-day WON BASS Tournament of Champions (TOC) gets under way today, the B-zone deer season opens on Saturday, and A-zone deer season closes on Sunday.
Clear Lake will be wall to wall with bass tournament fishermen today and Saturday for the WON BASS TOC. The tournament is a team event and is expected to draw more than 100 boats. The top prize for the winning team is a new, fully-rigged bass boat worth more than $35,000. There are also cash prizes for the other top finishers. The tournament operates out of the Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa and the weigh-in starts at approximately 3 p.m. each day.
Overall the bass fishing continues to be slowly improving. It took 41 pounds to win the two-day Bob”s Marine tournament held over the weekend and 31 pounds to receive a check. The tournament drew 100 boats.
Most of the action is taking place in the south end of the lake and the successful fishermen are using a wide variety of lures and techniques. Plastic frogs are taking a few bass off the available weed mats and jigs have been working over the submerged rockpiles. Of course, the old standard of drop-shotting a plastic worm continues to be very effective. Casting a shaky head jig also has been very effective. The trick is to work your plastic worm very slow along the bottom.
The biggest problem is locating fish. One day they will be schooled in a particular area and the next day they”re gone. In other words, the bass are constantly moving and following the baitfish. The more successful fishermen are watching the birds such as the grebes. When they see them going after schools of baitfish, they know the bass must be close by.
Catfish action continues to be very good, especially in the deeper water in the south end of the lake. The problem is a lack of fishermen. Twenty years ago catfishing was popular on the lake but in recent years only a few dedicated fishermen go after these fish.
Crappie and bluegill are still few and far between. It was hoped that with all the small baitfish the crappie would start to show up, but it hasn”t happened yet. As for large bluegill, they appear to be as scarce as the crappie.
No local waters are scheduled to be stocked with trout this week. Upper Blue Lake will be stocked next week. A few trout are being caught at the lake by trollers, but the action has been slow.
Deer hunters will be out in force this weekend. The B-zone season gets under way Saturday morning and reports from the bow hunters who had an early season indicate a promising season for the rifle hunters. Many of the bow hunters reported seeing a fair number of bucks in the northern part of Mendocino National Forest at the higher elevations. Areas such as Hull Mountain and the Snow Mountain Wilderness area are holding decent numbers of bucks. Typically the B-zone deer stay at the higher elevations until the first rains hit, then they head for their wintering grounds at the lower elevations.
Hunters are being advised that the woods are tinder dry and to be very careful of forest fires. All it takes is one cigarette or campfire to ignite a roaring forest fire. Hunters should also leave a note with a loved one or a friend as to where they will be hunting and when they expect to return. It”s easy to get hurt while hunting and if no one knows where you”re at, rescue teams could spend days looking for you.
The A-zone deer season wraps up Sunday and most of the local hunters are happy to see it end. This year will more than likely go down as one of the worst seasons in modern times. Many of the ranchers say they are seeing fewer deer this year compared to recent years. No one knows what has happened to the deer herds but they just keep declining every year. As one hunter told me, “Deer hunting has turned into more of a hiking experience that a hunting one.”
Deer Hunters who are successful and want to have their meat cut and wrapped can contact Larry Poff at 349-6800. Poff is licensed by the state and county and has a butcher shop in Kelseyville.
Poff processes deer, wild hogs and even domestic beef and pigs. He cuts, wraps and freezes the meat for his customers. He will even skin the animal for a small charge.
