There will be a lot on the plate for the outdoor enthusiast this weekend. The bass fishing continues to improve at Clear Lake, Indian Valley Reservoir is kicking out some great bass and catfish action, Upper Blue Lake is providing decent trout action, and the turkey hunters open their season.
The major bass tournaments are history for a while at Clear Lake and now it”s time for the recreational fishermen to enjoy some excellent fishing. The recent series of small storms that hit the county has slowed the fishing a bit, but it should improve for the weekend. The water temperature has been holding between 54 and 59 degrees and the bass are staging in preparation for the spawning season. The magic number for the bass to move onto the spawning beds is 62 degrees and it could easily hit that by Sunday.
As the Bassmaster tournament showed, swimbaits are the No. 1 lure being used to catch the larger bass. A close second is a relatively new lure called a chatterbait. In fact, the second- and third-place finishers in the tournament used chatterbaits. A chatterbait is actually a modified spinnerbait with the blade positioned tight to the shaft. When retrieved, the blade on the lure pulsates and creates a vibration in the water. Bass home in on vibrations such as that made by an injured minnow.
The lure can be retrieved several ways. One method is to make a slow and steady retrieve so that the lure just rides over the top of the submerged weeds. Another method is to stop the retrieve and allow the lure to sink to the bottom and then lift the tip of your rod and repeat the action.
The lure comes in various colors, including chartreuse, black or brown. Most of the fishermen attach a plastic trailer to the hook. The sizes vary from 1/4 ounce to 3/4 ounce and they cost about $7 each. The lure can be cast on either a casting or spinning rod. All the local tackle shops carry the chatterbaits.
For the recreational fisherman who just wants to load up the boat with bass, then jumbo minnows remain the top fish-catcher on the lake. On Tuesday, local guide Richard Pounds took a pair of clients out on the lake and they had caught and released 28 bass by 10 a.m. All were caught on jumbo minnows in the north end of the lake.
The best areas to fish have been between Lakeport and the State Park, Rodman Slough, Henderson Point, the Clearlake Oaks Keys and the rockpiles near Rattlesnake Island. In addition to the swimbaits and chatterbaits, drop-shotting a plastic worm has been very effective.
What is surprising is how clear the water is in most of the locations. In many areas you can see down to depths of more than 6 feet. This means there could be an explosion of weeds early this summer. The clear water allows the sunlight to penetrate to the bottom and allows the aquatic weeds to bloom.
There has been some limited catfish action in Horseshoe Bend and at Cache Creek, but overall the fishing has been a little slow. There are still no crappie showing up. From all indication the crappie in the lake are practically non-existent. Bluegills are also absent.
A few fishermen have been enjoying excellent bass action at Indian Valley Reservoir. One local fisherman has been visiting the lake at least once a week and reports he has been catching from 10-15 bass per outing, several topping the 4-pound mark. Catfish action also has been good.
At Upper Blue Lake, the trout action is rated fair for the trollers and slow for the bank fishermen. The lake hasn”t been stocked for more than two weeks.
Turkey hunters are hoping for warm and sunny weather to open their season on Saturday morning. The gobblers are starting to strut and chase the hens. Actually the opening weekend is probably the worst time of the season to hunt turkeys as the toms are still flocked up. The best time is normally the middle of April when the toms break away and start to look for hens.
