Fishermen are glad to see this week end. Cold and blustery weather has kept all but the hardiest souls off the lake. In fact, it has been more like January than April. However, the forecast is for a warm weekend, which should help the fishing at Clear Lake.
The bass still aren”t on their spawning beds although a few fishermen report seeing some small fry. What is surprising is the lack of large bass being caught. For example, during the American Bass and Angler”s Choice tournaments the big fish of both events was only 6 and 7 pounds. This has been typical for most of the tournaments this year. Normally it takes at least an 8-pounder to take big fish money.
Overall the bass fishing is still nothing to brag about. During the American Bass tournament held on Saturday the winning weight was 21.66 pounds for five fish. Only about half the field weighed in a five-fish limit. Most of the fishermen have been catching their bass by drop-shotting a plastic worm in the pockets in the tules or working a Senko very slowly. White spinnerbaits worked slowly along the bottom also have been taking a few fish. A few bass are being caught in the Clearlake Oaks Keys and the Lakeport Lagoons. The best action has still been in the north end of the lake. The water temperature on Thursday morning was a chilly 53 degrees.
Catfish action remains slow mostly because of a lack of fishermen. The weather has been just too nasty for the catfish anglers to sit out at night. Crappie are still pretty much of a no-show with a few exceptions.
Upper Blue Lake is still providing some very good trout action and the more successful fishermen are trolling the middle of the lake. Bank fishermen have been scoring using Power Bait or nightcrawlers. The opener of the trout season at the East Branch of the Russian River saw a horde of anglers and fair fishing. The stream will be stocked again next week.
Ocean salmon fishermen off Fort Bragg have been fighting rough seas, so very few reports are coming out of the area. The action should improve this week when the weather improves.
Turkey hunters close out their spring season Sunday (archers and junior hunters can hunt until May 16). Despite the fact there are turkeys everywhere around the homes in Lake County, the hunters who have been chasing the birds on public land are struggling. One reason has been the lousy weather. The cold rains have slowed the breeding season although a good number of hens are now sitting on their nests. In fact, I hunted in three inches of snow in the Mendocino National Forest on Wednesday.
I have had two very memorable hunting trips this year. Last week I was hunting in the Mendocino National Forest and a tom answered my call with a loud gobble. I moved to a large pine tree to sit down and as I was standing next to the tree I heard a soft chirp right at my feet. I looked down and a hen turkey was sitting on a nest at the base of the tree. She was actually touching my boot. I moved off two steps and she stood up. The nest held 12 eggs. She looked at me for a moment and sat back down on the eggs. I ignored the gobbling tom and snuck away so as not to disturb the hen. The next day I was hunting at Highland Springs near Lakeport and was walking down a trail. I happened to glance down and there at my feet was a 4-foot long rattlesnake stretched out on the trail. He stared at me with his tongue flickering in and out of his mouth. I stepped back and walked around him. I felt that as long as he didn”t bother me I wouldn”t bother him. Actually, I won”t kill a rattlesnake unless they are a threat because they are an important part of the ecosystem.
