Clear Lake will be a busy place this weekend. The main attraction is the annual Clearlake Oaks/Glenhaven catfish derby, which gets under way at noon today. The derby winds up at noon on Sunday and is expected to draw more than 400 fishermen. The person who catches the biggest catfish will take home a boat, motor and trailer package worth more than $4,000.
There is also a major bass tournament on Saturday and Sunday. Angler”s Choice will hold its pro/am tournament out of Konocti Vista Casino and Marina. The tournament is expected to draw approximately 100 boats and the weigh-in starts at 3 p.m. each day at Konocti Vista. In addition, there will be several bass club tournaments. Overall there will be more than 250 bass boats roaring around the lake. In the midst of all that boating activity on Saturday will be distance swimmer Jamie Patrick, who is going to swim the entire length of Clear Lake from north to south. Bass fishermen are cautioned to be on the lookout for Patrick because he will more than likely be swimming in the middle of the lake.
Overall the warm weather should improve both the catfish and bass action. A catfish derby held at Indian Beach Resort in Glenhaven last weekend produced a good number of fish, including a 21-pounder. Most of the catfishermen in this week”s derby will be concentrated in the Rattlesnake Island area and in Cache Creek. Horseshoe Bend should also produce catfish. Most of the fishermen predict it will take at least a 25-pound catfish to walk off with the first-place prize.
Bass fishermen should see a big improvement in their fishing this weekend. I was out on the lake Wednesday and saw a number of bass on the spawning beds. Most were the smaller males. The water temperature hit 65 degrees by late afternoon. I have also seen some small bass fry in the shallows. There have been reports of silverside minnows being seen but no threadfin shad.
Many fishermen are wondering what the adult bass are eating. The answer is crawdads, hitch and carp minnows. Actually food may become a problem for the larger bass. In fact, many of the bass being caught are skinny, which indicates a lack of forage. I also think the bass population is down considerably. Some of the local fishing guides believe the population could be down as much as 50 percent.
A few crappie are starting to show up. One angler reported catching two to five crappie per outing while fishing from the docks at Library Park in Lakeport.
Fishermen launching their boats out of Lucerne or Nice or just traveling on Highway 20 should check out a new tackle shop in Lucerne. George Didescu owns and operates Lucerne Bait and Tackle. The shop is located near the Lake County Visitor”s Center and is just two blocks from the Lucerne boat ramp. Shop hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The shop is well-stocked with all the latest in bass tackle from plastics to hard baits. There is also a good supply of rods and reels. In addition, Didescu carries fresh bait, including nightcrawlers and clams. He said he”ll have live jumbo minnows within two weeks. He also does quagga mussel boat inspections. The telephone number at the shop is 274-2544.
No local waters were stocked with trout this week. The East Branch of the Russian River is scheduled to be stocked next week. At Upper Blue Lake, the trout fishing is rated fair. Trollers are getting most of the fish. Indian Valley Reservoir continues to provide excellent bass fishing. One angler who visited the lake last week said he saw huge schools of threadfin shad in the lake. He even brought back a couple of dead ones to confirm they were shad. I have fished the lake hundreds of times and have never seen a shad. Apparently someone took some shad to the lake and released them.
