Constantly changing weather patterns have fishermen and the bass confused at Clear Lake. One day it”s sunny and warm and the bass are in the shallows and the next day it”s cold and windy and the bass move back into the deeper water.
For example, the water temperature was only 62 degrees at noon on Thursday. It”s been an unusual year to say the least.
Over the weekend a number of fishermen reported catching their bass by sight fishing on the beds. Most of the bass being caught have been the smaller males. The north end of the lake has been producing most of the fish but the south end is also kicking out decent numbers. The top lure has been either a Senko fished slowly tight to the tules or drop-shotting a plastic worm. The trick to success is patience and the ability to keep on the move until you locate fish.
Angler”s Choice held a pro/am tournament Saturday and Sunday and it took 45.81 pounds to win it. The big fish of the tournament weighed 7.83 pounds and out of a total of 873 fish caught there were only 12 weighing more than 6 pounds. However, the overall average weight per fish was a healthy 3.44 pounds. Eighty-two of the 90 boats in the tournament weighed in limits both days. The results of the tournament show what many fishermen have been saying, that the big bass are very scarce at Clear Lake. The other observation is that many of the fish are skinny, which indicates a lack of food.
American Bass is holding a team tournament Sunday. The weigh-in starts at 3 p.m. at the Skylark Shores Motel in Lakeport. Fishermen can sign up for the tournament just prior to the blast-off at Tackle It tackle shop, located next to the Skylark Motel.
The Clearlake Outdoors Tackle Shop, located at 96 Soda Bay Road in Lakeport, now sells bulk plastic worms for bass fishing. Fishermen can buy one worm or a dozen and try them out. If you like them you can buy more. It”s a great concept and you don”t have to buy an entire pack of worms. They have more than 50 different styles of plastic worms in bulk. They will also pour any type of worm you desire. In addition, the tackle shop carries a large inventory of lures and plastic worms, jigs and other fishing equipment, including live jumbo minnows. They also do boat inspections for the quagga mussel. Their telephone number is 262-5852.
As the results of the Clearlake Oaks/Glenhaven Catfish Derby showed, the best catfishing has been in Cache Creek. That”s where the winning catfish was boated. There also were a number of catfish caught in the Lakeport area. The top bait has been cut mackerel, shrimp or nightcrawlers. A few fishermen have been setting out traps for crawdads and are using them for bait. Without question a crawdad is deadly on catfish and bass.
Upper Blue Lake and the East Branch of the Russian River were scheduled to be stocked with trout this week. Both areas should offer excellent fishing for the weekend. Fishermen continue to ask when the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will stock Lake Pillsbury with trout. The lake is still on the no-stocking list because of a lawsuit filed by an environmental group and until the DFG completes an EIR the lake won”t be stocked.
Local DFG game wardens are asking that motorists be on the lookout for fawns on the local highways. They say they have been picking up a good number of dead fawns that have been hit by vehicles. This is the time of the year when does drop their fawns and they often cross the highways at night. The fawns don”t know enough to avoid vehicles and will often just stand in the middle of the road.
