The bass fishing at Clear Lake continues to be a hit-or-miss affair. Some of the more successful fishermen report catching from 15-30 fish per day while others are struggling to put five fish in the boat. It all depends on where you are fishing and what you”re using.
Drop-shotting a plastic worm in the north end of the lake has been the ticket for bass holding at the edges of the tules. In the south end, it”s the docks that are producing most of the fish.
Troy Bellah, co-owner of Clear Lake Outdoors in Lakeport, recently reported doing very well by casting a small 3-inch plastic worm beneath the docks in the vicinity of Konocti Bay. The worm he was using was made by Budda Baits and resembles a silverside minnow. He rigs the worm on a 1/8-ounce darthead hook and skips it beneath the docks. Early this week Bellah caught more than 30 bass using this technique and says the secret to success is to downsize your lures. Clear Lake Outdoors now carries a complete line of the popular Budda Bait worms. The shop is located at 96 Soda Bay Road in Lakeport. The telephone number is (707) 262-5852.
The bass haven”t yet moved to the docks in the north end, the reason being there are so many weeds supplying vast amounts of cover. The more successful fishermen are rigging either 4- or 6- inch plastic worms drop-shot style and working the edges of the tules or casting the worm in small pockets in the weed mats. The trick is to keep on the move and cover a lot of water until you locate fish. There are still bass on the spawning beds but many have completed spawning and have moved into the deeper water.
A few fishermen are having success on topwater lures in the evenings. Skitter Pops or a buzzbait worked in the openings have been producing decent numbers of fish. Here again the trick is to keep on the move and cover a lot of water with your topwater lures. Actually the evenings are the perfect time to be out on the lake. There are fewer fishermen and boaters and the conditions are perfect the last hour before dark.
There are still no threadfin shad showing up or even juvenile bluegill. In fact, even the silverside minnow population appears to be down. Most of the bass are feeding on crawdads.
Catfish action remains good and a number of fishermen report catching from three to seven fish per outing. The best area has been Cache Creek followed by Rattlesnake Island. Catfish are also being caught off the docks in Nice and Lucerne. There is still very little crappie action. A few crappie are being caught off the docks at Redbud Park in Clearlake and at Library Park in Lakeport.
Indian Valley Reservoir is producing decent bass action. I fished the lake Sunday and caught about 15 bass, most of them weighing about 2 pounds. The unusual thing is the massive schools of threadfin shad. Just about every cove has shad busting the surface. The lake is also host to a large western grebe population because of the shad. The abundance of shad should result in some huge bass in the future. The lake level is still low but boats can be launched at the dam. The only problem has been the wind, which has made fishing uncomfortable. The road going into the lake is pretty rough so care should be taken.
No local waters were stocked with trout this week. Upper Blue Lake and the East Branch of the Russian River are scheduled to be stocked next week.
High winds and rough seas have kept most of the boats in the harbor at Fort Bragg. To date the salmon action has been slow. Rockfish action has been good when the boats can get out.
