Clear Lake and the Delta are considered two of the best bass fishing waters in Northern California even if both are struggling this year. In fact, the bass fishing at Clear Lake is the poorest it has been in a number of years.
Two of the best gauges of fishing conditions at any given body of water are tournament results and the reports of local fishing guides. So far this year at Clear Lake you need 20-23 pounds to win a tournament. A few years ago numbers like that would have put an angler no higher than third or fourth as the average weight needed to win a tournament ranged from 25 to 30 pounds.
Most of the time a tournament winner has what is called a “kicker” fish. In previous years that meant the big fish of the day would weigh in the neighborhood of 8-10 pounds. So far this year there have been very few 8-pounders brought to the scales. In the majority of tournaments the big fish has weighed only 6-7 pounds.
The guides are another good source on evaluating the state of the bass fishery. Most of the regular guides have been telling me that they are averaging five to nine fish per day for their clients. Normally a guides takes out two clients, which means they are averaging only about three fish per fisherman per day. Just about all the guides have said they think the bass population on Clear Lake could be down by as much as 50 percent in comparison to a few years ago.
The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) electro-shocking results last month back up the claims of the fishermen. According to DFG fishery biologist Jay Rowan, the team of biologists checked a number of areas on the lake and found no threadfin shad, very few silverside minnows or bluegill, few juvenile bass and practically no large bass. Most of the bass they electro-shocked weighed 2-3 pounds.
The lack of juvenile bass is what concerns many fishermen. A bass between 10-12 inches is approximately 2 years old and there have been very few caught or even seen. Normally this class of fish will make up the bulk of the bass population in any given lake. They are also the most aggressive in biting a plastic worm or other small lures.
A few years ago there were at least six 1-pounders caught for every 3-pounder taken. This year it”s been just the opposite. Most of the fishermen report either catching only one or two of these small bass or none at all.
The other major factor is the lack of large bass between 8-10 pounds. Very few of the larger bass are being caught or even seen. The reason for the lack of large bass is obvious ? a lack of food. The forage base that these larger bass require isn”t here. The result is that for the past three years the larger bass, birds and other predators have been consuming massive amounts of smaller juvenile bass. Part of the problem could be the three-year drought that ended this year. With most of the tules high and dry, the juvenile fish were exposed to predators.
Fish populations on all lakes fluctuate from year to year but these peaks and valleys are much more pronounced at Clear Lake. For example, in 1990 the lake was loaded with bass. By 1992 they had all but disappeared. In fact, in many of the major bass tournaments a third of the field wouldn”t catch a single fish. However, the bass population made a remarkable recovery by 1995 and for more than 10 years the fishing was second to none.
There have been suggestions the DFG should stock more large bass into the lake. But just about every biologist doesn”t believe that”s the answer. Largemouth bass have been in Clear Lake since the early 1900s and there have been wild swings in their population. The good news is that in a year or two the bass population will increase and things should return to normal. In the meantime we should just enjoy what we have and continue to protect our lake.
