It will be a full agenda for the outdoors crowd this weekend. The pheasant and wild turkey season opens Saturday, waterfowl season is in full swing and the fishermen will be out on Clear Lake going after bass and catfish, and maybe even a few crappie.
After weeks of unbelievable fishing pressure on Clear Lake because of a series of major bass tournaments, the number of fishermen on the lake has slacked off considerably. In fact, there have been very few fishermen on the lake.
Overall the bass fishing on the lake has been holding steady and most of the fishermen report catching from five to eight fish per day. The hot lure continues to be a lipless crankbait in the bright shad color and the best technique has been the yo-yo method. Drop-shotting a plastic worm has also been effective along with using live jumbo minnows.
The bass are also tightly schooled. Typically a fisherman reports working a long stretch of shoreline and catching nothing, however, all of sudden he/she will catch fish after fish in a very small area. The water color is perfect but the surface temperature has been dropping. The water temperature varied from 58-61 degrees on Tuesday.
Catfishing action has been excellent in most of the areas around the lake, so much so that one fisherman reported catching several catfish on crankbaits while fishing for bass near Rattlesnake Island. A few catfish are also being caught at Library Park in Lakeport and at Lakeside County Park. The Indian Beach Resort in Glenhaven reports the catfishing has been very good off its docks.
Crappie are finally starting to show up. Several fishermen have reported catching large crappie at Kono Tayee and Shag Rock. The docks at the Konocti Harbor Resort are also kicking out a few crappie. Some of the crappie have been huge, weighing up to 3 pounds.
No local lakes are scheduled to be stocked with trout this week. Letts Lake located in the Mendocino National Forest was scheduled to be stocked this week. The trout action at Upper Blue Lake has been rated good with very few fishermen out. Bass fishing has been fair for those drop-shotting a plastic worm along the highway.
Turkey hunters open their fall season on Saturday and bagging a bird should be no problem as there are turkeys everywhere. In fact, the Mendocino National Forest is loaded with turkeys. The season runs for two weeks and the limit is one turkey of either sex for the entire season. Several people want to know how you clean a wild turkey. A turkey can either be plucked or breasted out. For those who prefer to pluck a turkey it”s best to heat a bucket full of water. Cut off the head, wings and tail of the turkey and dip the carcass into the hot water. Completely submerge the bird and hold it in the water for about three minutes. Then just grab a handful of feathers and give a sharp jerk. The feathers will just fall out.
If you want to breast the bird, first pluck out the breast feathers and then take a sharp knife and fillet out each side of the breast. Cut off the legs and discard the rest of the bird. Cook the bird much as you would a domesticated bird.
The annual Lake County Junior Pheasant Hunt takes place Saturday at Highland Springs. This year the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) decided to hold only a morning hunt limited to 20 hunters. For those hunters who registered with the DFG for the hunt but haven”t yet received your confirmation, just show up on Saturday morning. No walk-ons will be allowed. Forty pheasants will be released prior to the hunt and each hunter will be allowed to harvest two birds. The DFG welcomes anyone with a bird dog to show up and assist the junior hunters. To reach the hunting area take Highland Springs Road past the airport just south of Lakeport. The hunt will be next to the rifle range.
