Trout grab the fishing spotlight this week as the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) plans to stock Upper Blue Lake with trout this week. It is the first stocking in nearly a month and should provide excellent fishing for the weekend. Most of the action will come to the trollers working the middle of the lake with Kastmasters or Cripplures. The water is cool so the trout should be holding in the top 20 feet of water.
Boats can be launched at either the Pine Acres Resort or the Narrows Lodge Resort. Both resorts also allow fishing off their docks for a small fee.
Upper Blue Lake also offers excellent bass fishing, with the best fishing being along Highway 20. Drop-shotting a plastic worm can be deadly on bass weighing up to 5 pounds.
At Clear Lake, the bass fishermen are finding the fishing to be a hit-or-miss affair. Some of the fishermen are doing well but most are struggling. The results of the National Bass West tournament held out of Redbud Park in Clearlake on Saturday were a good example. The team tournament drew 21 teams but only 10 weighed in fish. There were only three five-fish limits and only 37 fish made it to the scales. Eleven of the teams blanked. However, the winning team checked in with 27 pounds.
Last week a fisherman lowered an underwater camera down to the bottom of the lake in the Clearlake Oaks Arm and saw dozens of large bass but not a one would bite his lures.
Local fishing guide Bob Myskey took a client out Tuesday and they fished for more than eight hours and caught one bass. They were using live jumbo minnows. Myskey said he burned nearly 40 gallons of gas trying to locate fish. His client did catch six large catfish.
Catfish action remains good throughout the lake for the few fishermen after them. Most of the successful fishermen have been drift fishing using live minnows. A few also have been rigging dead silverside minnows. Fishermen are reminded they can use the silverside minnows in the lake for bait but the only way they can catch them is to use a dip net. Cast nets are illegal.
The poor fishing as well as the bad economy is playing a role in the lack of fishermen at the lake. I drove from Clearlake Oaks to Lakeport on Wednesday and didn”t see a single boat on the water. The parking lots at the boat ramps were also empty. The guides tell me their business is down by nearly 50 percent and the tackle shops are also seeing fewer customers.
A few fishermen have been seeing decent smallmouth bass action at Lake Mendocino. The lake is full and the successful fishermen have been either casting jigs or deep-running crankbaits. There has been no striped bass action.
The Redbud Audubon Society”s annual Christmas bird count in Lake County is Dec. 18 and the public is welcome to participate. You don”t have to be a bird expert and it”s the ideal opportunity to view some of the county”s many birds. There will be experienced birders from the Audubon Society to assist and instruct you.
This is the Audubon Society”s longest-running wintertime tradition and it”s the 36th year the count has taken place in Lake County. Each December birders gather to record every individual bird and species encountered during the day. Each count group has a designated circle (15-mile diameter) and tries to cover as much ground as possible within a certain period of time.
If you are interested in participating, call Darlene Hecomovich at 928-5591 or Jeannette Knight at 928-4233. You can also just show up either at Clear Lake State Park or the Anderson Marsh State Historic Park at 8 a.m. Bring water, a snack and a pair of binoculars.
