Cold, wind and even snow will greet Clear Lake fishermen this weekend. In other words, the Arctic Express has hit Lake County.
The cold weather has caused the water temperature to plummet. On Thursday morning, the water temperature at Library Park was a chilly 45 degrees and it won”t get much warmer. There are no bass tournaments scheduled on the lake this weekend.
The bass fishing had been slowly improving prior to the recent storms. A pair of bass tournaments held over the weekend produced some heavy weights. On Saturday, WON BASS held a team event that Mark Crutcher of Lakeport and Ken Mah of Elk Grove teamed up to win with 27.32 pounds. On Sunday, American Bass also held a team tournament and it took 25 pounds to take first place. Of the 16 boats in the American Bass tournament, 11 weighed in limits. The average weight per fish in both tournaments topped 4 pounds.
Most of the fishermen in the tournaments said they caught their fish by casting jerkbaits. In fact, Crutcher and Mah said they caught a total of 21 bass during the day and all but one was caught on a Lucky Craft jerkbait. A few fishermen said they also had success casting swimbaits. Both the north and south ends of the lake produced bass during the tournaments.
A number of fishermen have reported seeing bass in the shallow water next to the tules. Late February is when bass begin staging for their spawning season, which starts in March depending on the water temperature.
The local fishing guides also reported excellent action last weekend, their clients catching from 10-20 bass on live jumbo minnows. Some of the guides said they were going through two and even three dozen minnows per day.
The good news is the lake level has topped 7 feet on the Rumsey Gauge, which means the tules are flooding. That in turn makes for excellent conditions for the upcoming spawning season.
The Holder Ford-Mercury annual team bass tournament is only two weeks away. The tournament dates are March 12-13 and 50 teams had signed up as of Thursday. The cut-off time for entering the tournament is 3:30 p.m. on March 11. The Konocti Vista Casino bass tournament is scheduled for April 16-17 and fishermen can enter the tournament by calling (707) 823-3252. Entry forms for both tournaments are at all the local tackle shops.
There are still very few crappie showing up. One angler reported he caught a couple of crappie while fishing near Kono Tayee a week ago. He said that was the only activity he had for two hours of fishing. Catfish action also has been slow although a few catfish are being caught off the docks at the Indian Beach Resort in Glenhaven. It”s been mostly a lack of fishermen.
At Upper Blue Lake, the trout action has slowed some although there are still a few fishermen catching limits by trolling in the middle of the lake. The lake is scheduled to be stocked next week, which should improve the fishing. A few bass are also being caught along the Highway 20 shoreline on plastic worms rigged on drop-shots.
The Lake County Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) will hold its annual dinner on March 5 at the Queen of Peace Community Center, located at 14435 Uhl Ave. in Clearlake. Doors open at 5 p.m. and dinner is served at 7 p.m. There will be a choice of prime rib or Chicken Alfredo. The cost is $65 for a single or $100 for a couple. There also will be a raffle and auction for shotguns and other valuable prizes. Proceeds go toward improving wild turkey habitat in Lake County and throughout the state. To obtain tickets call 994-0637. You can also purchase tickets at the door.
