Lakeport bass pro Mark Crutcher demonstrated his knowledge of Clear Lake and expertise in bass fishing by winning the two-day Angler”s Choice Pro/Am bass tournament held last weekend at Clear Lake.
Crutcher brought 22.01 pounds to the scales Saturday and followed it up Sunday with another 23.94 pounds for a tournament total of 45.95 pounds. His winnings came to $5,640. Crutcher said he caught his fish by flipping, sight fishing and casting a plastic frog. The action was wide open during the tournament and all but two fishermen caught a limit each day. The overall average weight per fish was 3.69 pounds.
The warming water temperature has moved the bass back onto their spawning beds. A good example was Tuesday when I spotted at least 20 bedded bass in a period of two hours. The best part was I managed to catch a good number of fish on a white crappie jig. Years ago I learned there are few lures as effective on bedded bass as a white crappie jig. When you cast a jig or plastic worm on the bed, the bass normally grabs the lure but immediately spits it out. The small crappie jig is easily inhaled and all you have to do is set the hook.
Most of the bass I saw were on spawning beds in 6-8 feet of water. The water is extremely clear in much of the north end of the lake and in some areas you can see down to a depth of 10 feet or even deeper. There are also a lot of bass just cruising around, including some between 5-8 inches, which is good for the future of the bass fishery.
Overall the fishing is rated as very good and most of the fishermen say they are catching from 10-20 bass per day. One of the more productive areas has been the shoreline between the Lakeside County Park and Quercus Point. The bass are holding in the deeper water. In fact, some of the more successful fishermen are casting a wacky-rigged Senko straight out from the tules and catching bass in 15 feet of water. The shoreline from Adobe Creek to Konocti Vista Casino is also producing fish. In the south end of the lake, the better areas have been the shoreline just out from the Clearlake Oaks Keys.
Two team bass tournaments are scheduled for the weekends at noon at Konocti Vista Casino. Fishermen can sign up for the tournament at Clear Lake Outdoors, located on Soda Bay Road in Lakeport. American Bass holds a team tournament on Sunday and the weigh-in starts at noon at Konocti Vista Casino. Fishermen can sign up for the tournament at the Tackle It tackle shop located on North Main Street in Lakeport. Call 262-1233 for more information.
The fishermen who can locate the schools of crappie are catching some huge fish, many weighing more than 2 pounds. The trick is to keep moving from dock to dock until you find a school of fish. Live minnows or red-white crappie jigs are top fish-catchers.
Catfish action is rated fair with very few fishermen out after them. The warm water has the catfish spawning and just about every sunken tire is holding a catfish. The top bait is a live crawdad, if you can find any. A few fishermen have been setting out crawdad traps and are using them for bait. Other fishermen are finding success using mackerel.
Upper Blue Lake is scheduled to be stocked with trout this week. Trollers are having the most success but bank fishermen should also find decent fishing. Bass fishing also has been very good. The East Branch of the Russian River is also scheduled to be stocked with trout this week.
