Bass fishing continues to be very good at Clear Lake, especially for those casting topwater lures. Without question the best time to fish has been in the evenings from 6 p.m. until dark. Most of the fishermen say they are catching from 10-15 fish during the last three hours of the day. Both the north and south end of the lake are producing good numbers of fish.
The trick to success is to cast a topwater lure tight to the tules and give it a few short jerks and then pause for a few seconds. Many of the bass are grabbing the lure during the pause. Jigs and Senkos cast to the holes in the floating weed mats are also catching fish. The plastic frog bite has been slow but should improve as the hot weather returns.
If you can find crawdads, they”re one of the best summer baits for bass. Clear Lake Outdoors in Lakeport sells crawdads. The price is a dollar each for the large ones and 50 cents for smaller ones. The best method of rigging a live crawdad is to take a size 1 hook and run it up through the shell mantle between the eyes. Be careful not to penetrate the crawdad”s brain. Rigged this way the crawdad will stay alive and healthy. Monofilament line in the 6- or 8-pound test is used. Attach a small splitshot weight up about six inches from the hook. This will keep the crawdad from swimming on the surface. Cast the crawdad beneath a dock and allow it to swim freely.
You can also use a live crawdad to sight fish. When you see a bass cruising, cast the bait to the fish and I guarantee the bass will grab it. Allow the fish to get the crawdad into its mouth and set the hook with a sweeping action.
One mistake a lot of fishermen make is to use too large a crawdad. The best size is about the size of your little finger or even smaller. A large crawdad will often intimidate a bass.
Crawdads are also excellent for catfishing. In fact, they are the preferred bait among experienced catfishermen. The more successful fishermen will drop a live crawdad into the center of a sunken tire. There are literally hundreds of tires on the bottom of the lake. They were put there many years ago as spawning sites for the catfish.
Good numbers of catfish are also being caught off the docks at Indian Beach Resort in Glenhaven. I stopped at the resort Wednesday evening and spoke with several fishermen who were fishing off the docks. All said they had been catching catfish.
Crappie action remains slow with the exception of a few areas. There are some crappie being caught off the docks at Indian Beach Resort but it”s been very slow and most of the anglers are happy with two or three fish for an evening”s effort.
No local waters were stocked with trout this week. It”s been several weeks since the Department of Fish and Game has stocked either Upper Blue Lake or the East Branch of the Russian River. About the only action at Upper Blue Lake is for bass and a few fishermen are doing very well by drop-shotting a plastic worm or working a jig along the bottom.
Lake Pillsbury hasn”t been stocked with trout for at least three months. The bass and bluegill fishing has been good. At Indian Valley Reservoir, both largemouth and smallmouth bass are biting. The lake is in excellent shape and fishermen have been finding success by working either a jig or plastic worm tight to the flooded trees. The word is to stay away from the north end because of drunken parties there. Those who are camping and launching their boats at the dam are not having any trouble.
The Zone A archery deer season opened last weekend but I haven”t heard of any successful hunters. Several hunters reported seeing bucks in the Mendocino National Forest, but they weren”t successful.
