One of the more popular bass tournaments held on Clear Lake gets under way Saturday morning. It”s the Bob”s Marine Boat Owners Bass Tournament.
Bob”s Marine of Modesto has hosted the annual tournament for eight years. All fishermen are required to fish from a Champion, Stratos or Javelin boat. The two-day event goes out of Konocti Vista Casino, Resort and Marina and the weigh-ins both Saturday and Sunday start at approximately noon. The tournament is expected to draw about 100 boats.
Last year the winning team had a two-day weight of 39.26 pounds and it took 22.52 pounds to finish in the money. Sign-ups for the tournament will be accepted as late as 6 p.m. today at Konocti Vista Casino.
Tournament fishermen will find that the action at Clear Lake is mixed. Some fishermen are doing very well and others are struggling. Most of the fishermen report catching from eight to 10 fish for a full day on the lake. That averages out to about a fish caught per hour.
The good news is the cool nights have slowed the algae blooms and the weeds are starting to break up, but the lake continues to change daily. For example, the water will be clear one day in an area and the next it”s a dirty brown. The brown water is a result of the aquatic weeds dying off. That”s happening around the docks north of Lakeport. The past two weeks has seen the water become very stained and the fishing has slowed to a crawl.
Massive schools of silverside minnows and hundreds of juvenile bass are turning up around the lake, which is literally exploding with crawdads. This means the bass are in excellent condition. The lake is also fishing very small, which means the fishermen are heavily concentrated in a few areas. The big problem has been locating fish. The bass are tightly schooled and if you luck out and get into a school of fish the action can be very good.
The bad news is bass will be in an area on one day and gone the next. In other words, fishermen need to stay on the move. There has been some topwater action in the north end of the lake with buzzbaits and Zara Spooks being the top lures. A few bass are also being caught on jigs and by drop-shotting a plastic worm or a wacky-rigged Senko. Swimbaits such as the Trash Fish also have been effective, especially for the larger fish.
I have been seeing hundreds of juvenile bass between 2-4 inches. If even a tiny portion of these fish can survive the winter, the future for Clear Lake looks extremely bright. There also have been a couple unconfirmed sightings of threadfin shad. There have been reports of shad schooled at the boat ramps but most of those are actually juvenile bass.
Catfish action remains excellent. In fact, several bass fishermen say they have been consistently catching catfish on their swimbaits. Some of the best areas continue to be the Lakeside County Park, Horseshoe Bend, Shag Rock and Rattlesnake Island. Cut bait or nightcrawlers have been the top bait for the catfish that are averaging about 6 pounds.
A few crappie are being caught off the docks at Indian Beach Resort and at Shag Rock, but overall the action is very slow.
No local waters were scheduled to be stocked with trout this week. That”s beginning to sound like a broken record. For some reason the Department of Fish and Game won”t stock Upper Blue Lake.
Deer hunters continue to struggle and are still waiting for a cold spell. Normally by the second week of September the bucks start going into rut, which improves the hunting. There have been reports of some deer having large growths on their necks and hindquarters. A Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist told me the growths are probably a condition called “papillomas.” It”s a virus and normally occurs when a deer”s immune system is weakened.
