Local fishermen will have their choice this weekend. The bass fishing at Clear Lake is rated from fair to good and there are even a few catfish being caught, and the weather is about as mild as it gets for January. Trout anglers will be headed to Upper Blue Lake to cash in on the trout action as the lake was stocked earlier this week.
The Alabama Rig remains the top bass-catcher at Clear Lake. Local angler Bill Timmer fished the north end of the lake near Rocky Point on Tuesday and managed to put six bass into the boat, the largest topping 6 pounds. He caught all his fish on the Alabama Rig with swimbaits. Timmer said the best action came in the afternoon when the water warmed up a few degrees. Dave Church of Sonoma has been crushing the bass using this rig. In two days of fishing he caught more than 60 bass, some weighing as much as 8 pounds.
The latest swimbait that is grabbing the attention of fishermen is the KeithTech in the 4.8-inch model. A package of five costs about $9. Most of the fishermen are rigging three swimbaits with hooks and two as teasers (the law states that only three lures can have up to three hooks per lure and only three lures can have any kind of hooks on them). The entire rig is cast and allowed to settle on the bottom. The rig is retrieved slowly. The best cast to use is a lob cast. When a fish strikes, make a sweeping hook set. The good news is the price for an Alabama Rig is starting to come down. A few weeks ago one cost nearly $30, but now you can buy models for as little as $15.
Live jumbo minnows continue to catch a lot of bass. Most of the successful fishermen are either rigging the minnows on a drop-shot rig or allowing them to swim freestyle with just a split shot to keep them down. Live nightcrawlers are also catching a lot of bass. Fred Williams and Gary Hill of Kelseyville have been catching a good number of bass using nightcrawlers. They either rig them on a drop-shot setup or allow them to sit on the bottom.
The areas that have been producing most of the bass are in deeper water in the south end of the lake. Monitor Island and Jago and Konocti bays have been productive as well as Shag Rock. In the north end, bass are starting to bite at the docks in Nice and Lucerne. Rocky Point has been a consistent producer. All the fishermen say the bass are in excellent condition, which means they have plenty of food.
The Clear Lake Bassmasters are holding a club tournament Saturday and the weigh-in starts at 3 p.m. at Lakeside County Park. Both Angler”s Choice and American Bass kick off their 2012 season next weekend.
Catfish action is rated fair and some nice catfish are being caught off the docks at the Indian Beach Resort in Glenhaven. Catfish are also being caught at Shag Rock and in the deeper water near Rattlesnake Island. Cut bait has been the top fish-catcher. A few bluegill are also being caught but the crappie action has been dead.
Trout fishermen are headed to Upper Blue this weekend as the lake was stocked with trout earlier this week. Trollers using either Kastmasters or Needlefish will be taking most of the trout although the bank fishermen should also have success using either nightcrawlers or salmon eggs.
I finally received a report from Indian Valley Reservoir. One angler said he trolled for trout earlier this week and wasn”t successful. He said there was only one other fisherman at the lake and he was fishing for bass. The lake hasn”t been stocked with trout for several years although there are a few carryovers. Juvenile kokanee were planted two years ago and they should be large enough to catch by this summer. The road going into the lake is a little bit rough but is in overall good shape.
