The bass tournaments return to Clear Lake with a WONBASS team event on Saturday and a American Bass team tournament on Sunday. Both tournaments go out of Konocti Vista Casino with the weigh-ins starting a 3 p.m. Fishermen can sign up for the WONBASS tournament this afternoon at the Clear Lake Outdoors tackle shop in Lakeport. The American Bass sign-ups take place at the casino.
The tournament fishermen should find mixed action as some areas are producing a lot of fish and others very few. It”s the old story of winter bass fishing and that means the fish are tightly schooled. Locate a school of bass and the action can be nonstop, otherwise it takes a lot of casting to put a limit in the boat.
The south end of the lake is where a lot of the fishermen have been concentrated and the best action is coming in 10-15 feet of water. Areas such as the rockpiles near Rattlesnake Island and the deepwater docks at Glenhaven have been producing good numbers of fish. Konocti Bay as well as Jago Bay are kicking out bass weighing from 3-6 pounds.
The top lure continues to be the Alabama Rig with three small swimbaits and a couple of teaser lures. Local Fishing guide Ross England said that just about all of his clients are using the Alabama Rig and are catching a lot of fish. The trick is to retrieve it very slow. Jesse James of Lakeport hooked three bass at one time on a Alabama Rig and landed all three. The total weight of the three fish exceeded 11 pounds. That”s the first time I have heard of a fisherman catching three bass at a time on the rig.
Fishermen using the drop-shot technique rigged with a plastic worm are also catching bass and a few fishermen are catching bass on jigs. Typically during the winter months most of the fishermen rig a plastic worm on a shaky head jig but this year very few fishermen are using it. Most are sticking with the Alabama Rig. Jumbo minnows are also catching a lot of bass. A few fishermen are having success using nightcrawlers.
The lake level is holding at 3 feet on the Rumsey Gauge and unless there is a lot of rain it won”t come up much. That means the bass won”t be able to get back in the flooded tules to spawn. Typically on Clear Lake the bass move into their spawning areas beginning in the first week in March, which is only two weeks away. This year there is less than a foot of water in the tules.
The Lake County Chamber of Commerce team tournament is less than a month away. The tournament is scheduled for March 17-18 and to date only 27 teams have signed up. Last year at this time there were more than 60 teams entered. Entry forms are available at all the tackle shops and from the chamber. Call 263-5092 to receive an entry form.
A few catfish are starting to show up for fishermen using either cut bait or nightcrawlers. Shag Rock continues to be one of the better areas. The crappie remain a no-show.
The trout action at Upper Blue Lake has slowed some although there are still a few fishermen catching limits by trolling in the middle of the lake. A few bass are also being caught along the Highway 20 shoreline on plastic worms rigged on drop-shots. The trout action was excellent at Lake Mendocino last weekend and just about everyone took home a limit. The action has slowed a little but it”s still worth a try. A lack of fishermen is the main problem at Indian Valley Reservoir. Despite being stocked with trout twice in the past month only few fishermen have showed up.
