It will be a busy weekend for outdoor enthusiasts. There is a major two-day bass tournament, the bass are biting for the recreational fishermen, and the spring wild turkey season is in full swing.
Topping the list of activities is the second annual Konocti Vista Casino Team Bass Classic. The two-day tournament gets under way Saturday morning and winds up Sunday. The entry fee is $160 per team and the field is limited to 100 boats. Fishermen can sign up for the tournament starting today between the hours of noon and 4 p.m. at the casino. The weigh-in both days is at Konocti Vista and starts at 3 p.m.
The bass fishing is rated very good and is just a step away from breaking wide open. Most of the fishermen predict it will take 60 pounds or more to win the two-day Konocti Vista tournament. A number of fishermen who have been out prefishing for several upcoming tournaments report seeing bass in the shallows and a few have been on the beds. The water temperatures have been as high as 60 degrees in the afternoons and with warm weather forecast for the weekend the water temps could climb even higher.
When the bass go on their spawning beds the Alabama Rig should prove deadly on these fish. To a bass protecting a bed the sight of five swimbaits passing nearby will drive it into a fury. In addition to the rig, various types of swimbaits have been very effective. Other lures that are catching fish include a LV500 lipless crankbait retrieved yo-yo style, jigs worked slowly at the edges of the tules, shaky head jigs with a trick worm and even crankbaits.
Some of the more productive areas has been from Lakeside County Park to the State Park, Horseshoe Bend, the docks north of Lakeport, the Nice-Lucerne shoreline, Konocti Bay, Jago Bay, Clearlake Oaks Keys and the rockpiles near Rattlesnake Island. Bank fishermen also have been having success using jumbo minnows at Lakeside County Park and Library Park in Lakeport.
The other good news on the local fishing scene is that crappie are starting to show up around the lake. Ken Taddie of the Indian Beach Resort in Glenhaven says his guests have been doing very well on crappie weighing from 1-3 pounds while fishing from the resort”s docks. He said the best action has been at night and the average catch is five to 10 fish per angler. His guests are using live minnows and crappie jigs. Fishermen can access the docks for a small fee.
Catfish action is still a little on the slow side, mostly because of a lack of fishermen. A few catfish are being caught near Rattlesnake Island and in Horseshoe Bend.
Trout action rates from fair to good at Upper Blue Lake. The lake was stocked last week. There are no reports coming out of Lake Pillsbury but it was stocked two weeks ago and the lake level is at 85 percent. Fishermen going to the lake should use the county road out of Potter Valley because the Elk Mountain road is wet and slippery.
The good news is that Walker Ridge Road going into Indian Valley Reservoir has recently been graded by the Lake County Public Works Department. The lake is 90-percent full and the ramp at the dam is in good shape. The lake also has been stocked with trout several times during the past month. The lake also offers excellent bass fishing, plus there are also crappie and catfish. The kokanee fingerlings put into the lake two years ago should also be weighing a pound or so.
Turkey hunters are still hoping for warm weather to trigger the gobblers into their mating mode. To date the hunting has been rated only fair. The hens are still flocked up and only a few are sitting on nests. That could all change by the weekend. Normally the middle of April is when the turkey season kicks into high gear.
