The warm weather has turned on the topwater action at Clear Lake. The best action has been from daylight until 8 a.m. with plastic frogs leading the parade of topwater lures. The bad news is gusty winds have been driving fishermen off the lake by late afternoon.
The excellent topwater bite was apparent during the American Bass team tournament on Sunday. A number of fishermen reported doing very well and many had limits within two hours of blast-off. The tournament drew 42 teams and 37 weighed in limits. Many fishermen reported catching more than 20 bass. The winning team had 28.12 pounds and it took 22 pounds to get a check. The overall average weight per fish was 3.79 pounds.
Most of the fishermen said they caught their fish using several methods. Topwater action using plastic frogs was popular in the early morning, however, once the sun hit the water, most of the anglers switched to either dropshotting a plastic worm or flipping jigs or other large plastic lures into the weed mats or back into the tules.
One popular method of fishing the weed beds at Clear Lake is called “punching.” This is where the fisherman uses a large worm weight of up to one ounce and pegs it tight to a 4/0 or larger hook. A large Brush Hog or other large plastic lure such as a Beaver is rigged weedless “Texas” style. The lure is flipped into the heaviest cover the fisherman can find and allowed to sink to the bottom. The fisherman gives the tip of the rod a few shakes and then pulls the lure and casts to another nearby mat. Most of the time a bass will grab the lure on its initial fall. It is a deadly technique on the larger bass. Most fishermen use a flipping stick or other stiff rod and rig it with at least 50-pound test braided line, the reason being that it takes a stiff rod and heavy line to pull the bass out of the weeds. It is known that the larger bass will seek the heaviest cover during the heat of the day.
Catfish action has been very good all around the lake and some of the better areas are Horseshoe Bend, Henderson Point, Shag Rock, Rattlesnake Island and Jago Bay. The more successful fishermen are using live crawdads that they have trapped. Cut mackerel as well as nightcrawlers are also taking some nice catfish. Most of the anglers report catching from five to 15 fish per outing.
Crappie action is still slow although a few fishermen report catching two to five fish off the docks in the Lakeport area and along the Nice-Lucerne shoreline.
No local waters were stocked with trout this past week although trout are being caught at Upper Blue Lake by trollers using either a red-gold Kastmaster or a Cripplure in the middle of the lake. Bass fishing has been good for fishermen dropshotting a plastic worm in 15-20 feet of water along Highway 20.
A few trout are being caught at East Branch of the Russian River in Potter Valley. The stream is scheduled to be stocked next week. At Lake Pillsbury the bass fishing has been rated as very good and the trout action is rated as poor to fair. Fishermen are reminded that the Eel River below the dam at Lake Pillsbury is closed to all fishing. The game wardens will be giving citations to anyone they catch fishing in these waters.
Bass are biting at Indian Valley Reservoir. The lake is in excellent condition and the bass have been chasing the threadfin shad. The best areas are near the dam and back in the coves at mid-lake. Drop-shotting a plastic worm tight to the flooded trees has been successful for largemouths to 4 pounds. The smallmouth action has been at the face of the dam and off the high banks on the west side of the lake. Crappie action is rated as fair for some and excellent for others. The trick is to locate the schools of crappie and work them thoroughly. Trout action has been decent for fishermen trolling the middle of the lake.
