Bass fishing at Clear Lake has been a mixed-bag affair. Some of the fishermen are catching as many as 20 fish per day and others are struggling to put a few fish into the boat.
For example, Mike Rothstein of Kelseyville and Jim Craig of Upper Lake fished together on Tuesday evening, and caught and released 16 bass. They caught their fish using a variety techniques.
The good news is that the topwater bite has finally taken off and fishermen using SkitterPops or other topwater lures have been cashing in. Fishermen casting plastic frogs back in the tules have also been doing very well. The trick is to keep on the move and make long casts back in the holes. In some areas, the bass are holding in less than two feet of water.
Most of the bass have finished spawning and have moved under the docks, back in the tules or under weed mats. This is especially true in the Lakeport area, where weed beds are starting to form. The bass are widely scattered throughout the weeds, and the trick to success is to be constantly on the move until you locate concentrations of fish.
Fishermen using top water lures have been scoring by casting the lure into the small openings in the weed mats and giving a few jerks. The bass have been exploding on the lures. Another method that has been effective is to cast a Fluke — a soft plastic lure that is rigged weedless — past the mats and retrieve it with short jerks and long pauses.
One of the hottest lures on the lake is the Keitech Swing Impact 4-inch swimbait rigged drop-shot style. The lure has unbelievable movement and drives a bass crazy. Up to now, it was nearly impossible buy the lure in the county, but earlier this week Clear Lake Outdoors in Lakeport received a large shipment of the lures.
A pack of eight costs about $7. A few fishermen are using a one-half worm weight at the bottom of their drop-shot and punching the Keitech back in the weed mats.
The best action has been early in the mornings and the last hour before dark. Live crawdads have also been taking a lot of bass. Local fishing guide Jeremy Taylor rigged his clients with live crawdads earlier this week and they boated more than 20 bass. Taylor traps his crawdads from the backwater sloughs in the lake.
The bass are very healthy but there have been few double-digit fish caught. Most of the bass being caught are weighing from 3-5 pounds, and there have been only a few fish caught that will weigh more than 6 pounds.
Catfish action remains good with a number of fishermen reporting catching from 3-7 fish per outing. The best area has been Cache Creek, followed by Rattlesnake Island and Shag Rock. The shoreline near the State Park has also been producing good numbers of catfish. Catfish are also being caught off the docks in Nice and Lucerne.
Still very little crappie action. A few crappie are being caught off the docks at Redbud Park in Clearlake and at Library Park in Lakeport.
Trout action at Upper Blue Lake is rated as fair. A few fish are being caught by trollers working the middle of the lake. The trick is to keep changing the depth of your lure until you locate fish. The lake was last stocked on June 3 and won”t be stocked again until July.
Bass action is rated as fair to good. The fishermen that are locating fish have been successful casting spinnerbaits and drop-shotting a plastic worm.
Indian Valley Reservoir continues to provide some excellent bass fishing with a few trout thrown in. Catfish are also biting. There are also trout being caught in the North Fork of Cache Creek below the dam at Indian Valley.
The East Branch of the Russian River is kicking out a few trout for those casting Mepps Spinner in the deeper holes. Nightcrawlers have also been successful. The stream will be stocked next week.
I recently received a call from a reader who had a deer run into the side of his automobile on Highway 20. The collision caused extensive damage to the vehicle and death for the deer. He wanted to know if the deer alert devices that are sold in the auto parts stores are effective.
The way the alert device works is that it is mounted outside on the vehicle and when the vehicle is under way, air is pushed through the device to created a sound at more than 20 kilohertz, which is above what the human ear can hear. The theory is that a deer can hear a much higher frequency than a human.
Several studies showed that while deer did hear the alert from approaching vehicles, it didn”t deter them from crossing or standing in the road. The bottom line is that it still hasn”t proven effective. The best deterrent is an alert driver.
