Bass fishing at Clear Lake is settling into a typical summer pattern. Early in the mornings and late in the evenings the topwater action takes center stage, however, during midday the bass are either moving beneath the docks or headed for deeper water.
Mike Rothstein of Kelseyville fished the docks north of Lakeport on Tuesday afternoon and boated 18 bass. He said he caught just about all his fish by skipping a jig deep beneath the low overhanging docks. This is typical for this time of the year. During the daylight hours the bass seek the coolest, darkest area and hole up for the day.
Clear Lake has hundreds of what are called “crank-up” docks and the ones that hold the bass are those suspended a few inches above the surface. A spinning rod is ideal for skip-casting either a jig or curly-tailed grub beneath these docks. Most of the time a bass will grab the lure on the initial fall. Rothstein said you have stay on the move if you want to be successful because a lot of the docks won”t have a fish beneath them, but then you will hit a dock that produces several bass.
Another area producing a lot of bass is the shoreline from the Lakeside County Park to the State Park. Flipping a jig back in the tules has been very productive for bass ranging in size from 2-5 pounds. In the south end of the lake the best fishing has been in water 6-10 feet deep in such areas as Jago Bay, Konocti Bay, Rattlesnake Island and Windflower Point. Ken Taddie of the Indian Beach Resort in Glenhaven says his guests have been doing very well on bass off the resort”s docks. They are also catching from three to five crappie as well as some catfish.
The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) electro-shocking crews were out on the lake Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. According to DFG Senior Biologist Jay Rowan, the crews worked the south end of the lake Tuesday evening and found most of the bass holding in 6-8 feet of water. He said they saw very few spawning bass and concluded that most of the fish have completed spawning. They also found some silverside minnows but not a single threadfin shad. The good news is they saw thousands of bass fry everywhere, but what really surprised the team were the number of catfish they obtained. Rowan said he has never seen as many catfish during past electro-shocking studies at Clear Lake. All the fish they shocked were in excellent condition.
The Clear Lake Vista Resort (formally the Ferndale Resort) in Soda Bay kicks off its Sunday Shootouts on Sunday. The tournament starts at 8 a.m. and runs until 2 p.m. Each fisherman will be allowed to weigh in two bass. The entry fee is $20 per person with a $10 big-fish option. The tournament dates are Sunday, July 15, and 29, Aug. 12, and 26, Sept. 2, 9 and 30, Oct. 14 and 28 and Nov. 4. Call Craig Anderson at 349-0814 for more information.
Catfish action on Clear Lake remains steady. Those who are fishing after dark are having the most luck. The best action has been near Cache Creek and at Shag Rock. Live crawdads (if you can get them) or cut mackerel have been the top baits. Live minnows also work. Most of the tackle shops should have live minnows by the weekend.
The East Branch of the Russian River is scheduled to be stocked with trout this week. The fishing areas can be reached by parking at the turnouts on the Potter Valley Road off Highway 20 just before you reach Lake Mendocino. The trick is to fish the deeper pools with nightcrawlers or small spinners such as a Mepps.
At Upper Blue Lake the trout action has slowed. The lake hasn”t been stocked since June 3. A few trout are being caught by trollers but the bank fishing has been slow. Bass fishing is rated as fair to good for those using jigs or drop-shotting a plastic worm.
