Clear Lake will be a busy place this weekend. In addition to the annual seaplane fly-in there will be a major bass tournament. Angler”s Choice is holding its championship team tournament Saturday and Sunday. The tournament is expected to draw 100 boats and the winning team receives a new bass boat plus cash.
The Angler”s Choice fishermen competing this weekend qualified by fishing in all the circuit”s tournaments and earning points. The blast-off and weigh-in go out of Library Park in Lakeport. The weigh-ins both Saturday and Sunday start at 3 p.m. The tournament is the first of several large tournaments scheduled on the lake in the coming weeks. The Triton Boat Owners tournament is scheduled for Oct. 4-5 and is also expected to draw more than 100 boats.
The Triton Boat Owners tournament features some of the top bass pros in Northern California and they will be facing a big challenge. Overall the bass fishing at Clear Lake is still rated only fair at best. While fishermen are catching plenty of bass weighing less than a pound, they”re struggling to catch fish weighing more than 4 pounds. Despite the poor fishing, most fishermen predict it will take a least 45 pounds to win the two-day event.
The Sonoma County Belly Boat Club held its Clear Lake Classic last weekend and the tournament drew 43 fishermen. The winner of the two-day event weighed in 34.3 pounds for eight fish.
The best action is still in the south end of the lake where the successful fishermen are casting jigs or Senkos. Square-billed crankbaits also have been producing a fair number of bass. LV 500 lipless crankbaits have been successful when retrieved yo-yo style. There has been limited topwater action early in the morning and late in the afternoons. Fishermen report the water has been clear in the morning with algae blooms occurring by noon.
The bass pros in the tournament will find that most of their favorite areas are drawing plenty of other boats. The lake is so shallow that any spot holding 3-4 feet of water will attract several boats to the area.
Catfish action remains very good and even the bass fishermen are catching catfish on plastic worms and crankbaits. Live crawdads or nightcrawlers have been the top baits. The local tackle shops now have minnows in stock, which are also good for catfishing.
There is very little crappie or bluegill action. There are plenty of juvenile crappie and bluegill but few adults have been showing up.
Trout action on the East Branch of the Russian River has been excellent and most of the fishermen are limiting out in less than an hour. The stream was stocked this week. What is surprising is the lack of fishermen. Even on weekends there have been very few fishermen on the river. Upper Blue Lake has been excellent for boaters who are trolling and fair for bank fishermen. The boaters have been catching from three to four fish per day. The bass action has been good for fishermen drop-shotting a plastic worm or working a jig across the bottom.
The early quail season in Lake and Mendocino counties opens Saturday. The season runs through Jan. 26. The daily limit is 10 birds with 30 in possession. Both mountain and valley quail can be taken. In addition to a basic hunting license an upland game stamp is required.
B-zone deer hunters report seeing a good number of legal bucks in the Mendocino National Forest. Snow Mountain, Hull Mountain and the area just east of Covelo have been some of the better areas.
A number of fishermen report seeing baby grebes riding on their mothers” backs, which means there was a decent hatch this year. All the small minnows in the lake means there is plenty of food for the grebes.
