With only a week until Christmas, shoppers are scrambling to buy that last-minute gift. If the person on your list is a fisherman, a visit to one of the local tackle shops should solve your problem. There are several tackle shops in the county — ETicket Tackle in Lakeport, Limit Out Bait and Tackle in Clearlake Oaks, Clear Lake Outdoors on Soda Bay Road in Lakeport and Clear Lake Bait and Tackle in Clearlake, among others. The managers of these shops are experienced fishermen and they can offer expert advice on fishing gifts. They also sell gift certificates. Better yet, ask them to put together a tackle pack of the latest lures and plastic worms.
For those who want to spend a little extra for a unique gift, consider a guided bass fishing trip on Clear Lake. The average cost is about $500 for a full day or $250 for a half day. The names of the local guides can be obtained from the local tackle shops.
Another neat gift is a 2015 fishing license. Everyone 16 years and older is required to have one and they only cost $47.01. All the local tackle shops as well as stores such as Wal-mart, Kmart and CVS sell them. You can buy a blank license and fill in the person’s name and address.
On the fishing scene, the recent storms kept most of the fishermen off the water this week but the few brave souls who did venture out reported catching a few bass and the occasional catfish. The recent rains did bring the lake level up by nearly two feet and much of the north end is muddy.
Bass fishing should improve as the weather improves and one of the top lures will be the LV500 lipless crankbait. The more successful fishermen have been casting the lure to the docks or above the rockpiles and retrieving the lure yo-yo style. This means they give the lure a hard, short jerk and then pause. During the pauses the lure will flutter down to the bottom, resembling a dying shad. Deep-running crankbaits should also be effective. The water temperature has been ranging from a low of 50 degrees to a high of 58 degrees.
Jigs and plastic worms also should be productive. According to most of the experts, the trick to success is to work the jig or plastic worm slowly. Another successful technique is to shake a plastic worm.
A 6-inch worm is rigged on a 1/0 wide gap hook and a 1/8-ounce worm weight is pegged tight to the hook with a toothpick. The worm is cast back beneath the docks or above the rockpiles and allowed to sink to the bottom. The tip of the rod is twitched. This allows the worm to dance on the bottom. When a fish grabs the worm, all you will feel is slight pressure. Of course, if you want a guarantee to catch bass, use live jumbo minnows. Most of the fishermen are rigging the minnow either on a slip bobber or allowing it to swim free without a bobber.
In addition to live minnows, nightcrawlers also can be very effective on bass and they’re a lot cheaper to buy. A few fishermen have been rigging the nightcrawlers on a drop-shot rig and having success.
Most of the action is taking place in the clearer water in the south end of the lake. The Clearlake Oaks Arm, the Redbud Arm and Henderson Point are good bets for wintertime fishing. A few catfish are being caught by bank fishermen working the docks at Library Park in Lakeport and at Lakeside County Park. Jumbo minnows or nightcrawlers have been taking most of the fish.
No local lakes were stocked with trout this week. A few fishermen are finding success at Upper Blue Lake by trolling near the middle of the lake. It’s been very slow for bank fishermen.
