The California Tournament Trail (CTT) is hosting a pro-am bass tournament Saturday and Sunday. The tournament goes out of Konocti Vista Casino and is expected to draw about 95 boats. The weigh-in each day starts at 3 p.m.
If tournaments held earlier this year are any indication of what’s to be expected, it will take at least 60 pounds or more to win the two-day event. Last year it took 54 pounds to win this tournament, which uses a pro-am format. Pros will be teamed with different amateurs each day. Each boat will be allowed to weigh in five fish and both the pro and amateur carry the weight to the next day. For example, if a boat weighs in 20 pounds, both the pro and amateur are credited with the 20 pounds.
Overall the fishing has been rated good although a lot of smaller fish are being caught. These are mostly males between 1-2 pounds that have moved into the shallow water to build nests in preparation for spawning. The larger females could be moving into the shallows by the weekend depending on the weather. There will be some large bass brought to the scales.
Last weekend’s Best Bass Tournament (BBT) held at Clear Lake saw the winning team catch two 10-pounders. Overall there were also three 9-pounders and four 8-pounders weighed in.
Both the north and south ends of the lake are producing decent numbers of fish. The hot lures are the LV500, jerk baits, swimbaits, jigs and -shaky heads. Drop-shotting a plastic worm also has been effective. Of course, live jumbo minnows are just about a sure bet for the recreational angler.
As the water warms up the catfish action should improve. Catfish normally start to spawn when the water temperature reaches 65 degrees and one of the favorite spawning areas is the sunken tires off the Nice-Lucerne shoreline. There are literally hundreds of tires that have been purposely dumped into the lake to create catfish spawning areas. If you see a sunken tire just drop a minnow, live crawdad or a nightcrawler down and you’re almost guaranteed to catch a catfish.
The other good news is crappie are being caught at several locations around the lake. Shag Rock, Kono Tayee, the docks at Library Park in Lakeport and Lakeside County Park are all producing crappie, some weighing as much as 2 or more pounds.
Upper Blue Lake should be worth a try for trout. The lake was stocked last week and trollers have been catching some nice-sized rainbows. Bass fishing also has been good.
The spring wild turkey season opens Saturday morning and it has become one of the more popular hunting sports in the state. The good news for local hunters is Lake County offers an excellent chance to bag a gobbler. The hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to 4 p.m. each day. The daily limit is one bearded turkey and a total of three for the season. In other words, if you’re on a three-day trip you can bring back three turkeys as long as you don’t shoot more than one each day. In addition to a current California hunting license you must have an Upland Game Bird Stamp. Junior hunters aren’t required to have the stamp but must have a current junior hunting license. Shotguns, archery and even pellet guns .177 caliber and larger can be used.
Lake County has thousands of acres of public land holding a good population of wild turkeys. The Mendocino National Forest has turkeys at just about all elevations below 3,000 feet. For those who want the solitary of the back country a good bet is Tar Flat, located near Hull Mountain in the Mendocino National Forest. The turkeys in this area are Merriams, which are the mountain species and can be identified by their white-tipped tails.
The Cache Creek Wildlife Area, located on Highway 20 in eastern Lake County, is an excellent choice for wild turkeys. Another good choice is the Knoxville Wildlife Area, located near the old gold mine out of Lower Lake.
