Catfish grab the spotlight this week at Clear Lake as the three-day “Mr. Whiskers” catfish derby gets underway today. The derby runs from 9 a.m. today until noon Sunday. The entry fee is $25 for adults and $5 for children.
You can sign up all day today and Saturday at Robinson Rancheria Casino in Nice, Clearlake Bait and Tackle in Clearlake, Clear Lake Outdoors and the E-Ticket Tackle Shop, both in Lakeport. A complete information packet covering rules and prizes will be issued when you sign up. The top prize is a boat and there are cash prizes for other top finishers.
Fishermen entered in the derby should find plenty of catfish. Most of the anglers predict it will take at least a 25-pounder to walk off with the top prize. Horseshoe Bend, Henderson Point, Shag Rock and the water around Rattlesnake Island are producing large catfish. Nightcrawlers and cut bait have been the best baits. There is a shortage of live jumbo minnows because storms in Arkansas, which is where the minnows come from, have flooded the minnow ponds. One sure-fire method is to use live crawdads. The only problem is that none of the bait shops have them so you have to trap them yourself. That shouldn’t be a problem because Clear Lake is loaded with crawdads.
Bass action on the lake continues to be a hit-and-miss affair. Some of the fishermen are having no trouble boating 10-20 fish per day while others are struggling to put a fish or two into the boat. By far the best action has been for those who are drop-shotting a plastic worm along the edges of the weed beds. A few fishermen are finding decent topwater action using plastic frogs or buzz baits. The topwater action has been best the last two hours before dark. For those who want to take their kids fishing, then a minicrawler or nightcrawler rigged on a drop-shot is the way to go. There is no problem catching dozens of bass between 8-12 inches using this method.
Large bluegill have been biting all around the lake. One of the better areas is from the Lakeside County Park to the State Park. Minicrawlers have been the top bait and some of the bluegill are weighing up to 2 pounds. There also have been a few crappie caught but they are mostly small.
The East Branch of the Russian River is scheduled to be stocked with trout this week and next 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 Power Bait or smallcrankbaits. A few fishermen have been having success fly fishing. Upper Blue Lake is also scheduled to be stocked both this week and next week. Overall the action has been good for trollers working the middle of the lake. Bass fishing also has been very good. Drop-shotting a plastic worm is the most successful technique. The water at Upper Blue Lake is very clear and the lake draws a lot of tourists.
The ocean salmon off Fort Bragg are still pretty much a no-show.
The water continues to be too warm. The good news is that bottom fishing for lingcod and rockcod is the best it has been in years.
Lake County lost a popular fisherman and outdoors fan on June 10 when Greg Cornish died after a long illness. Cornish, 68, was an avid fisherman and despite his physical disabilities spent hundreds of hours fishing on Clear Lake from his pontoon boat.
He also was an avid reader and contributor to the internet fishing web pages and blogs. You could count on his postings being controversial and he had a large following.
Cornish was very protective of the lake and the local environment. He lived in Lake County for 19 years. Cornish is survived by his wife Barbara Muller LeVasseur.
