The largest bass tournament to be held on Clear Lake this year gets underway Saturday. The Best Bass Tournament (BBT) Tournament of Champions (TOC) has a field of 176 boats. The two-day tournament operates out of Konocti Vista Casino and the weigh-ins start at 2 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. The winning team is guaranteed at least $20,000 in cash. According to BBT owner Randy Pringle, revenues from the tournament raffle go to the Lake County Valley Fire Relief Fund. Pringle said anyone who brings in goods and products to the raffle tonight will be given free raffle tickets. The goods will be donated to the relief fund. Three weeks ago Pringle donated two truckloads of goods to the fund.
“We want to give back to the Lake County community in this time of need because they have always supported the bass fishermen,” Pringle said. The Clear Lake Bassmasters are supplying the release boat and are also donating their $250 daily fee ($500 total) to the relief fund. Clear Lake should be loaded with bass fishermen in the coming weeks. In addition to the BBT tournament, FLW is holding a three-day tournament beginning Thursday. It will be followed by the American Bass TOC. All the tournaments are going out of Konocti Vista Casino, Resort and Marina. Overall the bass pros should find good fishing. The cool weather has dropped the water temperatures a bit and the bass are feeding. The only problem is that fishermen have to go through several dozen fish to come up with a legal limit. The lake is virtually teeming with juvenile bass between 8-10 inches. Just about any type of lure is catching fish and they range from jigs, buzz baits and crankbaits to drop-shotting a plastic worm, The trick to success is to stay on the move until you find quality fish. Most of the fishermen say it will take at least 55 pounds to win the BBT tournament.
Both the north and south ends of the lake are producing. In fact, a number of quality bass are being caught off the docks at Library Park in Lakeport and at Lakeside County Park. The water clarity has also improved and several fishermen report seeing schools of large bass cruising along the shorelines. Some of the better areas have been Rocky Point, Lakeside County Park, Konocti Bay, Henderson Point, the rockpiles near Rattlesnake Island and Jago Bay.
Catfish action is still rated very good. The best action is coming for those who are using either a nightcrawler or a jumbo minnow. A few fishermen have been catching some decent-sized catfish off the docks at Lakeside County Park and at Library Park. Most of the action has been taking place in the evenings. There also have been reports of huge bluegill being caught at various locations around the lake, some weighing more than a pound.
There have been no additional reports of fish die-offs around the lake. What killed the fish and otters still hasn’t been determined and the cause may never be found. The most likely culprit is some type of chemical being dumped into the lake through the storm drains. A few fishermen believe that spraying for weeds was the cause but there hasn’t been any spraying done for weeks, so it’s unlikely. For those who want to get away from the crowd that will be on Clear Lake during the weekend, Highland Springs is provided decent bass action. The reservoir is located on Highland Springs Road just outside of Lakeport. Small boats or float tubes can be launched off the bank and there has been some good topwater action.
Trout action at Upper Blue Lake and the East Branch of the Russian River has slowed to a crawl. The best bet is Upper Blue Lake where a few trout are being caught by trollers. The fishing pressure has been nil. Forget about the Russian River because it’s not worth the effort. The good news is that Upper Blue Lake is providing some excellent bass fishing.
Despite the warm weather the deer hunting in the B zones has been rated as fair to good. The hunters are finding most of the deer are still in the high country where there are springs and food. Hunters report the bucks still haven’t gone into rut but that could change at any time. The hunting pressure has been down and most of the hunters report seeing very few other hunters.
