Lake County will be a popular place this weekend. There is a major bass tournament, the waterfowl season opens, and the B-zone deer season closes.
Clear Lake should be loaded with boaters starting today and continuing through Saturday. American Bass Association (ABA) leads the parade with its Tournament of Champions (TOC) starting this morning. The tournament ends Saturday and operates out of Konocti Vista Casino. Last year it took 43 pounds to win the TOC and there were 116 boats entered. This year’s tournament is expected to draw at least 100 boats. The weigh-in both days starts at approximately 3 p.m. The waterfowl season also opens Saturday and there will be duck hunters out on the lake for the weekend. In addition, there are several bass club tournaments scheduled as well.
The bass fishermen will find plenty of bass but many will be on the small side. Most of the fishermen out prefishing for the ABA tournament report having little trouble putting a limit in the boat, but the problem is most fish range from 2-3 pounds. Most of the fishermen in the ABA tournament predict it will take between 40-50 pounds to win the two-day event.
It took 66 pounds to win the three-day FLW tournament held last week. Deep-running crankbaits were the hot lure in the FLW tournament and it is also expected to be the top lure in this tournament. Many of the fishermen will be punching, which is flipping jigs or plastic worms into the weed mats. The best action remains in the south end of the lake. Areas such as Soda Bay, Henderson Point, Shag Rock, Windflower Point and Jago Bay are a few of the hot spots. The fishermen can expect to catch a load of juvenile bass between 8-10 inches. These little bass are in close to shore feeding on the millions of threadfin shad.
Catfish action remains very good. A number of the FLW fishermen reported catching large catfish on crankbaits and even swimbaits. One of the better areas has been at Shag Rock. Horseshoe Bend is also producing good numbers of catfish. The crappie action remains very slow. A few crappie are being caught near the Boat Works and at the old Konocti Harbor Resort. The good news is some large bluegill are being caught off the docks in the Clearlake Oaks area and at Shag Rock.
Both Upper Blue Lake and the East Branch of the Russian river were scheduled to be stocked with trout this week. To date, this has been a terrible season on the Russian River. It has been stocked only periodically and the fishing has been poor. Upper Blue Lake has been providing decent trout and excellent bass fishing.
The cause of the fish die-off on Clear Lake two weeks ago remains a mystery. Water samples take from the area showed no petroleum residue and the die-off is apparently over. From all indications, it was a one-time event as there have been no dead fish found within the past week.
Duck hunters open their season Saturday and from all reports the hunting should be excellent in the Sacramento Valley. It is uncertain if all the federal refuges will be open. There should be a good number of duck hunters on Clear Lake. Clear Lake always draws hunters from Fort Bragg and Ukiah along with local residents. The forecast is for clear and warm weather, which won’t help the duck hunters.
The entire lake is open for hunting but you can’t shoot within 150 yards of an occupied building and there is no hunting within the confines of the Clear Lake State Park and Anderson Marsh. Most of the hunters will be concentrated in Rodman Slough and at Long Tule Point.
The daily limit this year is seven ducks, of which two can be hen mallards. This year two pintails and two canvasbacks are also allowed as part of the daily bag limit. Regardless of the species, the daily limit of all ducks combined can’t exceed seven. The daily goose limit is 25 birds, but only 10 can be the dark geese. The possession limit is three times the daily limit. Hunters are reminded that in addition to their hunting license they also must have both the federal and state duck stamps.
The B-zone deer hunters close out their season Sunday. To date, the hunting has been rated as only fair. The warm weather slowed the hunting.
