The bass tournament anglers return to Clear Lake on Sunday for an American Bass team event. The tournament goes out of Konocti Vista Casino and the weigh-in starts at 3 p.m. The tournament is expected to draw approximately 35 boats Tournament anglers will find mixed conditions. The series of recent storms has dirtied up the water in some areas while other areas are clear. The trick to success is to keep moving until you locate active fish. Some of the more productive areas have been from Soda Bay to Shag Rock. The deeper water docks along the Nice-Lucerne shoreline also have been giving up some decent fish and the south end of the lake from Anderson Island to Jago Bay has been productive as well. Bass are being caught in water as shallow was 2 feet and as deep as 30 feet.
The top lures have been deep-running crankbaits, jigs and spinnerbaits. Drop-shotting a plastic worm is also working. A few fish are being caught on swim baits. Live jumbo minnows have been effective for the recreational fishermen.
The Clear Lake Bassmasters held a club tournament Saturday and the winning team was Troy Bellah and Don Neubauer of Lakeport with a five-fish limit weighing 19.24 pounds. Fishermen who plan on taking part in the 28th annual Clear Lake Team Bass Tournament scheduled for March 19-20 can sign up Jan. 29 starting at 9 a.m. at the Lake County Chamber of Commerce office, located at 875 Lakeport Blvd. in Lakeport. The blast-off numbers will issued in the order fishermen sign up. The tournament is sponsored by the Lake County Chamber of Commerce and Konocti Vista Resort and Casino. It goes out of Konocti Vista Casino and the entry fee is $200, which includes the big-fish option. As in past years the tournament will pay back 100 percent of the paid entry fees. Entry forms can be obtained online from the chamber’s website at www.lakecochamber.com. Fishermen can also sign up online. Local tackle shops also have the entry forms. For more information call 263-5092.
Catfish action remains very good and most of the fishermen are using either nightcrawlers or live minnows. The catfish are in excellent condition, some of them weighing up to 20 pounds. Just about every location in the south end is producing good numbers of catfish. The lack of fishermen has just about everyone confused. Clear Lake is in a lot better shape than most of the other lakes in Northern California, plus the fishing has been rated from fair to good. Even so few anglers are showing up. Typically there are fewer than 10 boats on the lake and that includes weekends. Most of the boat ramps are open and in good shape with plenty of water to launch boats.
The trout action at Upper Blue Lake has been excellent and fishermen are enjoying limits of rainbows. Both boaters and bank fishermen have been catching good numbers of fish. One such angler has been Gary Hill of Kelseyville. He has been having no trouble catching five-fish limits. Hill uses a float tube and launches off Highway 20 at the Narrows. He fishes the north end and has been having his best luck late in the afternoons. According to Hill, he uses either Power Bait or mini-nightcrawlers. Hill said when he uses the Power Bait the trout will just gently mouth the bait and slowly swim away. When using mini-crawlers, he rigs them drop-shot style and the trout just slam them. He has been catching his trout in 20-30 feet of water. Hill said the trout range in size from 10-14 inches. Upper Blue Lake is normally stocked by the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DWF) at least once a month and sometimes twice a month. The lake also has a healthy largemouth bass population. Whereas other lakes in the area have been drawn down, the lake level at Upper Blue Lake has been staying pretty much constant. The lake is also popular with kayakers and for fishermen using small boats. Most of the fishermen launch at either the Pine Acres Resort or the Narrows Resort. Bank fishermen can also find good action at times. There are a number of places where you can fish from shore and they include the shoreline along Highway 20 or the docks at the resorts. The resorts charge a small fee to use their docks.
