Fishing and hunting will capture the attention of the outdoors crowd this weekend. The fourth annual WON BASS California Open pro/am tournament winds up today and there are no major tournaments scheduled for the weekend. The spring wild turkey season also opens on Saturday.
As the results in last week’s Clear Lake Team Bass Tournament showed, the bass fishing is rated only fair although a lot of small bass are being caught. Most of the fish are weighing less than 2 pounds. The fishermen in the tournament reported that bass are now moving into the shallows and some can be found beneath the docks and in the isolated patches of weeds. Plastic worms, jigs, chatter baits and small swimbaits have been the lures of choice. Both the north and south ends of the lake are providing decent action for the smaller bass.
A pair of fishermen out on the lake earlier this week reported excellent action off Lakeside County Park. They said they caught more than 10 bass each day and all were caught by drop-shotting a plastic worm or rigging the worm on a shaky head.
In the north end of the lake, the hot spot has been from Adobe Creek to the State Park. During the Clear Lake Team Bass Tournament, the Corinthian Bay area near Lakeside County Park area was loaded with fishermen. The trick to success is to retrieve the plastic worm super slow. The bass are gently mouthing the lure before swimming off. Live jumbo minnows also have accounted for a lot of bass for recreational fishermen.. By all measures the Chamber tournament was a resounding success. I didn’t hear a single complaint and just about all the fishermen said they would return next year. The tournament director, Steve Moduno, did a great job. The Lake County Chamber of Commerce, Konocti Vista Casino and all the sponsors deserve a lot of the credit for the success of the tournament.
Trout fishermen are finding fair action at Upper Blue Lake. Both boaters and shore anglers are having success using Power Bait. The lake was last stocked during the week of March 13. The spring wild turkey season open 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 5 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 features 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 solitude that the back country offers, 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 the 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.
Local residents will have the perfect opportunity to learn more about Clear Lake and its weeds and algae on Saturday when Harry Lyons gives a talk about the lake at Clear Lake State Park starting at 2 p.m. Few people are more knowledgeable about Lake County’s environment than Lyons and his talks are both informative and humorous. Entrance to the park to attend the talk is free. I encourage everyone to attend.
