The bass fishing on Clear Lake is still wide open and should stay excellent for the long holiday weekend. Just about every location around the lake is producing good numbers of fish. The good news is a lot of bass are being caught in shallow water and the top lures have been a Senko rigged wacky style, jigs and crankbaits. Drop-shotting a plastic worm has been another effective method.
Gary Hill of Kelseyville has been catching some huge bass while fishing from his float tube at Clear Lake State Park and off Henderson Point. Most of his fish are being caught on a Senko worked slowly along the bottom. Another area producing bass is the shoreline along Highway 20 between Clearlake Oaks and Glenhaven. The fish have been holding in about 20 feet of water.
In the north end of the lake, the best areas have been Rocky Point, Long Tule Point, Adobe Creek, the State Park and Lakeside County Park. There are even bass being caught off the docks at Library Park in Lakeport.
Fishermen report seeing a lot of threadfin shad and the bass are feeding on them. There also has been a shad die-off but this is normal for this time of the year.
Bob’s Marine of Modesto is holding its annual team bass tournament Sept. 10-11 at Clear Lake. The tournament goes out of Konocti Vista Casino and Resort and is a six-hour event. Some feared that because the hotel at Konocti Vista is closed for renovation that the tournament would be canceled, but a spokesman for Bob’s Marine said the tournament will go on as scheduled and fishermen need to find other accommodations. Other motels in the Lakeport area offer a place to stay.
There are no major bass tournaments scheduled for the Labor Day weekend but there are several club tournaments.
What is surprising is the lack of fishermen on the lake. The fishing is the best it has been in at least 15 years. With catches of 30-60 bass per day, one would think the lake would be crowded with anglers but that’s not the case. On any given day the parking lots at the boat ramps are half empty.
Catfishermen entered in the Lakeport Yacht Club’s annual catfish held last weekend were disappointed in the poor fishing. Only nine catfish were weighed in despite a field of 54. In fact, none of the kids in that field caught a single fish. The derby was well run and the fishermen who attended had a great dinner on Sunday.
Crappie action has been a hit-or-miss affair. Some anglers are doing very well while others are struggling. Two of the better areas have been Kono Tayee and Shag Rock. A few are being caught off the docks at Library Park in Lakeport and at Lakeside County Park.
Trout fishing at Upper Blue Lake and the East Branch of the Russian River has basically come to a standstill. These bodies of water haven’t received a trout stocking by the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) in more than a month. Lake Pillsbury haven’t been stocked in three months. It’s all part of a plan by the DFW cut back in order to save money. I wouldn’t be surprised if the DFW stops all trout stocking in the future.
Deer hunters in the A zone have three weeks left in their season, which closes Sept. 25. The hunting should improve slightly. The bucks are starting go into rut and will be chasing the does, which makes them more exposed to the hunters. To date the A zone season has been rated as poor. The B zones open on Sept.17 and the hunting should be rated as fair. Even in the B zones the deer population continues to shrink. All the B-zone tags are sold out.
Dove seasoned opened Thursday and the hunters should find good hunting in the Sacramento Valley. There are very few doves in Lake County. At times the dove hunting can be good at the Cache Creek Wildlife Area located off Highway 20 in the eastern part of the county.
A reminder that Saturday is a free fishing day in the state of California, one of two such days during the year. While you do not need a fishing license to fish Saturday, you’ll need one after that.
