LAKEPORT >> Boats stayed dry and lures sat in their tackle boxes Saturday, as organizers of the scheduled bass fishing tournament decided to postpone the event.
Anglers and officials decided to pull out due to the new lake speed limit rules, which took effect about a week ago. Due to high water levels (Clear Lake registered 8.1 on the Rumsey yesterday), boaters must not exceed five miles per hour on the lake. Authorities applied the rule to minimize water damage to lakeside properties, but local anglers hope to tweak it a little.
Phil Moy, Lake County’s Water Resources director said Lake County Supervisors will revisit the rule, potentially allowing boaters to use “operator discretion” father away from shore, making transportation much faster.
“It’s so people can traverse the length of the lake and it won’t take six hours,” Moy said.
The new rules would also call for an extended “no wake zone” during normal lake levels. Boats would need to launch under the speed limit, but could pick up speed around 400-450 yards away from the shore.
“I don’t think anybody expected the lake levels to stay this high,” Moy said, proposing that the newly implemented speed limit didn’t have long periods of flood-level waters in mind. Early February weather forecasts tell of yet more rain, continuing intermittently throughout the week. Moy said water levels will likely reach flood levels by Saturday.
The Board of Supervisors will view the proposal today to determine how boaters may adjust their speed.
Moy said the rule protects properties and boaters alike, but there’s a demand for quality bass fishing on the lake.
“We don’t want to turn away tournaments here, tournaments are a big deal,” he said.
The cancelled bass fishing tournament has been postponed; Moy said it may take place on Feb. 25, during another American Bass Association sponsored event.
