Trout grab the spotlight for anglers this weekend. The stream trout season opens Saturday and most of the local fishermen will be heading to the East Branch of the Russian River.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) is scheduled to stock the stream this week. The stream is extremely popular among fishermen and there is expected to be a large crowd on hand for the opener. To reach the fishing area take the Lake Pillsbury Road to Potter Valley off Highway 20. There are a number of places you can park and walk down to the stream.
Most of the trout fishermen will be working the deeper pools while using either salmon eggs, Power Bait or nightcrawlers. Mepps spinners and small crankbaits are also very effective. The daily limit is five fish and there is no size limit.
Upper Blue Lake should draw a good number of trout fishermen. The lake was stocked this weekend and both boaters and bank fishermen should do well. The lake is also providing good bass action.
Bass fishing on Clear Lake slowed during the week, mostly because of the bad weather. There was rain and wind just about all week and the temperatures were on the chilly side. The fishing should improve as the weather warms up. The local fishing guides report their clients are averaging from 15-30 bass a day using jumbo minnows.
The WWBT pro/am bass tournament held last weekend saw a lot of small bass caught. The overall average size for fish caught during the tournament was only 2.3 pounds and it took only 60 pounds to win the three-day event, which was far less than expected. In most tournaments it takes at least a 5-pound average or more to win a tournament at Clear Lake.
The hot lure for tournament fishermen was a Senko followed by LV500 lipless crankbaits. Swimbaits also were effective. Only a few fishermen reported catching fish off their spawning beds.
California Tournament Trail will hold a two-day team event this weekend. The tournament goes out of Konocti Vista Casino in Lakeport and the weigh-ins start at 3 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
Crappie fishing is still rated very good all around the lake. Clear Lake State Park in one of the better areas for bank fishermen. The docks at Library Park in Lakeport are also providing very good fishing. Most of the fishermen have been catching from 15-25 crappie a day and some are weighing as much as 3 pounds. Live minnows and crappie jigs have been taking most of the fish.
According to Department of Fish and Wildlife (DWF) fishery biologist Ben Ewing, the bass and crappie fishing at Indian Valley Reservoir has been very good. Ewing said a team of DWF biologists have been sampling the lake and seeing a lot of bass. He said the fishermen he spoke with reported catching good numbers of bass along with a few trout. The DWF will be stocking the lake with trout later this spring. According to Ewing, the DFW won’t be stocking the lake with kokanee this year.
Turkey hunters are heading into the final weekend of the spring season. The general season ends Sunday and hunters are looking for some warm weather to keep the toms chasing the hens. So far this year the hunting has been rated fair to good. There are some hens already sitting on nests. The surprising thing is the lack of hunters this year. For some reason only a few hunters have been out and that is despite there being plenty of birds.
