The champion of the WON BASS Clear Lake Pro/Am Open bass tournament will be crowned today as the three-day tournament draws to a close. The weigh-in starts at 2 p.m. at Konocti Vista Casino, Resort and Marina. The winning pro will take home a new BassCat boat valued at $40,000 and approximately $4,000 in cash. The pros paid an entry fee of $1,000. The tournament drew 86 boats.
While most of the tournament anglers found plenty of fish, most were on the small side. That has been the pattern for the past several weeks on Clear Lake. Many of the bass have completed their spawning and moved offshore. Of course, some of the bass will spawn well into June. By far the most productive lure has been the Senko cast back into the pockets in the tules. A few fishermen have been successful casting plastic frogs to the weed mats, which are starting to form all around the lake.
The long holiday weekend should see a lot of fishermen on the lake. Memorial Day is always popular with fishermen. There are no major tournaments scheduled for the long weekend but there will be several bass club tournaments.
Crappie action has slowed a little. Actually, the crappie action has shifted. Last week the State Park was the hot spot but the fishing there has slowed considerably this week. Crappie are being caught at Library Park in Lakeport and around Lakeside County Park. The docks near the ramp in Lucerne are also kicking decent numbers of crappie.
Catfish action is rated fair. The 34th annual Clearlake Oaks/Glenhaven Catfish Derby held last weekend didn’t produce a lot of catfish, however the derby was a huge success with a lot of happy fishermen. The derby drew 1,032 contestants and they came from all around the country.
Trout action at the East Branch of the Russian River has slowed to a crawl for the simple reason the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) has only stocked the stream once since the opener nearly a month ago. In past years, the DFW would stock the stream weekly during the first weeks of the season. It’s all part of a DFW policy to save money and it’s not going over well with local fishermen.
A few trout are being caught at Upper Blue Lake, but that lake also hasn’t been stocked in nearly a month. The best action has been for trollers working the middle of the lake.
Lower Blue Lake is loaded with large bass but the lake receives very little fishing pressure, the reason being you can’t launch a boat on the lake. A few fishermen use float tubes or kayaks and they catch bass that often top 8 pounds.
Lake Pillsbury has been providing fair trout action and good bass fishing. The lake holds some huge bass. Years ago the DFW stocked Lake Pillsbury with bass taken from Clear Lake.
Indian Valley Lake is providing decent bass fishing and also giving up a few trout. The road going into the lake is in good shape although a bit dusty.
For those with a small boat or kayak , Highland Springs Reservoir and Adobe Reservoir are both excellent bass fishing lakes. They are located just outside of Lakeport and are great areas to cast a topwater lure or plastic worm. Some of the bass weigh up to 5 pounds or even a little more.
