Bass fishermen at Clear Lake will face some challenging conditions this weekend as the hot weather has caused massive algae blooms in certain areas around the lake. The good news is that despite the green water the bass are still exploding on topwater lures. The reason for the topwater action is that weed mats are starting to form and the bass are seeking the mats for both cover and because the mats draw bait fish.
Topwater lures such as the Zara Spook, plastic frog, horney toad or Skitterpop have been effective the first hour after daylight and the last hour before dark. During the hottest part of the day the successful fishermen are drop-shotting plastic worms or casting either Senkos or jigs back in the tules. Anything resembling a crawdad will catch bass.
Several guides report their clients are catching bass that are upchucking crawdads. Guide Richard Pounds has his clients using jigs and drop-shotting plastic worms. According to Pounds, his clients are averaging 20-30 bass per day, most of them weighing from 1-3 pounds with the occasional 6-pounder throw in. Guide Bob Myskey echoes Pounds’ report. He said his clients have been doing well by drop-shotting a plastic worm or casting a jig back in the flooded tules.
Some of the better areas have been the tules between the state park and Lakeside County Park, Long Tule Point and the docks at Nice and Lucerne. The rocky shore along Highway 20 near Pepperwood Cove is also producing good numbers of bass. In the south end of the lake, the best areas have been Jago Bay, Monitor Point and the rockpiles near Rattlesnake Island.
The plastic frog bite also has been fair early in the morning and late in the evenings. Just cast the frog back in the tules and hang on. I prefer this because it has more action. My favorite color is a light chartreuse and I rig it on a size 3/0 wide gap hook. The trick to success when using the frog is to allow the bass to take the lure underwater before setting the hook
As more mats form the bass will start to hold beneath them. A plastic frog is cast to the mats and retrieved with short hops and pauses. Normally the bass will grab the lure during these pauses. A trick tournament fishermen often use is to have a spare rod rigged with a Senko and if the bass misses the frog, the Senko is cast to the blow up. Often the bass will grab the Senko.
Catfish action is improving. One fisherman reports having success by seeking out the submerged tires in the Nice-Lucerne area. The water was clear enough for him to spot the tires and allowed him to see catfish spawning in the tires. He said he dropped a live minnow down into the center of the tire and the catfish immediately grabbed the minnow. In less than an hour he caught and released six catfish, the largest weighing 15 pounds.
Upper Blue Lake hasn’t been stocked with trout in several weeks but a few fishermen have been successful trolling in the middle of the lake. Bank fishing has been slow. The bass fishing has been fair for bass weighing up to 3 pounds.
The East Branch of the Russian River was stocked last week and the fishing has been good. Gary Hill of Kelseyville fished the stream several times during the past week and limited out each time. He caught his fish on salmon eggs and small crankbaits.
At Lake Pillsbury, the trout action has slowed but the bass fishing has improved. There are few fishermen out on the lake.
