Bass action at Clear Lake continues to be good. Most of the fishermen report catching 20-30 fish per day. Mike Rothstein of Lakeport fished with Jim Craig of Upper Lake on Sunday and they caught more than 40 bass using jigs and plastic worms in the north end of the lake. Chris Hurt of San Rafael also did well while fishing the north end on Wednesday near Lakeside County Park. He caught more than 30 fish using topwater lures as well as plastic worms.
The fishing pressure this week was down considerably, which is unusual. Normally the lake is busy with vacationers this time of year. This weekend the lake should be busy with people not only fishing but enjoying the Fourth of July fireworks. Saturday is a free fishing day around the state, which means anyone can fish without a fishing license.
There are no major bass tournaments scheduled for the weekend. The Department of Fish and Wildlife (DWF) requires all bass tournaments held between June 15 and Sept. 15 be only six hours in duration. This rule is in effect to protect bass during the hot summer months.
Crappie action on Clear Lake also has been holding steady. Bank fishermen are doing well at Lakeside County Park, Redbud Park and off the docks at Library Park in Lakeport.
Bluegill action has been excellent and most fishermen are catching a dozen or more. Nightcrawlers have been the top bait. Lakeside County Park has been one of the better areas.
Bass are still being caught at Highland Springs Reservoir. Gary Hill of Kelseyville has been fishing the lake several times a week and catching a lot of bass. He has been most successful skipping a Senko off the floating weed mats.
Trout action has slowed a little at the East Branch of the Russian River. The river hasn’t been stocked in more than two weeks and is not scheduled to be stocked for at least another two weeks. A few fishermen have been catching limits, but they have been working hard to catch their fish.
At Upper Blue Lake, the action has also slowed. The lake hasn’t been stocked in at least a month and is not on the stocking schedule for at least another two weeks.
Fishermen are finding good action on smallmouth bass at nearby Lake Mendocino. The lake is in beautiful condition and the bass are just about everywhere.
Indian Valley Reservoir has always been one of my favorite lakes. It’s located in Lake County, just off Highway 20 on Walker Ridge Road. I had the opportunity to fish the lake Wednesday with Bob Bridges of Lakeport. We were pleasantly surprised to find the lake full and in beautiful condition. What really amazed us was that we were the only fishermen on the entire lake. The parking lot and campground at the dam were empty. We were the only boat on the entire lake. The campground is very clean and offers shade trees and tables. The toilets are clean and have running water. There is no electricity. The boat ramp is good for launching. Even the gravel road into the lake from Highway 20 is in decent shape if just a little dusty.
The bass fishing was excellent and we caught approximately 40 bass, which included several smallmouths. A lot of the bass were small but there were enough medium-sized ones to make the trip worthwhile. One of the highlights of the trip was seeing a bald eagle, which perched in a nearby tree and observed us for nearly an hour.
