Searing hot weather continues to plague fishermen at Clear Lake. The fishermen say they have never experienced so many days with the temperature above 100 degrees. Most of the fishermen are going out on the lake early in the morning, taking a midday break and then going out again in the evening. The water surface temperature is ranging from a low of 65 degrees to 82 degrees.
There has been some topwater action. The successful fishermen are casting plastic frogs, Skitterpops or buzzbaits. Drop-shotting a plastic worm is just about guaranteed to put some fish in the boat. Most of the bass being caught are between 1-3 pounds with the occasional 5-pounder.
Best Bass Tournament (BBT) held a team tournament on Saturday and the winning weight was 30.07 pounds for five fish. The tournament drew 110 teams and it took 16 pounds to finish in the money. The big fish of the tournament weighed 11.84 pounds.
The hot lures continue to be plastic worms, jigs, crankbaits and spinnerbaits. The fish are widely scattered and not every location is holding fish. One of the better areas has been the shoreline along Highway 20 near Pepperwood Cove. The bass have been holding in 10-15 feet of water above the rocks. Long Tule Point is another good area. Bass are also being caught near Frazier Point. The trick to success is to stay on the move until you locate active fish. The hot weather has resulted in the bass holding beneath the docks in the shade. Skipping a tube bait or a jig beneath the docks should result in a strike. The heavy algae blooms don’t appear to have impacted the fishing.
The Clear Lake Bassmasters are holding a club tournament this coming Saturday and Sunday. The weigh-in takes place at Lakeside County Park starting at noon both days.
Crappie are being caught around the docks at Library Park in Lakeport. One fisherman caught 10 crappie Wednesday while fishing from the docks at the yacht club. A few catfish are also being caught at various locations around the lake.
The Lake County Fair runs from Aug.31 through Sept. 3 and this year one of the main attractions is a giant aquarium featuring Clear Lake’s fish. The aquarium is co-sponsored by the Lake County Chamber of Commerce. According to chamber CEO Melissa Fulton, there will be largemouth bass, crappie and catfish, She said she hopes to have many of the species of native fish, which include hitch and blackfish. There also will be guest speakers who are familiar with Clear Lake’s fish.
There is finally some good news for trout fishermen coming out of the East Branch of the Russian River. According to Dave Brabec of Clear Lake Outdoors in Lakeport, a fisherman stopped in the store Wednesday and reported he limited out on trout within an hour while fishing near the bridge on the river. Apparently the Department of Fish and Wildlife did stock the river with trout this past week.
Lake Mendocino is still providing good smallmouth bass action. The lake is full to the brim and fishermen are catching bass all around the lake.
Indian Valley Reservoir is still offering up plenty of small bass. The only problem is finding decent-size fish. Most of the bass being caught a less than a pound. The lake is in excellent shape and water is clear. Drop-shotting a plastic worm is just about guaranteed to result in a strike. The road going into the lake is a little dusty and rough in areas.
