After several weeks of dismal bass fishing on Clear Lake, fishermen are seeing a definite improvement. Many of the fishermen report catching from 10-30 fish per day. The only problem is the bass are still running smaller than in the past, the average fish weighing just more than 2 pounds.
A good example of the current fishing conditions are the results of the American Bass (ABA) team tournament held Saturday. The winning father-son team of George and Kevin Cockriell of Kelseyville had a weight of 18 pounds for five fish. The big fish of the tournament weighed 6.12 pounds. The tournament drew 12 teams and the overall average weight per fish was 2.3 pounds.
The lake’s appearance also is changing from day to day. The good news is that the water is finally starting to clear up. The water clarity from midlake to the south end is good, according to fishermen. I can verify that. I checked out the water at the Clear Lake State Park on Tuesday and I could see down to a depth of at least 3 feet at the park boat ramp.
Most of the successful fishermen are drop-shotting either a plastic worm or a Senko. The best areas have been around the docks where the bass are staging. The trick to success is to keep on the move until you locate active fish. Most of the bass being caught are ranging in size from 1-3 pounds with the occasional 5-pounder. The larger bass are still far and few between but that could change as the water clears.
There are no major bass tournaments scheduled for the weekend but there are several club tournaments. Most of the major bass tournaments start after the New Year.
The best fishing news about Clear Lake is the fantastic bluegill action. The bluegill being caught have been huge, many larger than your hand. The bluegill are being caught all around the lake and some of the better areas are Shag Rock, Henderson Point, Clear Lake State Park and around the docks at the Indian Beach Resort. Gary Hill of Kelseyville has been loading up on bluegill while fishing from his float tube at Henderson Point. Fred Williams has been catching some huge bluegill at Shag Rock. Actually, bluegill are being caught at most of the locations in the south end of the lake. Dave Brabec of Clear Lake Outdoors Tackle Shop in Lakeport said he caught some huge bluegill while fishing for bass earlier this week. Crappie action has been fair and catfish are being caught by the few anglers out after them.
Fishermen are being asked to pick up any loose monofilament fishing line they find and deposit it in the special containers located at the public boats ramps around the lake. Often a bird such as a grebe becomes tangled in the discarded line and dies.
Upper Blue Lake is scheduled to be stocked with trout next week. It was stocked two weeks ago and fishermen have been catching trout off the banks and also by trolling. Lake Mendocino has been very good for bass. Both largemouths and smallmouths are biting on jigs, Senkos and plastic worms.
So far the pheasant season in the Sacramento Valley is only rated from poor to fair. As predicted, the wild pheasant population continues to decline. It’s just the opposite for the fall wild turkey season. Limits have been common and turkeys are everywhere. The same holds true for the quail. Last week a pair of local hunters working the Mendocino National Forest reported seeing plenty of quail and they bagged their limits.
