Fishermen are facing changing weather conditions as the first storms of the season are hitting the area. Prior to the storms the bass fishing on Clear Lake was rated as good and most anglers were having little trouble catching from 10-25 fish per day.
The American Bass Association (ABA) team tournament held Saturday produced plenty of fish. The winning team caught a five-fish limit weighing 30 pounds. What was unusual was that their largest bass weighed 6.13 pounds. That meant all of their five fish weighed nearly 6 pounds. The big fish of the tournament was caught by the father-and-son team of Jose and Omar Juarez of Kelseyville and it weighed 8.13 pounds. They also finished in second place with 24.63 pounds.
The tournament drew 22 teams and the overall average weight per fish was an impressive 3.3 pounds. The big catch of the week goes to Lakeport’s Forrest Stogner, who brought in a 10-pounder. He wasn’t entered in the tournament.
Most of the fishermen in the tournament said they caught their fish by either ripping a jerk bait or by casting a LV500 lipless crankbait and retrieving it super fast. Some of the better areas have been the shoreline along Rocky Point, the Nice shoreline near the boat ramp, and the shoreline along Highway 20 from Lucerne to Clearlake Oaks. Henderson Point and Shag Rock also have been producing decent numbers of bass. The water color is excellent with just a slight tinge of brown. The bass have been holding at depths from 2-15 feet. Fishermen report huge clouds of baitfish everywhere. In fact, the docks at Library Park in Lakeport are loaded with baitfish and hundreds of different species of birds can be seen feeding on them.
Fish die-off
There was a die-off of small crappie Monday at Library Park in Lakeport. Most of the crappie were only two inches long and what killed them is unknown. The die-off lasted only one day. By Tuesday the dead fish were gone.
Bluegill
The best fishing news at Clear Lake is the fantastic bluegill action. The bluegill being caught have been huge, many being larger than your hand. The bluegill are being caught all around the lake. Some of the better areas are Shag Rock, Henderson Point, the Clear Lake State Park and around the docks at the Indian Beach Resort.
Gary Hill of Kelseyville has been loading up on the 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. Crappie action has been fair and a few catfish are being caught by the few anglers out after them.
Help needed
Fishermen are being asked to pick up any loose monofilament fishing line they find around the lake and deposit it the special containers located at the public boat ramps around the lake. Often a bird such as a grebe becomes tangled in the discarded line and dies. Last week I saw a gull with a ball of monofilament line wrapped around its feet at Lakeside County Park.
Trout action
Trout action has been rated fair at Upper Blue Lake. The good news is the trout being caught have all been nice-sized, 1-pounders being common. The lake isn’t on any upcoming stocking list.
Turkey hunting
A few hunters will be out looking for wild turkeys this weekend. The fall turkey season runs through Dec. 9. Lake County has a large population of wild turkeys and one of the better public areas is the Cache Creek Wildlife Area located just off Highway 20 in eastern Lake County.
