The Wild West Bass Trail (WWBT) takes the spotlight this weekend at Clear Lake as it hosts a team tournament Saturday. The weigh-in takes place beginning at 3 p.m. at Library Park in Lakeport. The tournament is expected to draw in the neighborhood of 70 boats and it should take at least 25 pounds to win it.
In addition to tournament fishermen, there should be a good number of recreational anglers out on the lake. Overall the bass fishing continues to be very good as most fishermen are catching from 20-50 bass a day. The size has been ranging from 1 pound to 3 pounds. Few bass weighing more than 5 pounds have been caught.
The bass are now spawning and can be seen on beds throughout the lake. What is unusual this year is the bass are spawning out in the deeper water. Normally the bass prefer to spawn at the edges of the tules, but this year many of the tules are high and dry and the low lake level is forcing them farther out.
The good news for fishermen is the water is exceptionally clear in many areas, allowing them to sight fish. Sight fishing is where an angler spots a bass on a spawning bed and teases it into striking his lure. The reason the bass strikes the lure is because it’s defending its nest.
Crappie/bluegill
Crappie action continues to be very good and the best action is in the north end of the lake near Rocky Point. Some of the crappie are weighing nearly 3 pounds, with 2-pounders being common. Fishermen are advised not to catch more than a daily limit of 25, and that includes bluegill. The limit is a combination of 25 bluegill and crappie a day.
Catfish
As the results of the 37th annual Clearlake Oaks/Glenhaven Catfish Derby showed, the catfish are also biting and some huge ones are being caught. The best action has been in the Clearlake Oaks arm of the lake, and the top bait has been nightcrawlers.
Lake level
The lake level continues to drop, dipping to .48 feet on the Rumsey Gauge as of Thursday morning. Converted to inches that means the lake level is 5.76 inches above zero. The boat ramps are still open for launching but that could change within a month. What impact the low lake level will have on the bass tournaments scheduled for this summer is unknown.
It’s not only at Clear Lake where launching a boat could become a problem. Most of the other lakes in Northern California face similar problems. When boating out on the lake be sure to be on the lookout for submerged rocks. Several boaters have lost the lower units on their motors by hitting submerged rocks.
Trout
Trout action at Upper Blue Lake is only rated as fair. The lake hasn’t been stocked for several weeks. A few fishermen are having success trolling out into the deeper water. Unlike Clear Lake the lake level is near normal because it is spring fed.
The trout action on the East Branch of the Russian river has slowed because of the low water. The successful fishermen are working the deeper holes with power bait.
Hiking
Clear Lake State Park is a good place to the take the kids if you like hiking. There is a lot of wildlife to be seen and the park has many hiking trails. You will see deer and osprey and there is even the possibility of seeing a bald eagle.
