Clear Lake will be a busy place this weekend as Wild West Bass Trail (WWBT) holds a three-day pro/am tournament starting Friday and running through Sunday. Weigh-ins begin at 3 p.m. each day at Library Park in Lakeport. The full field competes Friday and Saturday, but only the top 10 professionals and amateurs advance to Sunday’s final round.
The tournament is expected to draw approximately 140 boats and is an individual weight-style format. In other words, the pro can weigh-in five fish and so can the amateur. Each fisherman has to catch his own fish. The entry fee is $915 for professionals and $465 for amateurs.
Despite the increased fishing pressure, the bass fishing on Clear Lake remains very good. The results of the 34th annual Clear Lake Team Tournament held last weekend showed most fishermen were catching from 20-40 fish per day. The challenge has been finding the larger fish, 7-pounders being rare.
The most successful fishermen are working offshore about 300 or more yards. One area bass boats are stacked up all day is Willow Point where the fishing has been nothing short of phenomenal. The water along the tules there is only a few inches deep, but bass are still being caught.
Without question the top lure has been a swimbait, one of the best being the Keitech rigged with an underspin. Other lures also have been very successful. The trick to success is casting to the openings in the weed mats. There are plenty of mats on the lake and they are positioned from the shoreline to midlake. Both north and south ends are producing fish.
One theory on why so many bass are being caught is because the lake is lower than it has been in years and the bass are concentrated into smaller spaces looking for food and nesting areas. The water temperature has been rising to as high as 58 degrees by late afternoon.
It is amazing how far some tournament fishermen travel to fish Clear Lake. The high price of gasoline hasn’t deterred them and there are a number of large tournaments scheduled in the coming weeks. Without a doubt Clear Lake is one of the more popular lakes in the country.
Crappie biting
The other good news on the fishing scene is that crappie are starting to show up in good numbers around the lake and some are weighing more than 2 pounds. Crappie jigs and live minnows have been the top techniques. There are several crappie tournaments scheduled during the next several months.
Catfish action
Catfish action is rated good to excellent. A few anglers have been catching up to 20 catfish a day, some weighing as much as 20 pounds. The top baits have been nightcrawlers, shrimp and hot dogs.
The 38th annual Clearlake Oaks/Glenhaven Catfish Derby is scheduled for May 13-15. This is one of the more popular fishing contests to be held on the lake. The derby annually draws more than 1,000 fishermen from throughout the country.
Call (707) 596-0248 for more information.
Trout fishing
Plenty of small trout are being caught at Upper Blue Lake. Both bank fishermen and boaters have been catching trout ranging in size from 12-14 inches. The lake isn’t scheduled to be stocked in the next two weeks.
