Clear Lake has been a busy place this past week. The Won Bass three-day California open wraps up Friday. The event is a pro/am with 154 boats entered. The lake also hosted a two-day catfish tournament last weekend.
Bass fishermen are finding the fishing has slowed considerably even though a lot of bass continue to be caught. The leading weight on the pro side after the first days of the Won Bass tournament belonged to Tedd Kline of San Clemente with a five-fish limit of 22.4 pounds. The big fish on day one weighed 7.76 pounds and was caught by Arizona fisherman Justin Keer of Lake Havasu City.
Just about the entire field brought in limits although the overall weights were on the small side, with most of the field weighing in less than 15 pounds. The final weigh-in Friday starts at 3 p.m. in Library Park next to the Third Street boat ramp.
Around the lake
One problem has been the high number of fishermen on the lake. On any given day the boat ramp parking areas have been jammed with boat trailers. The low lake level is also not helping. As of Thursday morning, the lake level stood at .30 feet on the Rumsey Gauge. The lake level falls a little each day. From all indications it will be well below zero Rumsey by the middle of summer, which means there will be some ramp closures. The ramp that will stay open the longest is the Fifth Street ramp at Library Park in Lakeport.
The bass patterns have changed, too. Whereas a few years ago the bass would be moving into the shallow water and spawning by the middle of April, that hasn’t happened this year. In fact, some of the best fishing has been offshore in the deeper water.
Catfish tourney
An organization called Clear Lake Catfishing held its first tournament on the lake last weekend, which was co-sponsored by Lakeport Bit and Tackle. It drew 47 boats and went out of Library Park in Lakeport. Each boat was allowed to weigh-in three catfish.
The winning team had six catfish for the two-day event and the winning weight was an incredible 110.8 pounds. The big fish of the tournament weighed 27 pounds. A total of 100 catfish were caught.
The next catfish tournament for Clear Lake is the annual Clearlake Oaks/Glenhaven Catfish Derby on May 13-15. It is the largest catfish derby West of the Mississippi and should field more than 1,000 anglers. It should also produce a large number of catfish weighing more than 20 pounds. Every year fishermen from around the world travel to Clear Lake to compete in the derby.
Turkey season
Turkey hunters are enjoying an excellent season. There are literally wild turkeys everywhere in the county and the hunters have been bagging some huge toms. The season runs through May 1.
Campground closing
Indian Valley Reservoir has always been one of the more poplar fishing lakes in the county. The lake has a large population of bass, trout and crappie. There is only one boat ramp located at the south end of the lake at the campground. Last week Yolo County announced that the campground and ramp will be closed this summer. The road going into campground will have a locked gate. The reason given for the closure is because Yolo County doesn’t have the money to maintain the campground and ramp.
