Bass fishing is going full steam on Clear Lake as there are tournaments scheduled every week for the next several weeks. The good news is fishermen are catching decent numbers of fish and it’s not just the tournament anglers, but the recreational anglers as well.
A good example was Wednesday when Mike Rothstein of Lakeport teamed up with Jim Craig of Upper Lake to catch 18 bass in less than six hours. According to Rothstein, they caught most of their fish on Flukes cast to the weed beds. They also caught a good number of bass on topwater lures cast to the weed mats. Other fishermen reported similar success.
Between bass tournament fishermen and recreational anglers, the parking lots at the public boat ramps have been jammed with boat trailers even in the middle of the week. The high price of gasoline is not keeping the fishermen away despite what many thought. According to boat ramp monitors who inspect boats for quagga mussels, there have been more recreational fishermen than tournament anglers and many of these recreational fishermen are traveling hundreds of miles to get here
Tournaments
There are several bass tournaments scheduled in the next two weeks. Because of drought conditions and the resulting low lake level, just about all the bass tournaments have been going out of Library Park in Lakeport. If you are recreational fishing it’s recommended to launch out of Lakeside County Park. Library Park in Lakeport is just jammed with boat trailers and finding a place to park can be a challenge.
Starting Wednesday bass tournaments will be limited to six hours in duration. The Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) has put in this rule to protect bass during hot weather. Water temperature in livewells can get so hot during the summer months that fish die of stress. This rule is designed for tournaments held between June 15-Sept. 15.
Crappie/catfish
In addition to the good bass fishing, the crappie and catfish action also has been very good. Crappie guides are getting their clients large numbers of fish. Some of the guides report their clients have been catching up to 50 crappie a day. The crappie are scattered all around the lake.
The catfish are also biting and some of them have been huge, weighing in the 20-pound class.
Trout
Trout are being caught at Upper Blue Lake and in the Russian River. The trout are ranging in size from 8-12 inches.
Bird watching
If you’re a bird watcher, then a trip to Lakeside County Park, located on Soda Bay Road, will give you an outstanding view of the pair of ospreys that are nesting next to the playground. They have two young chicks and you can watch the parents bring fish to the chicks.
There still are no reports of grebes being seen in any numbers. For some reason the grebes have bypassed Clear Lake this year.
