Clear Lake will be wall to wall with bass fishermen in the coming weekend. Best Bass Tournament BBT is holding a two-day tournament. The weigh-in takes place Saturday and Sunday at Library Park in Lakeport starting at 3 p.m.
The fishermen should have little trouble weighing in a limit of fish. Bass are everywhere and most of the anglers are catching from 10-25 bass per day. The fish are ranging in size from 1-4 pounds, with an occasional 7-pounder. Just about all types of lures have been effective with the exception of topwater lures. Small swimbaits rigged with an underspin have been deadly on the bass. Drop-shotting a plastic worm also has been very effective as has a lipless crankbait such as a LV500.
The trick to success is a slow retrieve. The deeper water in the south end of the lake has been producing most of the fish. Other good areas are just off the State Park and at Henderson Point. Shag Rock has been producing as well. The most successful fishermen are working the submerged rockpiles.
The big news is the outstanding crappie action. Large crappie are being caught everywhere, with Rocky Point in the north end of the lake one of the hot spots. Even the bank fishermen are starting to cash in on the crappie action. Earlier this week a pair of anglers caught crappie while fishing off the docks at Library Park. Lakeside County Park has been another good area.
The lake is full and the docks have a lot of water beneath them.
Fishermen are being warned they must have a current county quagga mussel sticker on their boat before launching. A number of boaters don’t understand that the state sticker doesn’t replace the county sticker. The county rule is that any boat the has a state CF number must have the sticker. In other words, if the boat is powered by any kind of motor is has to have the sticker and that includes kayaks. The sticker costs $20 a year for local residents and $20 per month for out-of-county boaters. All the local tackle shops as well as the ramp monitors sell the stickers.
Trout action
Trout are still being caught at Upper Blue Lake. The lake was stocked last week and should be good for the weekend.
Turkey season
The spring wild turkey season has been producing a good number of toms for local hunters. One pair of hunters reported they hunted the Cache Creek area earlier this week and both scored on a nice pair of toms. One of the better areas has been the Mendocino Nation Forest between Upper Lake and Lake Pillsbury.
Hiking opportunity
The recent warm weather makes for ideal conditions for hiking. Mount Konocti Is perfect for a day in the woods, Clear Lake State Park is another great place to sightsee
Clear Lake is loaded with birds such as pelicans and osprey. One bird watcher reported seeing a pair of bald eagles last week at Lakeside County Park. He said they were feeding on dead fish and allowed him to get within 100 yards.
