Bass will rule in the coming weeks. There are several major tournaments scheduled for Clear Lake. On Saturday NewJen holds a team event. The weigh-in starts at 3 p.m. The tournament is expected to draw about 50 teams. The following week WONBASS will hold the California Open on Wednesday through Friday. That tournament is expected to draw close to 150 boats. The prize money will be in the thousands of dollars plus several boats will be awarded to the top finishers. There are no off-limits prior to the tournament.
The best news is that with a full lake, boaters will be able to get back in the sloughs and also work the shoreline for bass, crappie, catfish and bluegill.
Over all the bass fishing has been a hit-or-miss affair. The guides report that on some days the action has been excellent and on others their clients have to work hard to catch their fish. The same applies to the tournament anglers. The last two tournaments had the entire field weigh in limits.
Many of fishermen are having success drop-shotting a plastic worm back in the flooded tules. One of the better areas continues to be from Corinthian Bay to the State Park.
The north end of the lake is also finally starting to produce decent numbers of bass. The fishermen have been holding tight to the docks and the successful fishermen have been skip-casting a plastic worm or tube bait under these docks.
The bass are ranging in size from 1 pound up to 5 pounds with an occasional 7 pounder.
Crappie action is still rated as good, although some of the hot spots such as the State Park has dried up. Crappie are still being caught off the docks at the Lakeside County Park and at Library Park in Lakeport although not in the large numbers of a few weeks ago.
The good news is that some huge bluegill are being caught at various locations around the lake. Small redworms or nightcrawlers have been the top bait. Catfish action has been excellent with a number of 20 pounders being caught.
Trout action on the East Branch of the Russian River is rated as fair. At Upper Blue Lake the trout action has slowed. The lake hasn’t been stocked in nearly a month. The Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) isn’t stocking the local streams and lakes as often this year as in the past. It’s all part of a cost saving policy that is now in effect.
Bass action at Lake Mendocino continues to be very good, especially for smallmouth bass. The lake is in perfect condition and the ramps are open.
Lake Pillsbury would be worth a try for the weekend. The lake holds trout but the big news is the giant bass in the lake. Many years ago the DFW took Florida-strain largemouth bass and stocked them in the lake. The result is that there is an excellent bass fishery with some of the bass weighing in the 8-pound class. The lake also holds some huge bluegills.
Bird watchers are having a field day on Clear Lake. A number of species of birds can observed feeding and flying on the lake.
