Thanksgiving means that a number of Lake County residents sat down and enjoyed a wild turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. This year the wild turkey population in the county is at one of the highest in years. The fall season runs through Dec.10. In fact, wild turkeys are being seen daily within the city limits of Lakeport and Clearlake. Turkeys are also showing up in local residents backyards. For those looking for a place to hunt the Mendocino National Forest has a large population od wild turkeys,
Whereas the bass fishing on Clear Lake has improved a little it’s still a long ways from what it was a few years ago. Most of the fishermen are happy to catch three or four bass for a full day on the lake. The other factor is the lack of big fish. Anything weighing more than 5 pounds is considered a trophy fish. The good news is that the bass are in excellent condition and that is because there are millions of bait fish in the lake. All an adult bass has to do is open its mouth and it has a meal.
The hot lure this past week was a square-billed crank bait and a LV500 crankbait. Most of the fish are being caught in the south end of the lake in the deeper water. The best times to fish are from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. For some reason very few fishermen have been going out after dark. A few years ago dozens of fishermen went out on the lake at night and they caught a lot of fish, especially the large bass. Large bass are more active after dark. This is especially true for the larger bass that will weigh in the 5 to 8 pound class. Most of the fishermen reported catching from two to five bass for a day’s effort. On Wednesday a fisherman reported catching seven bass with the largest weighing 5 pounds.
The other major factor is a lack of fishermen. A good example was on Tuesday. There were less than 10 boats were launched out of Library Park in Lakeport and fewer than that out of the Lakeside County Park. Several fisher men have told me that because of the high price of gasoline they have cut their fishing time considerably. Where a few years ago the fishing partner would give the boater $20-$30 to help with the gas money now that price has climbed to $90 or even $100 to share the cost. Several boaters have told me that they feel guilty asking for that much money but they have no choice.
Whereas the bass fishing may have slowed it is just the opposite for the catfish. There are several anglers that are targeting catfish and they have been catching some monsters. There have been a number of catfish caught in the past two weeks that have topped 20 pounds. The successful fishermen have been using nightcrawlers, cut chicken and bottled catfish bait, They have been fishing in the deeper water in the south end of the lake. The bait is rigged on a hook with a sinker attached about a foot up the line from the bait and just allowed to sit on the bottom. The bait is allowed to sit on the bottom for up to five to 10 minutes. You should have at least 15-pound test line because the catfish are so strong.
