The bass pros return to Clear Lake on Saturday for a one-day NewJen team tournament. The tournament is expected to draw close to 80 boats. A number of locals will be in the tournament. The blastoff will be at 6 a.m. and the weigh-in will take place in Library Park starting at 3 p.m. There will be fishermen competing from throughout the West.
The good news is that the weather forecast is for a warm, clear day. The past few weeks has seen the weather being miserable for fishing with rain and wind. Overall, the fishing has been tough with most of the anglers happy to catch five fish for a full day on the lake. The water color is good over most of the lake and the lake level is slowly rising.
The trick to success is to slow down your retrieve and be patient. By far the most productive lure is a Senko. The Senko is rigged on 1/8 ounce sinker and fished very slowly. The bass are ranging in size from 1-7 pounds. The trick to success is to stay on the move until you locate fish. This is where the electronic fish finders come into play. They pick up the schools of baitfish and even the bass that are hiding nearby. Just about all the successful anglers are saying they caught their fish in one or two small areas.
Catfish action is wide open and most of the anglers are catching five to six catfish a day. The hot bait is fresh salmon or shrimp. The bait is rigged on 1/8 ounce sinker and allowed to rest on the bottom. Patience is the key to success. The catfish will often just “mouth” the bait before swallowing it. You should rig your fishing rod with at least 10-pound test line. The catfish action is all around the lake with the top areas being Henderson Point. The Narrows and the shoreline at Nice-Lucerne. Bluegill are also biting. Small redworms are the top bait. Rig the worms under a bobber and cast to the edges of the weed patches. Some of the bluegill will weigh up to a pound.
The crappie action is slow although one angler reported catching more than 20 crappie in two small areas. He used his electronics to locate a school of crappie and caught all his fish in a small area.
Indian Valley Reservoir is closed for the winter. The lake actually isn’t closed it is the campgrounds and the road going into the lake. There is access to the lake at the north end but care should be used if you use that road. If you have a breakdown it’s a long hike out.
Waterfowl season closes on January 31 and overall it was a poor season with many of the hunters not firing a shot all day. There were plenty of snow geese but very few ducks. The refuges in the Sacramento Valley had a terrible season and even the private clubs had poor hunting.
