Warmer weather attracts fishermen
Lakeside ramps starting to fill up on weekends
Fishermen at Clear Lake have been enjoying some great weather, plus the fish are biting. With temperatures in the high60s or low-70s by late afternoon, Clear Lake has seen an increase of anglers. A check of the public ramps showed most of them held at least a dozen trailers on the weekends.
The fishermen report catching from 10-20 bass per day.
The bass have started moving into the shallows where fishermen casting small swimbaits with an underspin have enjoyed some good action. On Tuesday. local fishing guide Bob Myskey reported catching 10 bass while another angler from the Bay Area said he caught 18 bass topped by an 8-pounder and several in the 5-pound class.
Local angler Gary Hill, who fished from a float tube around the swim beach at Clear Lake State Park, said he released five quality bass within a two-hour period, the largest weighing more than 7 pounds. He said he used live jumbo minnows as bait.
American Bass (ABA) held two tournaments last weekend and it took 24 pounds to win the Saturday tournament and 27 pounds to win the Sunday tournament. March is the kickoff for bass tournaments on Clear Lake.
This year there are more than 40 major tournaments scheduled. Clear Lake has a reputation as an excellent bass lake and tournament organizers typically schedule a lot of tournaments here. The fear this year is the low water level could play havoc with the fishing. The lake level stands at just a bit above 1 foot on the Rumsey Gauge and it appears there is very little rainfall on the horizon. The lake level should be between 3-5 feet by this time of year.
The annual Lake County Chamber of Commerce Clear Lake Team Tournament is less than a month away (March 20
21). The entry fee is $200 per team and includes the big-fish option. It pays back 100 percent of the entry fees. In addition to the regular payouts, Coun
try Air Properties is giving away $1,000 to the team that brings in the biggest bag of fish during the two-day tournament.
Entry forms are available at all the tackle shops as well as at the chamber office in Lakeport.
For more information call (707) 263-5092.
Crappie/catfish
Crappie and catfish action has been good. After the new state record crappie was caught last week, a lot of crappie fishermen hit the water and they are catching fish. The best areas have been off Clearlake Oaks and near Rat
tlesnake Island. The crappie are still holding in the deeper water. The successful fishermen have been using either live minnows or a crappie jig worked slowly along the bottom.
Catfish action has been good for some large catfish. One fisherman reported catching several catfish in the 15-pound class this past week. He said he was using nightcrawlers for bait. Channel catfish are the primary catfish in the lake followed by white catfish and bullheads.
Catfish are an interesting fish. They are long lived, many living longer than 20 years. They are also strong fighters and more are lost than landed. They tend to spawn in sunken tires and in rock outcroppings. They have been in Clear Lake since the early 1900s.
Other waters
Upper Blue Lake was scheduled to be stocked with trout this week. The Department of Fish and Wildlife will be stocking the lake with larger trout.
A number of people are wondering when Yolo County will open up the ramp and campground at Indian Valley Reservoir. The answer is the first weekend in April.