It’s a bass fishing frenzy on Clear Lake
WON BASS first-round results nothing short of fantastic
As the first-round results of the WON BASS Clear Lake Open showed Wednesday, Clear Lake is loaded with bass. The tournament fielded 214 boats and all but a few fishermen brought in five-fish limits. The leading weight going into Thursday’s second round was 27 pounds and the big fish of round one weighed more than 10 pounds. No other lake in the country can produce that many bass.
Just about every location around the lake was loaded with bass boats and they all were catching fish. The tournament wraps up Friday and the fishing should be good right up to the final weigh-in at 3 p.m. at Library Park in Lakeport. It’s not only the tournament anglers who are catching fish. Most of the guides report their clients are catching from 15-30 fish per day. The guides are using plastic worms and jumbo live minnows.
There is another bass tournament this weekend that goes out of Redbud Park in Clearlake. It is a two-day affair and the weigh-in starts at 3 p.m. both days. To say that the bass are being pressured is an understatement.
The bass are starting to move on their spawning beds and will continue to do so for the next two months. Normally bass in Clear Lake spawn well into June. This year with so many bass in the lake there should be spawning beds everywhere.
Most of the tournament fishermen said the trick to success is to stay on the move until you find active fish because the bass are moving as well. The hot lures have been small swimbaits, plastic worms, Senkos and jigs. Jerkbaits and swimbaits also have been successful. The bass fishing has been rated good all week and not just for the tournament anglers. There have been a good number of recreational fishermen out and they report that catching 10-20 bass per day, including some large ones.
Crappie/bluegill/catfish
In addition to the bass fishing, the crappie action continues to be excellent around the lake. Both bank fishermen and boaters have been loading up on crappie, a number weighing between 1-3 pounds. Various crappie jigs have been the hot lures. Most of the fishermen are rigging the jigs beneath a bobber. The hot areas continue to be the Clear Lake State Park, Library Park in Lakeport and the NiceLucerne shoreline.
Bluegill and catfish are also being caught in good numbers. The excellent fishing for all species has drawn hundreds of recreational anglers, which is good news for the local economy.
Trout fishing
Trout fishermen are anxiously waiting the season opener April 30. The East Branch of the Russian River will be stocked the week of April 24 in preparation for the opener. Upper Blue Lake and Lake Pillsbury are also scheduled to be stocked that week. Trout are presently being caught at Upper Blue Lake by both shore anglers and boaters. Some of the trout are between 14-16 inches. The fishing pressure is still low as is the lake level at Lake Pillsbury. In fact, the lake is less than 50 percent full.
At Indian Valley Reservoir, the fishing has been excellent for bass. Several local fishermen visited the lake earlier this week and reported catching plenty of bass. The successful fishermen have been working the points with plastic worms and Senkos. Both largemouths and smallmouths are being caught, some weighing as much as 5 pounds.
The road going into the lake is a little rough, so you have to drive slow. This is a great lake to take a kayak. The campground and ramps are open but there is no fresh drinking water at the campground.