Heat, low lake level present obstacles

Clear Lake, Blue Lakes, Highland Springs producing plenty of fish

Hot weather and a dropping lake level greeted bass fishermen this week. The good news is fish are still active with many still on their spawning beds. Typically some bass will spawn until the end of July although most have completed their spawning by the end of June. Fishermen report seeing young bass fry in the shallows.

Only about one bass in 15 will live to become an adult. Typically a bass can live 12-15 years but only a very small number reach that age. They keep growing their entire lives and by the time they reach 12 years most don't reproduce anymore. The current lake record of 17.52 pounds, which was caught in 1990, was aged by biologists at 15 years.

The bass are being caught on a wide variety of lures ranging from topwater plastic frogs to swim baits. The success rate has varied from a few fish to more than 20. The bass are widely scattered and a low lake level has made locating fish difficult. Bass are being caught along the shorelines in water as shallow as 2 feet and as deep as 15 feet. The trick to success is to keep moving until you locate active fish. There are still few large bass being caught, most being between 1-3 pounds. In fact, a 5-pounder is considered a trophy right now. I don't believe there have been more than a few bass weighing more than 10 pounds caught all year.

Most of the bass fishermen are off the lake by 5 p.m. In the old days it was common for fishermen to say out on the lake all night and they caught some huge bass. Nowadays it's rare for a fisherman to fish after dark and that could be one reason why so few double-digit bass are being caught. The bigger bass are more active at night.

Dropping lake

The dropping lake level has more than few fishermen and boaters concerned. As of Thursday morning the lake level was a minus-.8 feet on the Rumsey Gauge and it has been dropping about an inch a day. The public ramps that are open and usable are Clearlake Oaks, part of the Redbud ramp in Clearlake, Lakeside County Park and Fifth Street and Third Street in Lakeport. The ramp in the best shape is Fifth Street in Lakeport, but even there great care must be taken when launching a boat to keep your trailer from falling off the end of the ramp. If that happens, your trailer could sustain major damage. Most of the ramps have a paint line signaling the end of the ramp. You don't want your trailer wheels to go past the paint stripe.

To my knowledge the county or cities have no plans to buy ramp extensions to lengthen the ramps. A ramp extension would provide launching opportunities throughout the summer and keep the lake open. It would be an excellent investment.

Other waters

The Russian River and Upper Blue Lake haven't been stocked with trout in more than a month but still are producing trout for the patient angler. Upper Blue Lake is an excellent condition with plenty of water. The fishing pressure at Upper Blue Lake is very low and trout are being caught by trollers working the middle of the lake.

One small lake that has been providing decent fishing for bluegill and bass is Highland Springs. The lake is in great shape and is ideal for kayakers and float tube fishermen.