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Recreation
- Details
- Written by: Lake County News Reports
CLEAR LAKE STATE PARK – With the recent rains, changes are taking place rapidly in the landscape of Clear Lake State.
Take the opportunity to check it out by joining park docent Walt Lyon on Saturday, Jan. 2, for a walk on the park’s Indian Nature Trail.
Meet Lyon at the front entrance parking lot at 8:30 a.m. to start the ascent of this intriguing hillside trail. Wear sturdy walking shoes for safety on this trail.
Lyon will describe how American Indians used the natural resources along this trail to enrich and sustain their lives. Many plants were prepared for medicinal uses and others for food. Many plants had multiple uses.
The Indian Nature Trail was built in 1959 for a mere $1,000 to give park visitors a great walking experience, as well as showing the importance of the natural resources in the park.
Take time out of your busy schedule to enjoy this trail for all seasons.
Rain cancels the walk. There is no entrance fee to the park for participating in walks.
Clear Lake State Park is located at 5300 Soda Bay Road, Kelseyville.
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- Written by: Boat Owners Association of The U.S.
On Wednesday, in speaking before the U.S. House of Representatives Coast Guard Subcommittee, BoatU.S. testified that any potential requirement for this type of technology on boats is not practical, nor would it reduce the threat of a waterborne attack.
“Contrary to what Hollywood has portrayed, the average boat in this country is 16-feet. Requiring some type of transponder on recreational boats — many of whom don’t even have a battery to power it — would only be window dressing for a potential homeland security problem that will not be reduced, despite the outlay of billions of dollars,” said BoatU.S. Vice President of Government Affairs Margaret Podlich.
Marine Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) have long been used as a collision avoidance tool for commercial ships and provides important vessel identification, position, speed and course information to fellow mariners as well as land-based vessel traffic control systems.
Since 9/11, the Coast Guard has been tasked by the Dept. of Homeland Security to develop a small-boat threat assessment and strategy to reduce the possibility of small watercraft being used by terrorists.
“The challenge with AIS is that it does not provide the ability to reduce the small boat threat,” said Podlich. “For starters, the AIS unit on a small boat can simply be turned off. And more importantly, how could the U.S. Coast Guard monitor the millions of new vessel traffic movements? The monitoring would be overwhelming, on-the-water force response inadequate, and it would be costly to taxpayers to build and operate the system.”
She also mentioned boaters would be forced to pick up the tab for the AIS units, which currently starts at about $600.
“Even if a would-be terrorist would go to the trouble of complying with an AIS requirement, they would merely have to pull the AIS unit’s electrical plug moments before the attack,” Podlich testified.
She said a terrorist could simply steal a boat. “AIS does not recognize if people aboard a vessel are on a watch list.”
In addition, AIS can be easily “spoofed,” or manipulated to make every AIS transponder in a certain area report inaccurate data.
BoatU.S. believes the U.S. Coast Guard would have better results addressing the small boat threat if the agency’s own America's Waterway Watch program (AWW) had better funding and infrastructure support. Similar to a neighborhood watch program, America’s Waterway Watch treats boaters as part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
“Several government reports have concluded that working with recreational and commercial vessel operators is a key to increasing our domestic maritime security. Boaters need to know they have the ability to report to the US Coast Guard when they see something looks suspicious on the water by calling 1-877-24WATCH. We hope Congress will bolster this program since it’s so critical in reducing the small boat threat,” added Podlich.
Additional funding for AWW was written into the Coast Guard Authorization Act (HR 3619) which passed out of the House last month and is now awaiting action by the Senate.
To review Podlich’s testimony, go to www.BoatUS.com/gov . To learn more about America’s Waterway Watch program, go to www.AmericasWaterwayWatch.com .
BoatU.S. – Boat Owners Association of The United States – is the nation’s leading advocate for recreational boaters providing over half a million members with government representation, programs and money saving services.
For membership information visit www.BoatUS.com or call 800-395-2628.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
A blast of super cold weather has gripped Clear Lake keeping all but the most dedicated angler off the water. One angler called this week to ask if he should bring his boat or ice skates.
Morning temperatures have been in the low teens with daytime highs in the 40s. With rain in the forecast for the coming days, temperatures should warm a bit. Hopefully, the cold temps and a good soaking rain storm will be just what is needed to get the crappie bite into swing.
As for bass – it is a live bait bite. Catfish action has slowed to a typical wintertime low. Here are the details ...
Bass anglers that have braved the cold to soak live jumbo minnows have found willing bass. The deep water (20 to 30 feet) bite is super subtle.
Pay close attention to your line – if it changes direction, set the hook. Concentrate on submerged rock piles for fishing deep. For fishing shallower water, look for bass to be crashing bait in 8 to 12 feet of water. Docks, rocky areas and tules have all proven successful for some.
You can expect that the bass bite has slowed from the warmer weather and warmer water temps of just a week or two ago. They're still biting, but not with the same vigor.
As I mentioned above, we're looking for the crappie bite to surge following the cool down and pending rains. We've had but a few anglers out seeking crappie. They're scoring some isolated bites, but nothing that gives us an indication that things are going to go wild. It's a waiting game for now ... "Crappy weather means crappie fishing" is my mantra.
Catfish action has slowed for the season. Soaking bait can still be fun and you'll likely get an occasional bite. Catfish action typically heats back up in the springtime.
In event news – there are just a few days left to get in on the Lake Friends of NRA's Three Gun Raffle. The group is conducting a drawing on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 5 p.m. at Lakeshore Bait & Tackle in Clearlake.
They're giving away three great guns – a Kimber 45 pistol, a Smith & Wesson M&P15 AR-style rifle and a Remington 12 ga tactical shotgun.
Tickets will be on sale until 5 p.m. Saturday for this progressive drawing. (That's a drawing where your ticket goes back in the mix for each drawing – one could potentially win all three guns!) Tickets are $20 each or 10 for $200. If you buy 10, you also get a gold ticket entry for a Front Sight training certificate drawing. Great stuff!
Come join us on Saturday for the drawing – it's going to be fun! (Giving away guns is always fun!)
Bob Rider owns Lakeshore Bait & Tackle, 14913-D Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake, telephone 707-994-FISH (3474). Visit the store online at www.994Fish.com .
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- Written by: Ron Hallman
The results were:
– First flight: Joe Vallee and Stan Kalata tied for first with low nets of 35; Rick Conrad and Arch Madsen tied with 36.
– Second flight: Dave Mann was first with 31, Al Burrows had 32 and Bill Helt 36.
– Third flight: Jim Hodges was first with 33, Jim Cary had 36, Bill Stricklan and Mike Casolo tied with 38.
– Fourth flight: Ron Hallman was first with 32; Bob Costello, Byron Hoss and Dennis Day tied with 34.
Closest to the par 3 pins were Doug Carter and Rick Conrad.
Chip-ins were scored by Brian Rudy, Phil Tyler, Al Burrows, and Jim Hodges.
Forty-four men participated in this event.