Recreation
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
Bass anglers are giving mixed reports. Some have said that fishing is tough. Others yet have done well. The best results are consistently being report on deep drop offs. If you find a shelf, located close to a shallow weed bed, you’ve got a winning combination. Soft plastics – Finesse worms, Senkos, Brush Hogs and others – all rigged on a drop shot have been successful. Hard baits like Rapala’s X-Rap have been productive for shallow water anglers fishing over weeds or along weed lines.
Minnows have likewise produced mixed results. Our minnow inventory situation that we’ve been dealing with (no big minnows available for delivery from the hatchery) is improving. This week we got a mixed batch of large and extra-large that we’re selling for the lesser price. It is nice to be seeing some larger minnows again, albeit in limited quantity.
Crappie anglers haven’t done all that well this past week. My usual reporters on this have struck out. Perhaps you’ve got a report for us? If so, drop me and email to
The catfish action continues to be doing really well. We had a great time fishing our CatFest last weekend. Nearly two dozen anglers on a total of seven boats and over 50 fish landed. Big fish honors went to my 15-year-old son with an 11# 4-ounce cat that he pulled up out of 35 feet of water while using shrimp as bait.
We fished the Jago Bay area as a group. Oh, and the barbecue and prize giveaway before we hit the water were a lot of fun, too. Visit our Braggin’ Page at www.994Fish.com for pics from the event.
Our next CatFest is slated for Aug. 23. Set some time aside to join us for a barbecue, raffle and evening of fun fishing. More details will follow in the coming weeks.
Bob Rider owns Lakeshore Bait & Tackle in Clearlake. Visit his Web site at www.994fish.com or call him at 994-FISH (3474).
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- Details
- Written by: Editor
CLEAR LAKE STATE PARK – Is my silhouette showing? Sometimes that is the easiest way to quickly start an identification of a bird. Then there is the story of the tell-tale tail.
See stay-overs and stop-bys in an interactive bird slide program by docent Leona Butts at 1 p.m., Saturday, July 26 in the Visitor Center in the Clear Lake State Park.
The visitor center is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday throughout the summer. There is no entrance fee to the park for participating in walks, programs or visiting the museum.
Learn about the natural history of Lake County by touring the museum and inspect unique items in the gift shop.
Junior Ranger programs for children ages 7 to 12 will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday at the Visitor Center. For information please call 279-2267.
Clear Lake State Park is located at 5300 Soda Bay Road, Kelseyville.
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- Details
- Written by: Editor
The four-day camp will be held Monday, Aug. 4 through Thursday, Aug. 7.
Campers will meet from 9 a.m. until noon each day on the fields behind the gym at Clear Lake High School, 350 Lange St.
This is a great opportunity to get ready for the youth soccer season as most teams will begin practicing soon.
The $60 registration fee includes a camp T-shirt. A family discount of $5 per camper also is available if two or more campers register from the same family. An additional “early bird” discount is available for campers who register in the Lakeport Unified School District Office before the first day of camp each day.
Registration forms are available in the Lakeport Unified School District Office through Aug. 1. Campers may also register on the first day of camp.
Phone 263-7276 for more information. Proceeds go to the Clear Lake High School girls soccer team.
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- Details
- Written by: Lake County News Reports
Bass anglers are working hard and catching fish. We’re not seeing 80-fish days, but 20 to 30 fish for an honest day’s effort can be expected.
The hardest part of the equation this week is the weeds. Your natural instinct is to simply stay away from them for the ease of fishing. However, if you do that, you’re also staying away from the fish. Simply stated, you MUST fish the weeds or weed lines to get into the quality fish.
If you’re paying attention at this point, your brain just went into warp drive: How can I fish the weeds and not deal with constantly pulling salad off my gear? You can’t. Face it, bass are structure fish. Weeds are structure. In fact, aquatic plants give off oxygen, provide fish with cooling shade, and allow them to lay in wait to ambush their prey. So that’s where you need to be … In the salad.
How do you do it? There are ways. Texas rigged worms with pegged weights. Whacky rigged worms on hooks with a good weed guard. Buzz baits, spinner baits and even flipping jigs. Flip a Beaver into pockets. Get creative. Also, we’re seeing some swim bait fish coming in. The smaller swim baits are working far better than their larger counterparts. We’re also hearing about some nice fish from deep (25 to 30 feet) water. So bring your gear, fish hard and enjoy this magnificent lake.
Crappie? I just looked at a nice stringer of five beautiful crappie caught by a boater in the area north of the Boat Works. Again this week, the report is of large, widely scattered schools located around areas that we commonly know to hold slabs. Mini-jigs and minnows will do the trick. We’re currently stocking a new size minnow called “large.” These minnows are not all that big as they are just one size up from the medium size we normally (and still do) stock. The “large” minnows have been responsible for catching a lot of crappie lately. We’ve got us some good sized crappie, it is no wonder they are eating this larger sized fish.
Catfish are going strong. Jago Bay is stacked with ‘em. Other areas too. Use your favorite baits and have a ball. Leave some for us, though, because Saturday night is our CatFest event and we’ll be out there looking for some nice whiskerfish of our own.
And speaking of the CatFest … Meet here at the bait shop after 3 p.m. We’ll start the barbecue around 4 p.m. and eat, chat and set up gear until about 6 p.m. At that point we’ll head for the launch ramp, get all the boats in the water and head out to our fishing hole together. We’ll come off the water at 11 p.m. and compare notes on biggest fish. Buy in to the big-fish pool is $5. We’d like a $3 donation for the barbecue.
Hope you’ll come and join us for this evening of fishin’ and funnin’.
Bob Rider owns Lakeshore Bait & Tackle in Clearlake. Visit his Web site at www.994fish.com or call him at 994-FISH (3474).
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