Recreation
Lake County has some of the clearest, darkest skies in the country – perfect for stargazing! In this monthly column, we’ll talk about some of the things you can see at night.
Let’s start by looking at a star chart for August. This is what the night sky will look like around Aug. 15 at 9 p.m.
Face south, and look directly overhead. You will see three very bright stars that form a triangle – this is called the “Summer Triangle.” Each star is in a different constellation.
The star furthest to the west is Vega – it is in the constellation of Lyra the Harp (see the star chart). To the east is the bright star Deneb in the constellation of Cygnus the Swan. To the south, the third star in the triangle is Altair in the constellation Aguila the Eagle. Also note low in the south west is the planet Jupiter – it’s brighter than anything else in the August night skies except for the moon.
August skies have some beautiful objects that can be seen with a small to medium telescope. These objects are called deep sky objects. One of these is The Swan Nebula – it’s a big cloud of dust and gas that looks a bit like a swan. Another is the Wild Duck Cluster – a group of stars that appear close together that resemble a flock of ducks in flight. And yet another is the Ring Nebula – it looks like a smoke ring in the sky! Pictures of these are shown below.
Around the middle of August there will be a meteor shower that sometimes puts on quite a show. It’s called the Perseids. The best time to see this shower is late night (10 p.m.– midnight) on Aug. 12 through dawn on the 13th. Get a comfortable lounge chair in a dark location and look to the northeast – you won’t be disappointed!
To learn more about Lake County Skies in August, and to observe these objects through a telescope, visit Taylor Observatory (www.taylorobservatory.org) on Saturday, Aug. 18, from 8 to 11 p.m.
John Zimmerman has been an amateur astronomer for 50 years. He is a member of the Taylor Observatory staff, where, among his many duties, he helps create planetarium shows.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
Good fishing and weather have combined this week to leave most anglers tired and content when they’re done for the day. Last weekend’s CatFest, held here out of Lakeshore Bait & Tackle, was a lot of fun with 10 anglers enjoying a steady bite. Deer season is just around the corner. And man, I saw a whole mess of wild pigs along Highway 29 near Hidden Valley Lake the other night …
Bass fishing has remained good. One angler reported today, “It isn’t as good as it was three days ago. I only caught 18 fish for half a day fishing instead of 30.” High teens in a few hours? That qualifies as a pretty good bite in my book.
The bass bite has fluctuated a bit from hour to hour and day to day, but overall there are plenty of fish being caught. Jigs, deep cranks, Senkos and live minnows have all played a strong role this week. Look for water from 15 to 25 feet deep. Find yourself some structure down there and you’re in business for sure.
Crappie fishing is going strong. Find the spot over at Konocti Harbor Resort or catch the school when they’re in a Four Poles. We are hearing of more schooling behavior which means that the crappie are in for a while then they’re out. If you’re willing to chase ‘em around in a boat you’ll catch a boat load of 'em. Live minnows are the first choice. Jigs with a live wax worm or a Crappie Gem will also do the trick if fished deep. A few lucky anglers have had success catching slabs early in the morning or late at night down at Redbud Park, too.
Catfishing has turned on nicely for us here. We enjoyed a beautiful (albeit a bit windy) evening last Saturday with our CatFest event. Ten of us fished for about six hours. Nearly everyone in the group enjoyed a constant bite. We didn’t see any real size to the fish – a plump 7-pounder was the big fish for the night. Everyone, however, had a good time.
Our hands-down best bait was mackerel. The most productive spots were at Monitor Island, Pirates Cove and Austin Park. All of the fish caught were caught while on anchor as the wind was too swift to catch a good slow drift.
Our next event is slated for Saturday, Aug. 25. Plan ahead and come join the fun!
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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