By Terry Knight -- Record-Bee outdoors columnist
The lake is near flood stage and the weather is blustery with snow levels forecast to be as low as 1,000 feet by the weekend. However, despite less than favorable conditions, the fishing remains good.
A good example was the recent FLW-Stren pro-am tournament on Clear Lake, where more than 3,600 bass were caught and released.
The lake level was 8.30 feet as of Thursday and slowly rising. There is also another cold front forecast to hit the area Saturday. The water temperature has been holding at about 47 degrees, which is colder than normal.
The south end of the lake continues to produce most of the bass. As illustrated in the recent bass tournament, the trick to success is a super slow retrieve. In fact, many of the successful fishermen used a Carolina rig, which is nothing more than a 1/2-ounce sinker attached about 24 inches up from the hook. A plastic worm or Brush Hog is used and the lure is slowly retrieved so that it barely glides along the bottom.
A number of fishermen are wondering just how Jimmy Reese caught all those bass to win the tournament and the $62,000 first-place prize. In an article on the Web site BassFan.com, Reese reveals his technique.
According to Reese, he spent most of his prefishing days in the north end of the lake and located some good areas. However, storms hit the area just prior to the tournament and basically washed out the entire north end.
On the first day of the tournament he went south and downsized his lure, using a small plastic RoboWorm in the oxblood blue color rigged on a darthead. He ended up catching 16 pounds, 14 ounces of fish, which put him in 16th place.
He stayed in the north end again on the morning of the second day of the tournament and caught a 9-pound, 11 ounce fish. Later in the day he went south and caught four smaller fish, which moved him up to second place in the overall standings.
Friday, the third day of the tournament, he stayed south and fished a small area and caught more than 19 pounds of bass using the darthead technique, which moved him into first place.
On Saturday, he returned to the same area and caught more than 20 pounds, which gave him the win. He stayed with the same pattern of using a RoboWorm on a darthead. The complete story can be found on www.BassFan.com.
There are two bass tournaments scheduled on the lake this weekend. On Saturday, there is a WON BASS team tournament and on Sunday there is an Angler's Choice team tournament. Both tournaments operate out of Konocti Vista Casino, Resort and Marina. The weigh-ins start at 3 p.m.
The two-day Northlake Ford team tournament is scheduled for March 18-19. Sign-ups will be accepted at Northlake Ford, 2575 S. Main St., in Lakeport until 6 p.m. on March 17. The entry fee is $100 per team. There are also options for big fish ($50) and big bag ($50).
The payback will be 100 percent of the entry and option fees. Cash prizes go to 20 percent of the field and include three daily big-fish awards and three daily big-bag awards.
If there are 100 teams in the tournament, the winning team will receive at least $3,000 and that doesn't include option prizes.
Included in the entry fee is a barbecue on March 18 hosted by the Konocti Vista Casino, Resort and Marina. Call (88
701-8797 or 484-6783 for more information.
Crappie fishing has slowed to a crawl. Even the better fishermen are lucky to boat a dozen fish. Ken Taddie of the Indian Beach Resort in Glenhaven says that he has been finding the best action at night. He said that daytime action has been very slow.
Trout fishing has slowed at Upper Blue Lake. The bad weather has kept most of the fishermen away. The lake is scheduled to be stocked next week.
No word on Indian Valley Reservoir. With snow on the hilltops, the road into the lake is pretty sloppy.
Record-Bee.com
The lake is near flood stage and the weather is blustery with snow levels forecast to be as low as 1,000 feet by the weekend. However, despite less than favorable conditions, the fishing remains good.
A good example was the recent FLW-Stren pro-am tournament on Clear Lake, where more than 3,600 bass were caught and released.
The lake level was 8.30 feet as of Thursday and slowly rising. There is also another cold front forecast to hit the area Saturday. The water temperature has been holding at about 47 degrees, which is colder than normal.
The south end of the lake continues to produce most of the bass. As illustrated in the recent bass tournament, the trick to success is a super slow retrieve. In fact, many of the successful fishermen used a Carolina rig, which is nothing more than a 1/2-ounce sinker attached about 24 inches up from the hook. A plastic worm or Brush Hog is used and the lure is slowly retrieved so that it barely glides along the bottom.
A number of fishermen are wondering just how Jimmy Reese caught all those bass to win the tournament and the $62,000 first-place prize. In an article on the Web site BassFan.com, Reese reveals his technique.
According to Reese, he spent most of his prefishing days in the north end of the lake and located some good areas. However, storms hit the area just prior to the tournament and basically washed out the entire north end.
On the first day of the tournament he went south and downsized his lure, using a small plastic RoboWorm in the oxblood blue color rigged on a darthead. He ended up catching 16 pounds, 14 ounces of fish, which put him in 16th place.
He stayed in the north end again on the morning of the second day of the tournament and caught a 9-pound, 11 ounce fish. Later in the day he went south and caught four smaller fish, which moved him up to second place in the overall standings.
Friday, the third day of the tournament, he stayed south and fished a small area and caught more than 19 pounds of bass using the darthead technique, which moved him into first place.
On Saturday, he returned to the same area and caught more than 20 pounds, which gave him the win. He stayed with the same pattern of using a RoboWorm on a darthead. The complete story can be found on www.BassFan.com.
There are two bass tournaments scheduled on the lake this weekend. On Saturday, there is a WON BASS team tournament and on Sunday there is an Angler's Choice team tournament. Both tournaments operate out of Konocti Vista Casino, Resort and Marina. The weigh-ins start at 3 p.m.
The two-day Northlake Ford team tournament is scheduled for March 18-19. Sign-ups will be accepted at Northlake Ford, 2575 S. Main St., in Lakeport until 6 p.m. on March 17. The entry fee is $100 per team. There are also options for big fish ($50) and big bag ($50).
The payback will be 100 percent of the entry and option fees. Cash prizes go to 20 percent of the field and include three daily big-fish awards and three daily big-bag awards.
If there are 100 teams in the tournament, the winning team will receive at least $3,000 and that doesn't include option prizes.
Included in the entry fee is a barbecue on March 18 hosted by the Konocti Vista Casino, Resort and Marina. Call (88
701-8797 or 484-6783 for more information.Crappie fishing has slowed to a crawl. Even the better fishermen are lucky to boat a dozen fish. Ken Taddie of the Indian Beach Resort in Glenhaven says that he has been finding the best action at night. He said that daytime action has been very slow.
Trout fishing has slowed at Upper Blue Lake. The bad weather has kept most of the fishermen away. The lake is scheduled to be stocked next week.
No word on Indian Valley Reservoir. With snow on the hilltops, the road into the lake is pretty sloppy.
Record-Bee.com