Recreation

LAKEPORT – The Clear High School Girls Varsity soccer team will be hosting its 10th annual soccer camp for all levels and gender of players from ages 6 to 14 in August.

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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Cooler weather and improved air quality have made for a much more pleasant week of fishing. The water temp is holding steady around the 77 degree mark. The bite is rated as “tough,” but not bad. Let me explain …

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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MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST – The Colusa County Road Department will be performing road Construction and maintenance activities on the Fouts Springs Road on the Mendocino National Forest (Forest Road M10) through July 25.

Work will occur between the Forest boundary and Mill Creek between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays, Monday through Friday. The public is advised that traffic delays are likely during these periods.

A Colusa County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) Title II project under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act, permanent repairs for road damage sustained during the 2006 winter, and various maintenance activities are scheduled to take place during this

period, affecting approximately three miles of the Fouts Springs Road (M10).

Please contact the Colusa County Department of Public Works at 530-458-0466 for further details.

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