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Recreation
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
Limits of crappie are being taken at a few key spots around the lake. Kono Tayee, Shag Rock, Clearlake Oaks and Glenhaven are the top spots this week.
The best bite is on during the first few hours of daylight. The crappie bite continues throughout the day at a more moderate pace.
There are a couple of key things I’m hearing about the bite. First, you’ve got to be “in the school” to do well. What this means to you is boat placement. If you’re not right in the mix (politely, of course) with the other boats on the school, you’re not going to catch the fish. Second, look for clouds of bait fish. Where there’s bait, there are crappie (and bass) feeding. As for what baits to use, minnows – of course – are a hot ticket. For artificial baits, try the Panfish Assassin or Fin-S Shad lures.
Now for a few words on the bass bite … We’ve got a wide open bite on jumbo minnows all around the south end of the lake. The surface temperature is hovering in the upper 50s and should remain there until we start to see more wet weather. The net effect of this is that bass are feeding heavily in preparation for the winter cold water slow-down. Those folks offering only artificials are working a bit harder to put a limit together. Deep cranks, swim baits, and drop shotting have been the choice of many working the bass
Our CatFest event from the 24th was a real hit. We had five boats and ten anglers. Our biggest cat went 15 pounds, 2 ounces. We had an 11-3, a 9-6, and several under seven pounds. Gary Moore’s 11-3 was the biggest fish in the pool and he took home a cool 50 bucks cash. We fished the 30-foot waters off of Rocky Point between Jago and Jones bays. We couldn’t have asked for better weather, either. I hope you’ll consider joining us for our next CatFest event – the more the merrier!
The catfish bite is pretty good. We’ve heard that there is a great bite a little cove just north of the Clearlake Oaks launch ramp. Other areas around the south end are producing well too. Stick to the basics – minnows, mackerel, anchovies or shad. Fish that water from 15 to 30 feet for best results.
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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- Written by: Editor
“Our players worked extremely hard all season and we were competitive in nearly every conference match – I was very pleased with that,” Polkinghorne said. “We ended up in the middle of the pack, but we let a few matches slip away that I think we should have won.”
An example of that was Mendocino’s final match versus Los Medanos College last week. The Eagles lost in three sets to the fourth place Mustangs: 30-27, 30-18 and 30-27.
Mendocino finished with a Bay Valley Conference record of 6-8, which landed them in fifth place out of eight teams. The Eagles finished with an overall record of 9-14.
Top performers for Mendocino against Los Medanos College were Freshmen Shana Hiatt (Clearlake) who scored 14 points on 11 kills, had two aces and a block.
Freshman Passion Allen-LeNard (Lower Lake) contributed five kills, three blocks and two aces.
According to Polkinghorne, the elevated play of the Eagles’ Freshmen struck a positive note for next year's team.
Polkinghorne said he and Assistant Coach Jeff Whitby agree that they have a good foundation to build on for next year. “We hope that our Freshmen will return and that we’ll be able to recruit some strong players to join them.”
When asked about recruiting needs, Polkinghorne replied, “A setter and some height would be a great start!”
Mendocino College sophomore middle hitter Jamie Brown (Potter Valley) was selected to the All-Conference Team for her standout season. Brown was ranked in three of the six Bay Valley Conference statistical categories: seventh in blocks per game, 10th in kills per game and 12th in hitting average (.246).
“Jamie was our co-captain and our go-to hitter. She did a great job for us this year and deserves this recognition,” Polkinghorne added.
Other Eagles making the Bay Valley Conference stats list were sophomore Sarah Luetke (Yreka), who finished second in the conference in digs per game with 4.17. Sophomore Jenny Stark (Clearlake) finished sixth in setting assists per game. Hiatt finished in seventh place in aces per game.
“We had solid contributions from all 10 of our players this year. We were fortunate to be able to work with such a great group,” Polkinghorne said.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
LAKE COUNTY – While birdwatching at Borax Lake on Country Club Drive near Clearlake Thursday afternoon I saw American Coots in great numbers, some Mallards, a few Buffleheads, maybe some grebes mixed in, but predominantly Northern Shovelers.
Shown above is a photo of Northern Shovelers. I couldn't get very close as the birds would then fly.
We We hadn't taken our scope with us so it was hard to make sure of what was in the large groups. The lake is low so the shoreline was not close to the road.
This is the first time we had seen so many Northern Shovelers. Many hundreds of shovelers were feeding and displaying their unusual feeding habits as explained in tidbit below.
If you have not seen this, you may want to drive out to Borax Lake. The road is rough, but it is worth the drive. There were several much larger groups than what are shown in the photo feeding in the pinwheel fashion. The rotation was very apparent and you could watch birds from a distance swim to the pin-wheel and join in.
NORTHERN SHOVELER PROFILE
Wing spread: 31 inches
Body length: 19 inches
Weight: 1.5 pounds
Description: Shovelers are a medium-sized duck with a distinctive large bill. From late fall through spring,males have a glossy green head, white chest and chestnut sides. Females are a drab brownish gray. Both sexes have a blue wing patch, and glossy green speculum with white bars. Its wings are identical to blue-winged teal, except larger.
Nesting habitat: Typically nests in tall undisturbed grass cover.
Clutch size: 10 eggs
Incubation period: 24 days
Status in North Dakota: The northern shoveler is common during migration and nesting seasons in North Dakota.
Food habits: Shovelers feed on plankton, fingernail clams and aquatic insects.
Tidbit: Shovelers have the most unusual feeding habits of any duck. At times, tight groups of several dozen birds will rotate in a pinwheel fashion, stirring up the surface water.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
A few pictures could tell most of the story … We’ve got a good many reasons to be thankful for Thanksgiving.
First, we live in a community that has an astounding natural lake teaming with wonderful game fish. Crappie anglers are reporting in with limits of fish, bass anglers are enjoying a great minnow bite, and the catfishermen are busy too. The surface temp of our lake is running in the upper 50s. The shad are back and minnows will get you bit by just about everything.
First, let me add in here that this is the kind of report that most guys think is just inflated stories created to push more bait. Not so. If you’ve been reading our reports for a while, you know that the quality of the bite varies and we tell it like it is. But even so, a half dozen or so pictures really illustrate our point … Now’s the time to come and fish Clear Lake!
Been waiting for the crappie bite to kick in? It has. The shoreline along Highway 20 from Clearlake Oaks through Glenhaven on up to Kono Tayee has been producing quality limits of fish for anglers in boats and on the shore alike. Shag Rock turned on. Konocti Harbor Resort is picking up a crappie bite. Jones Bay and Jago Bay have both seen crappie.
Live minnows are excellent bait when fished either behind a split shot or under a sliding bobber. Panfish Assassin and Fin-S Shad lures have been good as have the traditional mini-jigs. Colors have ranged from pink and white to chartreuse to all white. Depths for the crappie have ranged from 4 feet to 25 feet. Most reports from boaters have the schools of crappie following the shad. Find a concentration of shad and you’ll bust crappie and bass on minnows on nearly every cast.
That’s our transition to the bass bite, too. I’ve had a couple of super reports from anglers fishing with fishing guides Bob Myskey (Bassin’ with Bob) and Dave Gilbert (Hook Setter Fishing) this week. What’s a super report you ask? How are 80 to 100 fish days sounding to you? The word is that these fellows are fishing with live bait and just hammering bass in the 2- to 4-pound range with big bass stretching to 9+ pounds.
You need minnows, and lots of ‘em. Fish them 3 or 4 feet behind a number five split shot. Most of the top bass action has been from Shag Rock and south. The locations are too numerous to list … Drop by and we’ll give you an up to the minute run down on our counter-top map. I love reports like this …
OK, catfishermen, this is where you should tune in. Live minnows or cut bait have been doing the trick for most. From pan-size to super-sized the catfish are abundant in the south end of the lake. Come join us on Saturday, Nov. 22 for our CatFest event.
We’ll be assembling here at the bait shop around 4 p.m. for a barbecue. (And probably a tall fish tale or two.) We’re asking for a $3 donation for the eats. We’ll hit the launch ramp at Redbud Park around 6 p.m. and head for our first fishin’ hole. Slowest boat leads the flotilla and we’ll fish as a group. Plan to be back in at the ramps by 11 p.m. We’re running a “Biggest Cat” pool with a $5 entry fee. Since we’re all fishing together it shouldn’t be hard to tell who has the biggest fish at the end of the night …
Be sure to drop by the shop and take advantage of some great sale items, end-of-year specials and closeouts. We’re marking down great stuff throughout the store from tackle and lures to firearms. Christmas is just around the corner and we can help you find that perfect gift for the fishing or firearms enthusiast on your list. (Heck, that might even be you!)
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Lakeshore Bait & Tackle in Clearlake – Bob, Jerry, Vern and Clint.
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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