BASS FISHINGBass Fishing Sports Blog

Published: Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at 9:09 p.m. last Modified: Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at 9:09 p.m.

The calendar says mid-April, but it was feeling more like mid-May before a late-season cold front pushed through last week.

Bass are already beginning to go deeper with water temperatures in the lower 80s.

At 72.1 degrees, the average air temperature in March was 5.3 degrees higher than the long-term average for Lakeland.

That made March the eighth-warmest on record.

Fish behavior has been a month ahead of schedule in salt water, and bass are developing summer patterns sooner than usual.

Cool nights this week are a welcome respite, but those 90-degree-plus days will be back next week in all likelihood.

Bass are chasing shad in open water, schooling on Lake Toho and Lake Gibson.

The spring spawn is largely over with this year, compared to some years when April has produced exceptional bass, like a 16-pounder on Lake Kissimmee not that long ago.

Bass fishermen have been working outside grass lines more often for the largest bites, and open-water structure and grass beds will soon be the preferred locations.

Combined with warming temperatures, water levels are lower than usual, with only a quarter of an inch of rain in Lakeland during the entire month of March.

That has also helped pull bigger bass out of shallow shoreline areas sooner, especially on the south Winter Haven chain where the level is 10 inches lower than a year ago.

Lake Kissimmee has dropped to under 50 feet above sea level, not far from the low-pool stage targeted for June 1.

The same trend is right on all Polk lakes, and it’s likely that April and May will continue to be dry.

It’s time for bass fishermen to dust off their electronics and think deeper.

Summertime is nearer than you might think.

LICENSE-FREE SATURDAY DRAWS LOT OF ANGLERS

A Florida resident freshwater fishing license costs $17, a bargain compared to some states.

But that is more than some people are willing to pay.

Ron Schelfo at Ron’s Tackle Box in Lake Alfred said there were a surprising number of fishermen on the water on Saturday because it was a license-free day in Florida.

June 9 will also be a license-free day for freshwater fishing. June 2 and Sept. 1 are license-free days in salt water.

FOX 39TH IN OPEN

Kyle Fox of Lakeland finished 39th in the Bassmaster Southern Open on Lake Norman at Charlotte, N.C., last week, leading Polk County fishermen in the tour’s second of three tournaments.

Fox, an Elite Series pro, weighed in 18 pounds, 7 ounces the first two days. Only the top 12 qualified for Saturday’s final round.

Tracy Adams of Wilkesboro, N.C., won the tournament with 45 pounds, 6 ounces.

Lakeland native Chris Lane placed 52nd with 17 pounds, 2 ounces. Lee Sisson of Winter Haven was 106th with 14 1/2 pounds, while Cecil Douberly of Lakeland was 147th with 12 pounds.

ELITES ON BULL SHOALS

Kyle Fox, along with brothers Chris and Bobby Lane, are competing in the Bassmaster Elite Series’ third tournament of the season on Bull Shoals Lake at Mountain Home, Ark., April 19-22.

Chris Lane is 10th in points, while Bobby Lane is 34th and Fox is 40th.

BASS TOURNAMENTS

Keith Albritton anchored the winning stringer of 21.89 pounds with a 10.21-pounder Saturday to win the Camp Mack Open on the Kissimmee Chain. Bobby Wooten took second with 21.60 pounds. Matt Hinman placed third with 21.19 pounds, followed by Eric Conant with 20.58 pounds and Mike Bierfreund with 16.42 pounds.

Jay Malys produced an brilliant stringer for the Harris Chain totaling 20.90 pounds, including a 6.60-pounder, on Saturday to win the Lakeland Junior Bassmasters tournament in his first event with the club. Harry Linsinbigler finished second behind Malys in the 15-18 age group with 13.80 pounds. Colten Grant had 7.30 pounds for third. In the 11-14 age group, Dalton Gorman took first with 13 pounds, followed by Mica Patel with 9 pounds and Roger Weigel with 7.10 pounds. Jackson Williams boated a 6.90-pounder for huge-bass honors.

Bobby and Tomi Orth won the ABA Couples Florida tournament on Lake Walk-in-the-Water Saturday with 13.45 pounds including Bobby’s 7.43-pounder. Paul Brussow and Anna Midzio placed second with 11.29 pounds.

Buford McCoy and Tom Yutzy won the Ron’s Tackle Box evening tournament last Thursday on Lake Alfred with 12 3/4 pounds, and Yutzy’s 5-pounder was tops. Dennis Bridges Jr. and Dennis Bridges Sr. finished second with 8 pounds, 11 ounces, while third went to Telly Smith and Trevor Fike with 8 pounds.

David Rizzo needed only 5.80 pounds to win the Bass Bandits tournament Saturday on Lake Walk-in-the-Water. Roy Woodhouse finished second with 5.65 pounds and the largest bass at 2.95 pounds, while third went to Danny Duchesne with 5.45 pounds.

[ Del Milligan's freshwater fishing column appears Thursdays in the Ledger. He can be reached at del.milligan@theledger.com or 863-802-7555. Milligan's blog, Central Florida Fishology, can be found at theledger.com home page. ]

When Lawrence Brambley stepped outside his Juniper Drive home in Vacaville on Thursday morning, he knew that something wasn’t right.

An avid fisherman, Brambley was greeted by the sight of the shoved-back cover on his 20-foot, 3-inch Champion 203 Elite bass boat — his pride and joy — and the doors of both rod lockers where he stored his gear sitting open.

On closer inspection, it got worse.

At some point during the night, thieves had broken into the boat, which he keeps trailered across the street from his home, rifled through it and taken thousands of dollars of the angler’s equipment.

“Half the rods and everything were gone out of it,” Brambley said of the fishing gear he has spent the better part of 30 years collecting.

The stainless steel bar that usually spanned across both lockers was lying on the sidewalk as he approached the boat, and the padlock that once guarded his equipment was nowhere in sight.

“They had to have brought the bolt cutters and cut the lock off,” Brambley mused.

A 23-year Vacaville resident, Brambley, 61, came to Solano County during the ’70s, spending 20 years stationed at Travis Air Force Base working in aircraft maintenance before opening his own business, Vacaville Transmissions.

“This is a man that has spent his entire adult life in Solano County, in this community,” said Brambley’s oldest son, Robert. “It just really frustrated me, it hurt my heart when I heard about all this because this is his retirement. This is what he’s been working for.”

“Now everything’s gone,” he added. “Thirty years of collecting all this stuff.”

At least 11 of Brambley’s rods, worth anywhere from $250 to $400 apiece, were taken along with about 300 lures, he said. Worst of all, because of the time it has taken Brambley to build his collection, much of it is no longer available or has become too expensive, he said.

“All of this stuff is not in production any more,” Brambley said. “You can’t replace what’s missing.”

After spending years dealing with a number of health issues, Brambley said he had been looking forward to retiring within the next year and spending a part of the time he invests into his business out on the water doing the thing he likes most.

“Now it’s all gone,” he said wistfully.

Half of a tackle box that had been stowed in another compartment in the boat was found discarded in the front yard a residence a few houses away, Brambley said.

With only two boat payments left, Brambley said he is so hurt and frustrated by the loss that he is tempted to throw in the towel on fishing and the boat he bought nearly 12 years ago.

“It’s just heartbreaking because he’s not a healthy person. He’s had a lot of health problems, his heart, his diabetes, stroke, all of that stuff, and this is the one thing that makes him pleased,” Robert Brambley explained. “And now he just wants to give up.”

Later that afternoon, Lawrence Brambley had already replaced his old lock with a “heavier, beefier one,” but that did nothing to ease his sense of what had been lost.

“It’s put a bitter taste in my mouth,” he said. “The whole thing.”

Follow Staff Writer Catherine Bowen at Twitter.com/cbowen4.

Bass, crappie and a saltwater challenge.

LKFC’s Online CPR Tournament Recap

By Tray Collins

In 2011 the Lafayette Kayak Fishing Club introduced an online tournament where participants Catch-Photo-Release (CPR) their catch and email their submission.  Before the 2011 fall event Bill Lewis Lures (Rat-L-Trap) agreed to sponsor the tournament, and donated cash and prizes as the tournament’s title sponsor.  the CPR Tournament is open to all residing in the state of Louisiana who fish from any kayak powered by paddle, pedal, wind, or electric motor. the club intends to host a summer and fall tournament each year with formats and species that change each time around.  

The tournament started with a saltwater division and three fish categories. At the end of the 2011 summer event questions were raised about a freshwater division, so the club added another division for its 2011 fall tournament that recently came to an end. With only social media advertisement participation nearly doubled from the summer event with 40 participants. the club is working with Rat-L-Trap to make the next event larger than the two previous, with hopes to continue to promote conservation.

Congratulations to the winners of LKFC’s 2011 Fall CPR Tournament. John Pitre of Alexandria won the “Bass Challenge” with a 23 ½” Largemouth Bass, and the “Crappie Challenge” with a 13 ¾” Crappie. For placing first in both challenges John will receive a check in the amount of $250, and a rod and reel combo valued at $250. Lexie Daily of Alexandria placed second in the “Bass Challenge” and will receive a $100 gift card to Pack and Paddle in Lafayette, LA. Rick Kennedy of Youngsville finished third and will receive product from Rat-L-Trap valued at $50. Greg Babin of Forrest Hill placed second in the “Crappie Challenge” and will receive a $100 gift card to Pack and Paddle. Devon Beltz of Luling will receive product from Rat-L-Trap values at $50 for his third place “Crappie Challenge” finish.       

There was a slam format for the saltwater division, with the three species being speckled trout, redfish, and flounder. the tournament’s directors placed a 30” cap placed on the redfish to keep the anglers battling until the end. the participants were allowed to upgrade their previous submission throughout the tournament; with their longest fish adding to their total length.  Tray Collins of Lafayette placed first with a 27” speckled trout, 26 ½” redfish, and an 18 7/8” flounder, totaling 72 3/8”.  For placing first Tray will receive a check for $250. John Williams of Lafayette placed second with a 25” speckled trout, a 27” redfish, and a 17 ¼” flounder, totaling 69 ¼”. John will receive a Pack and Paddle gift card valued at $100. Gairi Williamson of Kenner sent in a last minute submission of two nice fish that allowed him to squeeze into place third. Gairi submitted a 19 ¾” speckled trout, a 29 ½” redfish, and a 20” flounder totaling 69 ¼”, for his efforts he will receive a fillet knife set valued at $50.

Complete tournament results can be found by visiting the LKFC’s CPR Tournament. 

Photos courtesy Lafayette Kayak Fishing Club.

Drought might have taken some of our top lakes out of the fishing picture, but necessity can lead to rewarding discoveries and new favorite spots. I expect lots of locals unable to access familiar, home waters will branch out successfully.

Serious bass anglers are already buzzing about some of the area waters that are still accessible.

Santa Fe Lake produced several fetching bassing tales this week and last, and most of the pleased Santa Fe casters scored with soft plastics rigged weedless and fished on — or just off — the west shore.

Suwannee River anglers suddenly have a distinct twinkle in their eyes, put there by spawning bass and redbellies. for a couple of weeks now, the folks working creeks and canals throughout the lower Suwannee with worms, crankbaits, Beetle Spins and Snagless Sallies have had more to brag about than their trout and redfish-seeking counterparts working near the salty river mouth.

And then there’s the still-lowered Rodman Reservoir that is again part of the freshwater fishing buzz following a few weeks of slower action and waning angler interest.

Bass, speckled perch and bream all have seemingly ramped up their feed just ahead of the lake’s month-long refill cycle. especially bass. Two weekends ago, Bob and Chris Heron cast various soft plastic baits to release more than 50 largemouths — and that’s not even the impressive part.

On the Herons’ digital scale, the largest of the 50-odd fish weighed an amazing 13 pounds. last Friday, Bob returned to the Reservoir alone. in the same areas where he and his son had found hungry fish, the accomplished Gainesville angler caught 70 more, with the best three bass each more than eight pounds.

Rodman is not the only part of the St. Johns River system offering red-hot bass fishing.

Saturday, Thomas Jones and his 10-year-ancient son, Taj, fished out of Palatka. the primary objective was to locate fish for an upcoming Fishing for Real tournament. while they certainly accomplished that, the Gainesville father and son also loved a day that neither will soon forget. Casting a lightly weighted Zoom craw, Thomas hooked and wrestled in a huge bass. Once the fish was netted and in the boat, they pulled out their new Rapala digital scale and weighed the giant at 13 pounds, eight ounces.

Lots of bass tournaments are slated to be held at various sites along the big river over the coming weeks — ranging from little club contests to an Elite Bassmaster event that will bring in the sport’s finest talents. (Rodman, by the way, has been declared “off limits” to the Elite group). Every contestant will likely hear of the monster fish taken by the Herons and Joneses. Florida is known for producing huge largemouth bass, but in reality, few fish of this caliber are caught annually in any state — even ours.

Competing or not, an army of bass fans looking to fish the many miles of river, creek, canal and lake along the St. Johns will be excited at the possibility of tying into fish like the whoppers Bob and Chris Heron and Thomas and Taj Jones recently caught and released.

The warming gulf flats are also slowly drawing in favorite targets of fishers, like speckled trout. Scattered impressive trout catches have been pulled from the shallows off Steinhatchee, Suwannee, Cedar Key and Waccasassa, but only on the big Bend’s southernmost grass flats out of Homosassa has the trout fishing been consistently good. to boot, Spanish mackerel have arrived early on the deeper Homosassa flats. Captains Todd Cornielle and Don Chancy and their parties have harvested nice numbers of both trout and mackerel when the weather has allowed.

Wind and rain held gulf anglers down through last weekend, but by Tuesday several boats loaded with nervous anglers were able to run out of Steinhatchee to the reefs where spawning sheepshead gather in March. Aboard his “Nevamiss”, Capt. Gene Frazier and his friends were among the groups that docked with proof the toothy brawlers have arrived. Late that day at Sea Hag Marina, they showed off a cooler full of hefty fish up to six pounds.

Gary Simpson, a veteran tournament angler, operates Gary’s Tackle Box at L & S Trim.

Fishing report

LAKE OKEECHOBEE

Flipping plastic creature baits in thick vegetation and pitching plastic worms around reeds have been the best bets for bass given the cooler water temperatures. Another option is to fish crankbaits around rockpiles in the rim canal around Clewiston.

EVERGLADES/FRESHWATER

Bass were biting plastic stick worms in the canals connected to Lake Ida and shaky head jigs around the bridges. Bedding bass were biting on the flats off the L-67A Canal.

SOUTH FLORIDA INSHORE

Capt. Dave Kostyo reported awesome tarpon fishing at night around Haulover Inlet. Alexander Schmieder, of Germany, went 8 for 10 on tarpon 30-80 pounds Tuesday. Capt. Rick Stanczyk of Bud N’ Mary’s Marina in Islamorada has been catching excellent numbers of snook and lots of redfish and pompano in Florida Bay.

SOUTH FLORIDA OFFSHORE

Dolphin have been the best bet and they’ve been biting anywhere from 100-750 feet. Capt. Mario Cote of No Vacansea said to just troll where you see birds. Thursday morning he had three dolphin and a small tuna in 250 feet off Hallandale Beach. Yvan Tardif, of Montreal, caught five dolphin, three big skipjack tunas and two blackfin tunas in 500 feet off Hollywood Tuesday afternoon.

SACRAMENTO — A proposal that attempted to diminish the number of striped bass in the Feather River system was rejected Thursday by the California Fish and Game Commission.

In a unanimous vote, changes were rejected that would have increased the number of fish that could be kept and allow smaller fish to be kept.

Striped bass are found in the Sacramento River as far upstream as Red Bluff and up the Feather River to Oroville.

The fishing regulation changes had been proposed by the Department of Fish and Game because striped bass, a non-native fish, are devouring native fish, including young endangered salmon and Delta smelt.

The recommended changes would have settled a 2008 lawsuit filed by the Coalition for a Sustainable Delta, a group of San Joaquin Valley water districts.

Since the commissioners rejected the recommendations, the issue will return to the courts.

The changes had been recommended not just by the DFG, but by the Delta Stewardship Council, the National Oceanic Administration Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Among other things, the plan would have:

Raised the daily bag limit for striped bass from two to six fish.

Raised the possession limit for striped bass from two to 12 fish.

Lowered the minimum size for striped bass from 18 to 12 inches.

Established a “hot spot” for striped bass fishing at Clifton Court Forebay and specified adjacent waterways in the delta. The daily bag limit there would have been 20 fish, the possession limit would be 40 fish, and there would be no size limit.

Clifton Court Forebay is a reservoir in the delta in Contra Costa County.

The proposal was controversial partly because people who like to fish for stripers feared the new rules would reduce the striped bass population so much they’ll become hard to catch.

But the lawsuit settlement required Fish and Game to come up with a plan to reduce the impact of stripers on the endangered fish.

The Coalition for a Sustainable Delta had pointed out that farmers’ water allocations from the delta were being cut because of the decline of fish listed as endangered, such as spring-run and winter-run salmon, Central Valley steelhead and delta smelt.

The suit charged that Fish and Game was contributing to the decline by protecting striped bass, which are non-native and not listed as endangered, and which prey on the endangered fish.

THURMOND LAKE

Raysville Marina (Leon Buffington and Doug Pentecost), (706) 595-5582 – Debbie Percival caught a 2½-pound crappie on minnows. Danny Johnson, Thomson, limited out on crappies on minnows. Cliff and Doane Crowe caught 60 crappies on minnows and jigs. Jack Owens and Billy Englett, of Grovetown, caught 36 crappies on Jan. 14 and 20 on Jan. 25. Minnows were the bait.

Ralph Barbee Jr., professional guide specializing in largemouth bass. (706) 860-7373 – Fishing by myself on Thursday, I caught three jacks, two white perch, one hybrid and two bass, all small, on bone-colored Rat-L-Trap. I fished ditches, casting out, letting it fall, lifting it up, let it fall, and they’d hit it sluggishly on the fall.

My show features Capt. Dan Utley out of Hilton Head, S.C. we catch large redfish, a 100-pound bull shark and another fish that got away. we fished cut mullet. Fishing with Ralph Barbee airs Saturdays at 11 a.m., and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. on Comcast Channel 21, My12TV, Knology Ch. 7, Atlantic Broadband (Aiken) Ch. 7 and Charter Ch. 9 (Fort Gordon).

William Sasser’s Guide Service, (Capt. William Sasser and Capt. mark Crawford, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed, full time professional guides specializing in crappies, hybrids and striped bass). (706) 589-5468 (William), (706) 373-8347 (Mark) or (864) 333-2000. (Clark Hill Herring Hut) – Mark: Josh Sandt, McCormick, S.C., Jason Sandt, Savannah, and Herb marks, McCormick, caught 13 hybrids and stripers running 3 to 12 pounds. they hit herring pulled beneath planer boards in the shallows. Ed Wiley, Summerville, S.C.; Jim Wiley and John Bracknell, Greenwood, S.C., filled a cooler with stripers ranging from 8 to 24 pounds on rainbow trout and herring pulled below planer boards. Check out my Web site: williamsasserfishing.com.

NORTH GEORGIA MOUNTAIN STREAMS

Carter and Hunter Morris, licensed professional guides specializing in glide fishing for rainbow, brook and brown trout. (706) 833-1083 (flyfishingnorthgeorgia.com) (facebook.com/flyfishingnorthgeorgia) – Hunter: Rainfall and erratic temperature changes seem to have the trout wondering what and when to eat. Dad and I had another fantastic trip at Fern Valley on the Soque River this week, but it was the perfect indecisiveness of the fish. Although we landed a lot of nice trout, we never were able to find a pattern or method that was consistently good. as long as the weather keeps changing so frequently, try the same thing with the glide patterns you are using, but change them often. an even more effective approach is to change methods often. If you’ve tried a couple of nymph patterns without much success, switch to wet flies or streamers, or vice versa The fish want to eat – you just have to give them a small extra encouragement right now.

MERRY LAND BRICKYARD PONDS

Check-in station, 1408 Doug Barnard Parkway, Gene Kirkland and Brantley Toomer, (706 722-8263) – Crappies remain on a tear, with minnows the preferred bait. Tim Johnston caught 65 huge crappies in the Membership Pond. bill Wright caught 72 crappies in the Ditch. Lula and Pete Williams caught 48 bream and catfish in the Pollard Pond on worms and liver. Larry Hamilton caught 71 crappies in the Membership Pond. Shawn Loper caught 76 crappies in the Ditch. Mitchell Brown caught nine bass, one an 8-pounder, on a crank bait in the Expressway Pond. Nick Loumas caught 67 crappies in the Ditch. Stephen Mobley caught 52 crappies in the Ditch.

SAVANNAH, GA.

Miss Judy Charters, Capt. Judy Helmey, (912) 897-4921 (missjudycharters.com.) P.O. Box 30771, Savannah, Ga. 31410-0771 – “Playing and swimming with the fish!” Capt. Judy gave a plug to Mike Dick, of the Savannah Dive Company, who offers private Scuba instruction. more information: (912) 210-6317. and don’t forget Capt. Judy’s own inshore fishing school on Feb. 4 and offshore fishing school on Feb. 11.

Robert Brown, who assists Alcoa with public relations, said the tree-cutting marks the construction of a new parking area at the access that will be completed by the end of the year.

“This (the new parking area) will allow us to have separate parking areas for boaters and the swimming/picnic area,” said Brown.

Visitors to the Pebble Beach swim area at Flat Swamp know that during the summer months the area can become highly congested with fishermen, recreational enthusiasts, and swimmers all seeking out parking spaces for their vehicles. at times, the traffic has overflowed to the roadside along Highway 8 near the access entrance.

The new parking area should resolve this problem.

Striped bass are being caught in excellent numbers at Badin Lake after virtually disappearing the past two years.

Guides Maynard Edwards and Jerry Hill have both heard reports that the stripers suddenly reappeared just before and after the Christmas holidays with anglers catching as many as 40 fish per outing.

“The fish haven’t been very huge with most running 2 to 3 pounds, but after a long period of meager catches, anglers are pleased to see the fish active again,” said Hill, who also had excellent luck with stripers at Lake Tillery recently. “Occasionally, someone catches 5- or 6-pound fish but not in any numbers.”

No one knows for certain why the stripers became scarce, though some attribute their disappearance to the extremely hot weather of the last two summers. others believe the hot weather forced the fish so deep or into such narrow zones that striper fishermen couldn’t locate them.

The striper fishing became so poor at Badin that the Tarheel Striper Club began scheduling their club tournaments elsewhere after several dismal outings at the lake. the club also sought input from N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission biologists to get their take on what might have happened to the striper fishery.

Edwards said several striper anglers at Badin told him they caught their fish in fairly shallow water.

Whatever took place at Badin, anglers are pleased to know that the lake is back as a striped bass producer.

The Alabama rig, a modified version of the ancient umbrella rig used mostly by striped bass anglers, has created a lot of excitement among area fishermen. the downsized Alabama rig has proven deadly on largemouth bass in clear water lakes.

Now fishermen are experimenting with the rig for other species.

Touring pro Joel Richardson of Kernersville said he’s making his own version of the rig to test it out on largemouth bass at Kerr Lake. Capt. Gus Gustafson of Lake Norman Ventures said fishermen at Norman are having success with the rig for spotted bass and white perch. Joe Aldridge of Joe’s Bait & Tackle at Albemarle said Lake Tillery fishermen are downsizing the rig to catch crappie. Edwards said he’ll be offering a version of the rig at his booth at the Central Carolina Bass & Fishing Expo in Greensboro this February.

Mann’s Bait Co. recently obtained the rights to the original Alabama rig used by pro Paul Elias of Mississippi to win the October FLW Tour tournament at Lake Guntersville, Ala. the rig costs $27.99 if purchased online.

Many anglers are making their own Alabama rigs at half that cost with materials available at hardware and discount tackle stores. several Internet entries tell how to make an Alabama rig.

Two Tar Heel fishing teams earned checks at the Jan. 14 Southern Crappie Tournament event on Stumpy Pond/Fishing Creek, S.C.

Kevin Hawkins of Ramseur and Wayne Niece of Biscoe won the tournament with 12.89 pounds and had the huge fish of the day with a 2.49-pound crappie. They received $700 for first place and $170 for huge fish.

Brian Shore of State Road and Denny Potts of Mocksville finished third with 11.06 pounds and shared $200.

The Carolina Crappie Association (carolinacrappieassociation.webnode.com) visits Badin and Tillery Lakes on Saturday. the take off is at the Alcoa Landing at Badin.

Tony Garitta is a fishing columnist for the Dispatch.

Clear Lake will be loaded with boats starting today and continuing through Saturday. American Bass (ABA) leads the parade with its Tournament of Champions beginning today. the tournament winds up Saturday and will operate out of the Konocti Vista Casino, Resort and Marina.

The TOC is expected to draw at least 150 boats and the weigh-in for both days starts at 2:30 p.m. to top it all off, the waterfowl season opens Saturday and there will be duck hunters out on the lake. of course, there are also several bass clubs tournaments scheduled as well.

The tournament anglers should find good action as the warm weather has spurred the bass into their feeding mode. that, and the abundance of bait fish, should result in some heavy weights being brought to the scales. in fact, a few fishermen have been complaining there are too many bait fish and the silverside minnows, juvenile crappie and threadfin shad are so thick that the bass are reluctant to take a lure.

The American Bass TOC is the final major bass tournament scheduled on the lake this year. There are a couple of smaller team events but they are expected to field fewer than 30 boats. most of the tournament circuits don’t start their new season until January. Konocti Vista Casino will host its Fall Bass Classic at Clear Lake on Nov. 12. the team tournament entry fee is $160 and includes big fish. the tournament is limited to 100 teams. Entry forms are available at all the local tackle shops. call 823-3252 for information

For those who just want to catch a bass or two, then jumbo minnows are the way to go. the guides have switched nearly exclusively to minnows and their clients are averaging between eight and 12 fish per day.

The good news is the catfish action is still wide open and most fishermen are having little distress catching five to 10 catfish per day. Cut mackerel or jumbo minnows have been the top bait. Bank fishermen have been doing very well off the pier at Redbud Park in Clearlake. the docks at Library Park in Lakeport are also producing catfish.

Upper Blue Lake is scheduled to be stocked with trout next week and some holdover trout remain, so the lake is worth a try this weekend. the bass fishing has been rated very good at the lake.

Duck hunters open their season Saturday and from all reports the hunting should be brilliant in the Sacramento Valley although the waterfowl refuges will be closed until Oct. 29 because of a late rice harvest. There will be a good number of duck hunters on Clear Lake. Clear Lake always draws hunters from Fort Bragg and Ukiah along with local residents.

The rules for hunting on the lake are that you must stay at least two miles offshore when hunting within the city limits of Lakeport and Clearlake. the rest of the lake is pretty much open to hunting, but, you can’t shoot a firearm within 150 yards of any building and there is no hunting within the confines of the Clear Lake State Park and Anderson Marsh.

The daily limit this year is seven ducks, of which two can be hen mallards. This year two pintails and one canvasback are also allowed as part of the daily bag limit. regardless of the species, the daily limit of all ducks combined can’t exceed seven. Hunters are reminded that in addition to their hunting license they also must have both the federal and state duck stamps.

The Zone B deer season ends Sunday and the hunting to date has been slow. Reports coming out of the Hull Mountain-Lake Pillsbury area show that hunters are seeing very few deer. It’s even worse at Snow Mountain. the warmer than normal weather has resulted in a very limited migration from the high country and the bucks still haven’t gone into rut.

The question most of the hunters are asking this year is where are the deer? the answer is that no one knows. One answer could be that because of a lack of control burning and practically no logging there is very little deer habitat being created. Because of budget cuts the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is doing very little deer research and that includes fall population counts and habitat work.

By MARC FOLCO October 07, 2011 12:00 AM

Huge bluefish averaging 10 pounds with some weighing into the teens are throughout the bay from Wareham to Westport and are gorging on some huge pods of pogies. The fall is a good time to catch a whopper. They’ll take a variety of lures but casting surface poppers into feeding schools will provide some explosive strikes and lots of action. Trolling ragmops will also catch fish when they’re not visible on the surface. And troll them quick. unlike stripers, which like a slower bait trolled at around three knots, blues take lures at five knots. Snagging and live-lining pogies will also get you some huge blues.

Striper fishing has picked up in the Canal with lots of huge fish from the center of the canal to the west end. Fishing has been best at daybreak but the action has even picked up again during a couple of afternoons. Those fish coming through will be spreading throughout the bay as the fall migration is kicking in. when bluefish are tearing into pogies on the surface, stripers will often be under them and at the edges.

The tautog bite is still steady in the bay with some huge fish off the deeper ledges and rockpiles with a few keepers coming inshore along rocky jetties and bridges. Green crabs, chopped in half and fished on the bottom on a double hook tautog rig is the top method but they’ll also take sea worms and clams. If you can get ‘em, fiddler crabs are the caviar of tautog bait. Black sea bass are also biting good, but that season is nearly over.

While the tautog season is open year round with a three-fish daily limit and 16-inch minimum size, other groundfish species have closed or are winding down for the season. Recreational scup season closed on Sept. 26, fluke closed on Sept. 30 and black sea bass closes at the end of the day on Tuesday.

There are still some false albacore around but not in the huge schools we had a couple of weeks ago. They’ve been in and out from West Island to Wareham and also off Westport, and most recently were concentrated in Wareham Harbor. most shiny jigs will take them, but they can be finicky, so try to match the size jig to the bait they’re eating. And don’t expect to hookup in every school. they are wary and boat shy so don’t try and get too close — just get close enough to reach them with a long cast. when the lure hits the water let it sink a few seconds, then use a quick retrieve and the lure will often get hit as it clears the school.

Albies have a keen sense of smell and can be attracted by chumming. one technique is to cut up small baitfish and toss a few handfuls in the water at a time, creating a chum slick and a scent trail. The fish may or may not show on the surface, so cast into your slick or float a whole baitfish into the slick. Adding some menhaden oil to the slick will increase the scent.

How to shrinkwrap your boat, including a full demonstration, will be the topic of West Marine’s free boating seminar on Oct. 15 from 10 a.m. — noon. It will be held at the Berdon Plaza location in Fairhaven. call (508) 992-8484 to reserve your seat.

Marc Folco is the outdoor writer for The Standard-Times. Contact him at

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