Frog fishing shifts into high gear at Clear Lake

By Terry Knight - Record-Bee outdoors columnist
www.recordbee.com
Updated: 07/05/2012 10:50:17 PM PDT

The diving frog is the hot lure with Clear Lake's bass fishermen right now. Few moments in fishing are as exciting as having a large bass explode on a topwater lure, especially a plastic frog.

Clear Lake is famous for its outstanding frog fishing - that's where an angler casts a plastic frog to a weed mat and a bass explodes on the lure. Frog fishing is just getting under way on the lake because the weed mats are starting to form. These weeds mats are made up primarily of Sago Pondweed. The bass seek out these mats because they offer shade and a ready supply of food as smaller fish hide beneath them.

There are a number of brands of plastic frogs on the market and they all work. The latest plastic frog is the weedless Diving Frog made by River2Sea. The lure has a pair of long and flexible plastic legs that coil up and expand as the lure is retrieved with short jerks. I tried out the lure in one area last week. I made five casts and caught three bass. All the fish were holding beneath weed mats. You can purchase the lure at the E Ticket Tackle Shop in Lakeport (formally Tackle It located next to the Skylark Shores Motel). The lure costs approximately $12.

Of course, the standard plastic frogs are also working. The trick to using a frog is to allow the bass to take the lure underwater before setting the hook. The trend is to set the hook as soon as the blowup occurs but that often pulls the lure out of the bass's mouth.

Overall the bass fishing is rated as fair to good. A few anglers are catching as many as 25 fish per day while the average is more like six to eight fish. The topwater action has been most productive early and late. During the day the more successful fishermen have been working the docks with plastic worms or jigs. The trick to success is to keep moving and cover as many docks as possible. It's not unusual for five or six docks in a row not to have a single fish beneath them, but then a single dock will have a school of bass.

In the north end of the lake, the docks along the Nice-Lucerne shoreline have been producing fish. The same applies to the docks north of Lakeport and in Corinthian Bay.

In the south end, two of the better areas have been Konocti Bay and Frasier Point. The docks at the Indian Beach Resort in Glenhaven also have been producing a fair number of bass.

The Clear Lake Vista Resort in Soda Bay held its first Sunday Shootout last weekend and the winning team was Jackson Juarez of Kelseyville and Robert Armstrong of Lakeport with a two-fish limit of 10.3 pounds. The next Shootout is July 15. Call Craig Anderson at 349-0814 for more information.

Catfish action is good throughout the lake and some of the better areas are Shag Rock, Horseshoe Bend and Rattlesnake Island. Live crawdads, chicken liver and cut mackerel have been the top baits. There is still very little action on crappie and bluegill.

Trout action has been very good at the East branch of the Russian River. Small spinners or power bait worked in the deeper holes have been producing easy limits. The stream was stocked earlier this week. At Upper Blue Lake, the trout action has been good for both trollers and bank fishermen. The lake was stocked this week.

Saturday is a free fishing day, meaning you don't need a license, but all fishing regulations must be adhered to.

The Zone A archery deer season opens Satur-day. The Mendo-cino National Forest will draw most of the bowmen and they can expect excellent conditions but not a lot of deer. From all indications the county's deer herd continues its downward spiral. Hunters are urged to be extra careful with campfires and to let someone know where they will be hunting and when they're expected to return.