05-19-2004, 04:29 AM
Yellow Bass Action Heats Up At Clear Lake
by Lowell Washburn
CLEAR LAKE--The fishin's been pretty good at Clear Lake. So far this spring, anglers have creeled some nice walleyes, a few jumbo-sized channel catfish, and the pre-spawn crappies are just now beginning to venture into north shore canals.
Oddly enough, it seems that no one is talking about those things. Instead, most of the lake's bait shop fish talk is currently focused on another species -- the yellow bass. How many yellows did you catch yesterday? Were they on the rocks? How deep? What were they hitting on?
For the past three or four seasons the fast hitting, hard fighting, good eating yellow bass has reigned as undisputed king of Clear Lake's angling scene. The lake enjoyed a record harvest last year when anglers removed more than 230,000 adult yellows from the population. The fast action continued into the winter, eventually providing a through the ice harvest that was the best in recent decades. Biologists say the bite isn't over yet, and that the notoriously scrappy fighters are gearing up for another round.
This season's yellow bass fishing began to heat up during the last days of April. By the first week of May, anglers were reporting abundant catches and encountering huge schools that allowed for hits on nearly every cast.
"The word is getting out, and it appears as if yellow bass are going to create a lot of excitement around Clear Lake again this year," said DNR district fisheries biologist, Jim Wahl. "I think anglers are going to enjoy some very excellent [yellow bass] fishing this season. I don't think, however, that we'll be able to match the 2003 harvest which was the best on record. A lake just can't set a new record every season."
Yellow bass are rapidly approaching the peak of this year's spawn, says Wahl. Huge schools of males are currently stacking up along the shallow, rocky shorelines of preferred habitats such as Dodge's Point, the Island, and the Outing Club.
During the spawn, yellow bass may become extremely finicky and are quite selective in what they'll hit. For best success, anglers need to think light, and think small. When combined with small diameter line, ultra-lite jig heads [1/32 or 1/64 ounce] will usually bring the fastest action.
Once the spawn is complete -- which will be around the end of May -- the vast schools of yellows will fan out to forage over areas of sand or muck. They'll be extremely interested in feeding, and that's when the fast action should really begin.
"Last year, our yellow bass harvest remained very consistent over an extended period of time," said Wahl. "We currently have two or three, adult year classes of fish that are very strong. Hopefully we'll see that kind of angling success again this summer."
When it comes to yellow bass, biologists urge anglers to forget catch and release and to concentrate on "catch to eat".
"This is definitely one fish species that people do not have to feel bad about taking home. Yellow bass have tendencies to overpopulate, and we want anglers to harvest as many adults as possible," said Wahl. "Yellow bass are prolific and short lived. One way or the other, the adult fish are going to disappear, and they might as well be utilized. There's no such thing as keeping too many."
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by Lowell Washburn
CLEAR LAKE--The fishin's been pretty good at Clear Lake. So far this spring, anglers have creeled some nice walleyes, a few jumbo-sized channel catfish, and the pre-spawn crappies are just now beginning to venture into north shore canals.
Oddly enough, it seems that no one is talking about those things. Instead, most of the lake's bait shop fish talk is currently focused on another species -- the yellow bass. How many yellows did you catch yesterday? Were they on the rocks? How deep? What were they hitting on?
For the past three or four seasons the fast hitting, hard fighting, good eating yellow bass has reigned as undisputed king of Clear Lake's angling scene. The lake enjoyed a record harvest last year when anglers removed more than 230,000 adult yellows from the population. The fast action continued into the winter, eventually providing a through the ice harvest that was the best in recent decades. Biologists say the bite isn't over yet, and that the notoriously scrappy fighters are gearing up for another round.
This season's yellow bass fishing began to heat up during the last days of April. By the first week of May, anglers were reporting abundant catches and encountering huge schools that allowed for hits on nearly every cast.
"The word is getting out, and it appears as if yellow bass are going to create a lot of excitement around Clear Lake again this year," said DNR district fisheries biologist, Jim Wahl. "I think anglers are going to enjoy some very excellent [yellow bass] fishing this season. I don't think, however, that we'll be able to match the 2003 harvest which was the best on record. A lake just can't set a new record every season."
Yellow bass are rapidly approaching the peak of this year's spawn, says Wahl. Huge schools of males are currently stacking up along the shallow, rocky shorelines of preferred habitats such as Dodge's Point, the Island, and the Outing Club.
During the spawn, yellow bass may become extremely finicky and are quite selective in what they'll hit. For best success, anglers need to think light, and think small. When combined with small diameter line, ultra-lite jig heads [1/32 or 1/64 ounce] will usually bring the fastest action.
Once the spawn is complete -- which will be around the end of May -- the vast schools of yellows will fan out to forage over areas of sand or muck. They'll be extremely interested in feeding, and that's when the fast action should really begin.
"Last year, our yellow bass harvest remained very consistent over an extended period of time," said Wahl. "We currently have two or three, adult year classes of fish that are very strong. Hopefully we'll see that kind of angling success again this summer."
When it comes to yellow bass, biologists urge anglers to forget catch and release and to concentrate on "catch to eat".
"This is definitely one fish species that people do not have to feel bad about taking home. Yellow bass have tendencies to overpopulate, and we want anglers to harvest as many adults as possible," said Wahl. "Yellow bass are prolific and short lived. One way or the other, the adult fish are going to disappear, and they might as well be utilized. There's no such thing as keeping too many."
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