Warming up the maternity ward

Sunny weather should trigger spawn for Stren event on Clear Lake

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – It’s a matter of “when” and “if” for competitors in the Stren Series Western Division event on northern California’s Clear Lake. When the plump females make their move to the shallows, the opportunity to anchor a heavy bag will greet anyone in the right place at the right time.

That progression was under way the weekend before the tournament, but Monday saw a sharp cold snap dip into the area, lower water temperatures and send most of the females back to the comfort of deeper water. Millions of fry huddling along creek banks indicates at least some spawning has already occurred, but more is likely to come.

Prior to Monday’s chill, big fish had been moving shallow. A couple of frigid nights pushed the fish back, and now they’re waiting for sufficient warmth to signal a safe return.

Fortunately, day one dawned with clear skies, light breezes and the promise of stable weather through Friday (Forecasts call for another cold spell on Saturday). Boater Zach Thompson of Orinda, Calif., said that taking advantage of the spawning action ignited by favorable weather will be intrinsic to success.

“With this weather warming up and these fish moving up on the beds, today is really going to be key for hitting those fish as they move up shallow,” he said. “We’re going to throw some reaction baits this morning to try and catch a big fish and then spend the rest of the day grinding it out and trying to figure out how to catch a limit.

“It’s really important on these three-day tournaments (full field competes three days with only the top 10 advancing to the fourth day) to come in the first day with a good bag. Hopefully, we’ll put any big fish that bite in the boat and not have that `lost a big one’ story at the end of the day.”

Co-angler Roy Desmangles Jr. of Lincoln, Calif., said that going big may require going small: “When it gets cold up here, I think you need to scale down your baits. Some people may think, `You can’t come to Clear Lake and throw something small,” but I think that’s going to be (an effective strategy) this week.”

The lake’s shallower north end will warm the fastest, so most boats made the long run first thing in hopes of finding an early bite. Feeder creeks such as Adobe and Kelsey may turn out to be the gold mines if a couple of sunny days prompt a wave of fish to move into spawning mode.

Docks in the Lakeport Lagoon area will offer plenty of targets. This area will be particularly good for co-anglers, as the narrow canals make it easy to hit opposing banks from the back of the boat. Vast stands of tules will also attract spawning fish, while rocks and docks will offer productive targets in the deeper south end.

Logistics

The Stren Series event, which runs April 16-19, is the third of four regular-season Western Division events. Hosted by Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa, the Clear Lake tournament offers a total purse of $275,225. The winning pro could earn as much as $65,000 in cash and prizes if contingencies are met, and the winning co-angler could earn as much as $35,000.

Anglers will take off from the Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa marina, located at 8727 Soda Bay Road, at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Weigh-ins also will be held at the marina beginning at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 15960 Dam Road in Clearlake, Calif., beginning at 4 p.m.

The full field will compete Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and the top 10 pros and 10 co-anglers advance to Saturday’s final round. Winners will be determined Saturday by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days of competition.

Wednesday’s conditions

Sunrise: 6:33 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 42

Expected high temperature: 72

Water temperature: 60

Wind: NNE at 10 mph