Lake County has everything for the tourist, beginning with Clear Lake, the oldest lake in North America. The bass fishing is rated as the best in the world and the surrounding scenery and wildlife have to be seen to be believed.
All this came into play this past week when WON BASS held its Clear Lake Open over a three-day period. The bass tournament drew anglers from throughout the nation and they couldn’t believe how good the fishing was here. The tournament was a pro/am event and drew 214 boats (428 anglers), making it the largest bass tournament to be held on the lake this year. What was amazing is that all but a couple of teams caught limits all three days. That means there were 3,195 bass caught, which has to be a record for the lake. All the fish were released off Library Park in Lakeport.
The WON BASS staff did an excellent job running the tournament. The weigh-in went fast, results were posted quickly, and fish were released back into the lake with almost no delay. Of the more than 3,000 bass caught there were only 11 dead fish brought to the weigh scales. One team had five dead fish Friday and the fisherman told me he was fishing near a dock in Clearlake Oaks. He had five fish in his livewell, his pump was going and recirculating the water. All of a sudden the fish starting dying. He did notice the dock owner was cleaning the structure with some type of chemical. That is not uncommon. I have been out on the lake numerous times and observed dock owners cleaning their docks with various types of soap. Apparently the fisherman unknowingly pumped the contaminated water into his livewell.
The tournament also showed just how important visiting anglers are to the local economy. The average visiting fisherman spends around $200 a day in the county, which includes motels, gas, food and fishing tackle. Taking into consideration that just about all the fishermen were from out of county and they spent two days prefishing and three days in the tournament, that adds up five days in the county. Multiply that by $200 and it adds up to a tidy sum spent on the local economy.
There are a number of ways the county can attract more tournament fishermen. Years ago there was a concentrated effort to attract tournaments and the fishermen. The fishermen were given a stub identifying them as being in the tournament. Many of the local restaurants would give the fishermen 10 percent off their meals. Motels gave them discounts on rooms and in some cases spouses of the fishermen were treated to wine tours. This was done to encourage the fishermen to bring their wives/girlfriends/significant others. At one time there was a banner placed across Main Street in Lakeport that read, “Welcome fishermen.” The fishermen loved the banner, which was unfortunately destroyed and hasn’t been replaced.
For many of the fishermen, this was their first visit to the county. A guided tour of Mount Konocti would be a great side trip for the fishermen and their families. The Clear Lake State Park has been rated as the best state park west of the Mississippi River. The county has a series of parks that are popular among visitors.
The Lake County Chamber of Commerce does an excellent job promoting the lake and county, but it has limited staff. It’s really up to local businesses to do more to promote the county and make visitors and fishermen feel more welcome. In the end, it benefits everyone’s bottom line.
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April 21, 2021 at 04:00AM
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County could do more to attract fishermen - Lake County Record-Bee
"fisherman" - Google News
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