Get ready for the Clear Lake Fishing Tournament in California

Clear Lake, California fishing is so good that it plays host to a pro am largemouth bass tournament as well as a catfish tournament. Sharpen your hooks, start your engines and compete for prize money.

Spring arrives in a short few weeks which means pro-am anglers will be thinking about the Clear Lake Fishing Tournament 2018. The Clear Lake fishing tournament is part of the California tournament trail. Doug McKa, no stranger to California fishing, won the Clear Lake Fishing Tournament in 2017 with 45.72 pounds of landed bass. It's safe to say he likes Clear Lake fishing very much.

The entrance to Clear Lake is through the state park just over 3 miles northeast of Kelseyville. It's a place which offers a marina and ramp but also camping, RV hook ups, and activities for the non-fisherman in your group. In 2016, Clear Lake landed on the America’s Fishing Top 100 Family- FishingFriendly Fishing and Boating Spots for good reasons.

Clear Lake is the state's largest, natural freshwater lake known for producing not just lots of bass but big ones, too. The current lake record largemouth is a whopping 17.52 pounds. The Costa FLW Series Clear Lake Fishing Tournament 2018 will be held from May 10-12. In addition, the Clear Lake fishing tournament is endorsed by professional bass fishing organizations such as U.S. Bass, Cal Bass, and Western Bass. In fact, they've designated Clear Lake as the nation's number one bass fishing lake. Other pro anglers simply call Clear Lake the bass capital of the West.

California fishing is good and it runs year 'round. If you want a change from catching trophy largemouth bass (who knows, you might!), then know that there are also lots of other fish to catch. Clear Lake holds great numbers of catfish, blackfish, Sacramento perch, crappie and bluegill. If your competitive juices are flowing after the bass tournament then stay for an extra week. The Clear Lake catfish tournament runs from May 18-20 and hosts more than 1,000 anglers who compete for a $4,000 first place prize. The Clear Lake catfish tournament is now in its 35th year and offers the best catfish fishing west of Mississippi.

Spring is about here, so get ready for tournament season. Or just tune up your boat and fish with your family. The choice is yours and it's a good one. Check out the places to go fishing and boating near you!

Tom Keer

Tom Keer is an award-winning writer who lives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He is a columnist for the Upland Almanac, a Contributing Writer for Covey Rise magazine, a Contributing Editor for both Fly Rod and Reel and Fly Fish America, and a blogger for the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation’s Take Me Fishing program. Keer writes regularly for over a dozen outdoor magazines on topics related to fishing, hunting, boating, and other outdoor pursuits. When they are not fishing, Keer and his family hunt upland birds over their three English setters. His first book, a Fly Fishers Guide to the New England Coast was released in January 2011. Visit him at www.tomkeer.com or at www.thekeergroup.com.