Clear Lake’s Current Status As Locals’ Only Isn’t Being Honored

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect Americans anywhere, some states are beginning to open up, though most of California continues to be very cautious.

That includes in a rural setting like Clear Lake, a popular fishing and boating destination for out-of-town visitors. Last week local officials announced that the lake was reopening for boat launches, but stipulating that only local residents were allowed. So far, some visitors haven’t apparently gotten the memo, as the Lake County Record-Bee reports. Here’s more:

Clear Lake, one of the top bass fishing lakes in the country, was reopened Saturday following a seven-week closure meant to help stem the spread of coronavirus. The lake had been partially reopened on April 23, allowing locals to fish from shore and non-motorized vessels to launch by hand, but ramps and motorized boat use had remained off-limits until the weekend.

Quagga mussel inspectors checked vessels at boat ramps around the lake to ensure the invasive species did not enter the water. Monitors at these ramps logged incoming boats’ points of origin as they issued validation stickers to those that passed inspection—a prerequisite for launch.

Over the course of Saturday and Sunday, Lake County Water Resources Director Scott De Leon said, these monitors counted 252 “resident boaters” and 36 “non-residents.”