Los Vaqueros
(Byron). The water level at Los Vaqueros is currently at 90,500 acre-feet – 58 percent of capacity — and is rising. The water temperature is at 63-64 degrees.
The water clarity is good. A fair number of trout and stripers continue to be caught both from shore and from boats.
The month-long trout derby concluded on Saturday, April 30. Here are the leaders at press time:
– 12.19 lbs Pat Parra of Campbell, South Cove with a Kastmaster
– 10.61 lbs Dave Togmi of San Jose, South Cove on a crappie jig
– 9.55 lbs Viet Phan of San Jose, Cowboy Cove with PowerBait
“There was a 1000 lb Mt. Lassen plant on April 25 and there will be a plant next week,” said Brian Demmunik of the Los Vaqueros Marina.
“Fishing for trout continues to be good with all the trout plants. The fish are being caught in South Cove, Oak Point and Peninsula Cove. The baits of choice for shore anglers are garlic-scented PowerBaits, nightcrawlers or Kastmasters,” he said.
“Shakers continue to be the main action with striped bass. We are still seeing many undersized fish being caught for every keeper. From shore, cut anchovies or shad is the bait of choice,” he added.
San Pablo
(El Sobrante) It’s been a spring festival of big, bold rainbow trout at San Pablo Reservoir.
“This week it looks like Scow Canyon, The Main Rec. Area, Oak Point, and the Pines are where people are catching fish,” said Marcellla Shoemaker at the Rocky Mountain Recreation Company. “PowerBait in chartreuse, Spring Green, Garlic, Lime Twist colors is your best bet.”
Crappie have also started to bite at the Main Rec. Area; use Mini-Jigs and other small jigs to entice them.
Sammy, Jojo and Connor of Concord caught 13 trout while using PowerBait. Andy Humprey and Steve Mason bagged 7 trout using PowerBait in Scow Canyon. Steve Izo of Danville caught 3 trout, the largest weighing 5 lbs, while using Mice Tails at the Pines.
Brian Yee of Alameda nailed 5 rainbows while soaking rainbow PowerBait at Oak Point. Finally, Trent caught 2 trout in Scow Canyon.
The lake level is 204.6 in elevation and the surface temperature is 67 degrees. The latest plant of 1200 pounds of rainbows went in the week of April 25.
Lafayette
(Lafayette) Lafayette Reservoir has had 18 plants for the season totalling 18,350 lbs. of rainbow trout to date. The last plant of the season went in the lake on April 27.
“Trout fishing seems to be picking up gradually with a couple lucky anglers reeling in some nice catches,” said Richard Lovato of the Lafayette Recreation Area. “The East Cove seems to be the new hot spot for fishing on a boat or from the dock. Bass have been reported to be susceptible to biting in weather that’s rainy or windy. The waters are still a little murky, but seem to be steadily clearing with time.”
Trevor Krug of San Leandro landed a 2 lb bass using night crawlers and a 4.31 lb catfish while using a crankbait in the East Cove.
Dennis L. Cannon of Bethel Island landed a 7 lb trout while using chartreuse PowerBait in the East Cove. One angler caught 3 trout up to 7 lbs in the East Cove while using a Rapala F-5 Firetiger lure.
Chabot
(Castro Valley) Fishing remains slow for rainbow trout and largemouth bass at Lake Chabot. The good news is that the lake level has risen dramatically from the winter and spring rains and is now 87 percent of capacity.
“The top places to fish for trout are Raccoon Point or Honker Bay,” said David Smith of the Lake Chabot Fishing Outfitters. “Anglers are doing best with PowerBait, Mice Tails, Power Eggs and nightcrawlers.”
Big trout honors go to Mike Schmitz of Alameda, who landed a 5 lb. rainbow while fishing near the Burner.
Big bass honors go to Jeff Leung of San Leandro, who landed a 4.2 lb. largemouth while fishing off the first dock. “He caught the bass on mackerel,” said Smith. “That’s the first I’ve heard of a bass being hooked on mackerel here.”
Shadow Cliffs
(Pleasanton) Trophy-sized largemouth bass lurk in the waters of Shadow Cliffs Lake, and spring is the best time to target them, as evidenced by recent catches.
Grant Olguin landed a 12 lb. largemouth bass while throwing swimbaits from his boat. “He caught and released the fish to help us sustain the population of bass in the lake,” reported Joe Sullivan of the East Bay Regional Park District.
That wasn’t the only huge bass landed lately. Lloyd Price also caught and released a 12 lb. bass by fishing a Senko off the 2nd dock.
“John Patterson caught and released eleven bass while float tubing in the arroyo pond. He caught the bass on Senkos,” said Sullivan.
“Lots of trout have been caught lately,” said Sullivan. “Anglers are having success on Rapalas, garlic Power Bait, Senkos, and Power Eggs.”
Darrell Debo of Livermore caught a 12.2 lb trout on a broken-back Rapala from a float tube in the main lake.
The park district stocked 100 pounds of rainbows in the lake the week of May 2.
Catfish are being caught on chicken livers over by the boat marina and in the shallows. Henry Jean, a local angler, landed three catfish while soaking chicken livers left of the boat marina.
Del Valle
(Livermore) Striped bass are probably your best bet to try and target at Del Valle at this time.
“Anglers are catching most of the stripers in either Swallow Bay or Heron Bay,” reported Ted Rowland of the Rocky Mountain Recreation Company. “The top baits are anchovies or sardines or jerk baits like sized Jerk Baits like Lucky Kraft and Yo-Zuri lures.”
Tom Camps and Steve Thomas of San Jose caught 4 striped bass while using anchovies in the narrows. “Their largest was 7.2 lbs. and their stringer weighed 16.5 lbs.,” said Rowland.
“Catfish are starting to show themselves with many reporting catches,” said Rowland. “Use chicken livers, anchovies or sardines around big fallen trees or in deep coves.”
Kenny Khu of Livermore landed three catfish weighing a total of 23.7 pounds, with his largest weighing 11.4 lbs., while using anchovies near the Dam.
For black bass, target fallen trees, weed beds or the tule patches. Rowland recommended throwing either a weedless Senko or artificial crawdad on a 1/2 to a 1 oz football jighead. Anglers are also catching them on shallow to mid running crankbaits.
“The trout have really slowed down due to the warm water,” he noted. “If you target trout, fish at depths of about 15 to 20 feet with either garlic Power Bait or nightcrawlers.”
The water temperature is 69 degrees, the water is clear and the lake is full.
Quarry Lakes
(Fremont) Rainbow trout and smallmouth bass offer the top angling options at Horseshoe Lake, located in the Quarry Lakes Recreation Area.
The park district and the CDFW each planted 1,000 pounds of rainbow trout the week of April 18. Currently the boat ramp and fishing pier are both open and the water is on the rise, reported Joe Sullivan of the East Bay Regional Park District.
“There have been positive tests for blue-green algae in and around the swimming area,” noted Doucette. “The swim area is currently closed and park visitors should be watchful of their dogs, taking care that they do not contact the water.”
No big fish have been weighed in over the past couple of weeks. Anglers should use PowerBait, nightcrawlers, spoons and spinners for the trout and Senkos, plastic worms and jigs for the bass.