Lake Del Valle Fishing Report

A fishing report from Livermore’s Lake Del Valle:

 

Mike Schley with a 7.7-pound catfish. (LAKE DEL VALLE)
Mike Schley with a 7.7-pound catfish. (LAKE DEL VALLE)

 

Lake Del Valle Fishing Report September 12, 2014

For this week’s report we had a few catches and some fisherman have some luck than some don’t. Weather was nice with decent temperatures and but the bite isn’t steady. The water temperature is 75 degrees at the end dock and the clarity’s almost clear with a five foot visibility. Stripers are boiling in the afternoons around the Narrows area and in front of the reeds across from the Marina. They are still biting out at the Dam on Anchovies or using lures. Catfish are still biting on Anchovies or you can try stink bait, in the Narrows, South End, Heron Bay or the Dam area. Smallmouth bass bite is doing decent, Doc Al had nice numbers of them last week catching them on Panther Martins trolling in 20 feet deep water. You can also use lures or drop shotting may give you some luck too. As for Largemouth try the mornings with top waters but there is no specific areas. There was a catfish plant today (Sept. 12) of pounds and there was a Mt. Lassen trout plant out at the Dam on Sept. 11) of 1,000 pounds. Good luck to you all!

 

Doc Al’s Fishing Report September 4, 2014

 

Luke Voroschuck of Santa Cruz with a striper stringer totaling 9.6 pounds. (LAKE DEL VALLE)
Luke Voroschuck of Santa Cruz with a striper stringer totaling 9.6 pounds. (LAKE DEL VALLE)

Al Hurwitz of Saratoga and Abbey Lev of Sunnyvale are again having success catching Smallmouth Bass. They landed 23 fish today, while hooking up with 30 or more all told (seven fish didn’t stay pinned). In the mix of fish landed, there were 21 Smallmouths, the largest pair of these weighing 1.5-plus pounds. There was also a nice 2-pound largemouth bass caught, along with a 17.5-inch striped bass. All fish were released. Once more the best lures for us were Panther Martins trolled at 2.0 to 2.5 mph, catching most fish 20-25 feet below the surface in a 35- to 40-foot water column. Scent on the lures helps the bite. The water remains quite clear. Surface temperature was 76 to 78 degrees. Fish were caught all over the lake. The aggressiveness of the smallmouth bite is very evident. I suspect that other hard baits and soft baits will also work, provided they are at the right depth, relate to under water structure and surface points, and “match the hatch” (threadfin shad). For those wanting a lot of fun with this “catch-and-release” approach to some great fresh water fishing, go after the “smallies”.-Dr. Al Hurwitz