Outdoor Features, Fishing Tips and News

Spend more quality time with family and friends!

Tips for the Month of: October & November 2007

Page down past the NEWS section for more general fishing tips to help you catch fish at our lakes.

Lake Camanche :   

• Ask questions at the marina.
• Less recreational boat activities, like jet skiing, means more room for fisherman as the warmer days disappear.
• Bluegill will be found all over the lake near brush piles and cover.  Fish a little deeper for larger bluegill.
• Trout plants begin and they should begin to come more towards the surface, especially as we get into November.
• Stinky baits can still scare up catfish in coves. Be patient.
• Bass and sunfish action will start to fade but may still be found in areas with good cover and in the mornings or evenings.
• Check with the marina staff for knowledgeable advice.

Call our Fishing Hotline 925/248-3474, click over to our Current Fishing Conditions page for the weekly fishing update, or sign up to get the fishing report emailed to you weekly. It really contains good information about what's biting and how to catch it.

Lake Chabot   

• Fish early in the morning these months to take advantage of the increasingly good trout fishing. Regular trout plants should help to boost the action.
• Catfish can still be found behind the Island, as well as in coves. Use mackerel or anchovies for best results.
• Dough baits are the best bet for trout fisherman. Experiment with colors like chartreuse and white.
• Broken back Rapalas in greenish colors are great for trollers. Use sizes that can take you between 15-25 feet.
• Take advantage of limited crowds and boat specials during the week.

San Pablo Reservoir   

• Trout fishing should be picking up. Keep in mind that San Pablo Reservoir closes for the winter in mid-November so take advantage of the increasingly hot trout fishing while you can!
• Bait fisherman should use a nightcrawler and marshmallow combination for best results. Attractants work well with these kinds of baits and come in a variety of effective scents.
• Overcast days allow the trout to come closer to the surface. Trollers should adjust accordingly.
• Plants begin during these months and will continue throughout the winter. 
• Catfish, bass, and sunfish will be difficult to find. The ambitious angler will find sticking to coves with significant cover will work best.
• NOTE: San Pablo is closed for the 2007 season beginning 11/1/07 and will reopen for 2008 mid-February 2008.

Los Vaqueros Reservoir

• Trout fishing stays solid even throughout the summer months, but look for it to really pick up as the weather cools down and cloud cover obscures the sun.
• Chartreuse dough baits or night crawlers are far and away the best for bait fisherman. Oak Point, the Rock Wall, and the South Cove are consistently the best places for trout action.
• Trollers will find action in Peninsula Cove, as well as along the eastern shore line. A variety of lures will be effective.
• Don't count out the striper bite as it regularly surprises anglers at different times throughout the year. The sunken Oak Trees is the best place to try but watch for hazards!

General Tips To Help You Catch Fish at Our Lakes

It is a little known fact that 10% of the fisherman catch 90% of the fish. Become part of the 10% by:

Asking Questions - Ask employees at the lake. Don't be afraid to ask several different employees; they all get different information from personal experience and the fishermen. Ask other fisherman where they have had luck and what they have been using for bait, trolling depths, etc. Ask other bait shops.

Gather Information - Little things make a big difference. The size of the lure, size of the line, time of day, etc. Some lures work on sunny days, others are better on cloudy days.

Keep notes - on what worked and what didn't.

If - successful stick with it, if unsuccessful experiment. For example, change lures, move spots, change depths, change bait.

Read - Pick up books and articles on the specific lake you are fishing.

Observe - If you see someone doing well - What are they doing? How deep are they fishing? What kind of bait do they have?

The more you fish a specific body of water the better you will do, however you must adjust to water and weather conditions, put in the time and experiment.

Practice catch and release. Keep only what you plant to eat. Fresh fish is much better than frozen.

BE LUCKY!

Enjoy and Relax!

General Fishing Information For UPC Lakes. . .

Lake Camanche is known for it's bass fishing. Camanche’s bass population includes; Smallmouth, Alabama Spotted and both Northern and Florida-strain Largemouth bass. Once these bass have completed spawning, a fierce feeding mode occurs. The largemouth strains are particularly aggressive in taking top water lures such as "Rattling Rouges" and other stick baits. During mid-day hours, bass may move into deeper water but are still easy to catch on deep diving crankbaits; the "Poe’s Super Cedars", in shad or sunfish colors work best. Another successful technique is to throw a 4 to 6 inch plastic worm, in smoke or green colors, in deep water around drop-offs and breaks. Other species to be found in Lake Camanche include; crappie, bluegill and sunfish.
     The Camanche Recreation Company, park concessionaire, has planted a minimum of 10,000 Florida-strain bass every summer since 1992. All of these bass plants are now starting to pay off. A 12.89 pound largemouth was landed last August. Larger, lake-record-breaking bass are expected to start showing soon as the Florida-strain bass, planted in the early nineties, begin reaching adulthood.
     Camanche has also gained a reputation as a great trout fishery since regular trout plants began in 1989. Trout are planted October-May in the lake as well as in the south shore trout pond. This stocked trout pond is an ideal place to take children fishing. Kokanee were planted in Camanche in 1994 and 1995 and fish up to 17 inches are just now starting to be caught on a regular basis.
     A daily fishing access pass is required, in addition to a state fishing license, to fish in either the main lake or the trout pond. All of the fishing access funds are used to purchase fish for stocking the lake and pond.

Lake Chabot trolling in the Spring is one of the most productive ways to catch trout. There are many different methods and different lures for trolling. One of the most basic, but still very productive ways, is to troll a nightcrawler behind a set of flashers. Use a ball bearing swivel above you flashers and 18 to 20 inches of leader between your flashers and your nightcrawler.      Another productive trout trolling method is to use a rainbow trout patterned lure such as a Rapala. Let your lure out about 75 feet with no weight on the line. If you get a hit, be sure to double back over that spot for a second shot at what could be a school of trout. Top trout trolling sports at Chabot are Half Moon Day, Bass Cove, The Dam, Coot Landing and Alder Point.
      Bait fishing is also a popular method for catching trout at Chabot. Use a sliding-sinker-rig with a small treble hook for Power Bait or for nightcrawlers use a size 6 or size 8 snelled hook. This same rig works well for catfish with a much larger hook, try a size 1 or size 2, and chicken liver, anchovies or mackerel. Honker Bay and around the Island are great spots to try for catfish during the summer months.

San Pablo has an aggressive stocking program averaging 3,600 pounds of trout each week including trophy trout from 2 to 6 pounds as well as catfish plants during the summer. This reservoir also has an excellent population of largemouth bass with limited fishing pressure because of it’s reputation as a trout fishery.
      Trolling is a popular method here among trout anglers who often use a downrigger or lead-core line to get to the cooler water later in the spring and summer. The area in front of the dam or across the mouth of Scow Canyon (the lakes largest finger) are the top trolling spots. Trollers find success with a variety of lures including Needlefish, Rapalas, Rainbow Runners, Kastmasters and Sep’s Pro Secrets. Bait fishing is also productive here. Berkley Power Bait and nightcrawlers top the list of best trout baits at San Pablo. A good bet for Bass are spinner baits or plastic worms fished in and around rocky points and grassy coves.

Los Vaqueros Reservoir has just opened for fishing this fall.  For the past two years approximately 110,000 pounds of fish has been planted in the watershed.  Game fish species include: Kokanee Salmon, Rainbow Trout, Largemouth Black Bass, Redear Sunfish, Bluegill Sunfish, Green Sunfish, Sacramento Perch, Striped Bass, Channel Catfish and Bullhead.    

NEWS