Here’s the latest fishing report from our friends at Los Vaqueros Reservoir…
General Conditions
We continued to see stripers and trout caught along with a few largemouth bass and catfish. Look for the action to improve once we get some warmer and settled weather.
Our water temperature is now 53 degrees.
Our hours have expanded. Our hours are now 7 A.M. to 6 P.M. effective. March 1. Boats are due in by 4:30 P.M.
We stocked 1200 lbs on Friday 3-11. These fish averaged about 1 and a half pounds with a few fish up to 8 lbs.
Our water level is currently at 52%. The reservoir is being drawn down to 50% for Dam expansion work. We should reach the 50% level sometime in late March. The South entrance to the watershed will remain open for fishing and other recreational activities.
The North entrance to the reservoir is now closed for the Dam expansion project. The South entrance and marina remain open.
Some trails are now closed for nesting Eagles. Please check with us on trail closures before heading out.
As the water level goes down we are left with some muddy shoreline. We recommend you wear some old shoes or boots. The Fishing Piers are open and have been a good spot to catch stripers. When the sun is out the shoreline dries surprisingly well although the last 2 feet of shoreline to the water can be soft and muddy in some places.
Boat rentals are half off Monday through Friday’s (non holidays). You can rent a 16 foot boat for up to 5 hours for only $25. Our Patio boats are available at $50 for half a day. This is a great way to fish or just tour the lake and look for birds and animals. Boats also provide an opportunity to cover more water and work some of the new islands, coves and points.
We have 2011 Fishing Licenses available. Remember that this year you must have a California Drivers License or other official documentation such as a California I.D. card. It takes about 5 minutes to process a license so we suggest you purchase your license before a fishing trip or plan on spending a little extra time getting one.
Trout
Trout fishing picked up after the fish plant on March 11. We saw about a dozen limits of trout on Friday but the fishing slowed over the weekend. Overall trout fishing continues up and down with some anglers doing well while others are struggling to catch one or two trout. We are seeing more and more hold over trout and hopefully we will continue to see more of these fish.
There is a need to mix things up right now. Try different color power baits; try worm/power bait combinations. Power worms can be effective. Move locations and try different depths. One angler took 2 nice trout drop shooting small plastic worms. Boaters might try drop shooting plastic minnows. Trollers need to change depths and locations until you find some fish. Try some runs about 20 feet from the shoreline. Broken back Rapala’s are always a good choice but keep mixing it up until you are successful.
Nightcrawlers are a very good choice this time of year. You can float them with a marshmallow, inflate them or fish them under a bobber.
The next trout plant is scheduled for Friday April 1.
Largemouth Bass
We had very few anglers going after bass. With the cold water conditions fishing your bait very slowly is an absolute must. Bass fishing should improve once the water starts to warm.
Stripers
Most of the striped bass are in the 6 to 10 pound range with one fish up to 23 lbs. The 2 fishing piers or the points near the piers as well as points past the rock wall provide the best action for bait fisherman. Anglers have good luck fishing points past the rock wall. Cut anchovies and shad are the best choices. Take advantage of a second rod stamp and get two baits in the water. You need to put in the time soaking bait. Lure fisherman are taking a few fish from all over the reservoir. Rattletraps, diving rapala’s, hair raisers and plastic swim baits in a rainbow pattern will all catch stripers. Fly fishing for stripers has slowed but will likely improve with warming water. We averaged between 2 and 6 stripers caught each day.
A few examples of stripers being caught last week:
- Ray Valentine 10.6 lb striper from the south cove on an anchovy
- Jules Milstead 14.4 lb striper from the rock wall area on an anchovy
- Dave Christenson 13.4 lb striper on an anchovy off the rock wall pier
- Anthony of Antioch took a 12.6 striper on a swim bait working in cowboy cove
- An angler who wished to remain anonymous took a 23 lb striper on a swim bait in the south cove
Salmon
We did not get reports of any Salmon this week although we did not have many anglers targeting them.
Catfish
We had 3 BIG catfish weighted in. Kevin Humphrey caught a 22.9 and 22.7 catfish fishing in the mouth of the south cove. Both of these big fish hit an anchovy. Marco Salgado caught a 15.3 lb catfish on shad fishing the south cove. Due to the cold water fishing for catfish remains slow but some monsters are available. We do have several areas where creeks are coming into the lake and muddying up the water. These would be a good place to try for catfish. Mackerel remains the favorite bait but a wide variety of baits will work.
Specials
Boat rentals are HALF OFF Monday – Friday, non holidays.
You can rent a 16-foot boat for up to 5 hours for only $25. Our patio boats are available at $50 for half a day. This is a great way to fish or just tour the reservoir.
Hours of Operation
7:00am – 6:00pm
Boats are due in by 4:30pm.
Starting March 1 we close a 6pm and boats are due in at 4:30pm.
