The factors that give you a chance to catch trout at Bay Area lakes are lining up like magic stars in the cosmos.
"Absolutely, everything is setting up for spring," said Pete Alexander, the biologist who runs the fisheries program for the East Bay Regional Parks District.
Trout plants are the highest of the year. In the next two weeks, the state Department of Fish and Game, park districts, water agencies and concessionaires will stock rainbow trout in 17 lakes in seven counties in the Bay Area and Santa Cruz County.
Del Valle Reservoir near Livermore, Shadow Cliffs in Pleasanton, and Horseshoe Lake at Quarry Lakes Recreation Area in Fremont will be stocked three times in a 10-day span, according to DFG, water agencies and lake managers.
Shadow Cliffs, the water hole from a former quarry, will get a rare bonus plant from a special program DFG runs out of Sacramento called "Fishing in the City." Another bonus at Shadow Cliffs is that it retains good clarity even in rainy weather, unlike so many lakes, because no foothill streams feed it.
Since it opened three weeks ago, San Pablo has provided good catches for bait-dunkers, by boat and shore, and is now more than 90 percent full, the highest in five years, reported lake manager Marcia Garrett (yet trolling has been poor due to limited clarity).
At Chabot, the marina has verified more than 70 trophy-size trout caught and weighed in since the seasonal planting program started in early winter. In the past few months, more than 15,000 pounds of fish have been stocked at Chabot.
At Del Valle, the catch rates have been excellent, but Alexander noted that recent rain muddied up the head of the lake.
"A lot of fish pushed down to the dam because of all the runoff (at the head of the lake), really good fishing at the dam," Alexander said.
2 key factors
During the winter-to-spring transition, the biggest factors for lake fishing are water temperature and clarity, yet reports rarely provide these keys to fishing success.
At Del Valle, Alexander reported two weeks ago that the water temperature was as low as 47 degrees with murky clarity in most of the lake. At San Pablo, the water temperature was 49 degrees, and at Los Vaqueros 50.
As spring slowly takes over the Bay Area foothills, those numbers are coming up. Los Vaqueros, although about half empty for the new dam project starting next week, hit 55 degrees this week, a typical report from the lakes in the East Bay hills, reported Sean Senti at Los Vaqueros, who has fished and worked all the lakes in the area.
That is the start of the happy zone for rainbow trout. The next two months, from now through mid-May, clarity will improve and stocks will be at a peak at lakes across the region.
Rigging: When water is cold and clarity is fair, use bait, not lures. The best set-up is a two-hook rig, with a night crawler on the bottom hook and a Power Bait Nugget on the top hook. Use as little weight as possible so the fish will not detect anything when it picks up the bait.
Updates, reports: Look for dated reports that include water temperature, clarity, lake levels, weather and three-day trends with catch numbers.
Contacts: Trout plants, Department of Fish and Game, (707) 944-5581 (recording), dfg.ca.gov/fishing; East Bay Regional Park District, ebparks.org/activities; NorCal Fishing, (925) 248-3474 (San Pablo report not current), norcalfishing.com; norcalfishingnews.com; fishsniffer.com/content; Western Outdoor News, wonews.com.
Trout plants
Alameda County: This week - Lake Chabot near Castro Valley, Horseshoe Lake at Quarry Lakes rec area in Fremont, Lake Del Valle near Livermore, Shadow Cliffs Reservoir in Pleasanton, Lake Temescal in the Oakland hills. Next week - Don Castro in the Hayward hills, Chabot, Del Valle, Horseshoe, Shadow Cliffs, Temescal.
Contra Costa County: This week - Lafayette Reservoir; Los Vaqueros Reservoir near Livermore; San Pablo Reservoir in El Sobrante. Next week - Lafayette.
Marin County: This week - none. Next week - Bon Tempe Lake near Fairfax.
San Francisco: This week - Lake Merced North.
Santa Clara County: This week - Campbell Perc Pond at Los Gatos Creek County Park; Lake Cunningham in San Jose; Parkway Lake in Coyote; Sandy Wool Lake at Ed Levin Park in Milpitas foothills. Next week - Campbell Perc Pond.
Santa Cruz County: This week - none. Next week: Pinto Lake near Watsonville.
Sonoma County: This week - Ralphine Lake near Santa Rosa.
Sources: California Department of Fish and Game, East Bay Regional Park District, The California Parks Company, Contra Costa Water District, East Bay Municipal Utility District.
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