Fishing Report – Los Vaqueros Reservoir – 7/5/2011

General Conditions

The very hot weather has certainly slowed the fishing down although anglers fishing with bait continue to score nice numbers of striped bass! Most of the bass caught range in size from 5lbs to 15lbs. Most of these fish are being caught on anchovies or shad. Trolling for stripers has slowed but a few anglers continue to catch fish on rattletraps and other minnow like lures. Two boats scored limits Sunday trolling at 15 feet to 90 feet of water. Best shore spots for stripers include the mouth of the south cove, oak point and the point between the 2 piers. Anglers fishing with bait from boats are catching stripers in sunken oak and peninsula coves.

Water conditions for fishing are still good. The water temperature came way up with the hot weather. The water temperature is between 70 and 73 degrees at the 5 foot depth. The water temperature around 40 feet is 68 degrees.

Our water level is currently at 49%. The reservoir has been drawn down to for the Dam expansion work that started in March. Except for evaporation this is the level the reservoir will stay at for the next 4 months. The South entrance to the watershed remains open for fishing and other recreational activities.

We do anticipate some shoreline closures to begin around the 11th of July. Construction of the new marina facilities are scheduled to begin in early July. These closures will restrict anglers from much of the shoreline north of the marina.

Boat Rentals will continue open through August.

Trout

Trout fishing continues to be rated slow to fair but we continue to see a few nice trout caught. The hot weather has not helped the bite. No trout have been planted in over a month so the fish caught are all hold over fish. The warming water has caused the trout to go deeper. Fish the drop offs for best success. Trout are in great shape and averaging between 2 and 3lbs. All these fish have beautiful color and full tails. Nightcrawlers or powerbait take most of the trout. Trolling for trout continues slow and bait fishing for trout is by far your best bet. Trout are receiving pretty light pressure as most anglers are going after striped bass.

Largemouth Bass

There are not many anglers fishing for largemouth bass. We see a few caught here and there but nothing very spectacular. Senko’s are your best bet. Nightcrawlers are also a good choice. Try fishing any trees or structure you can locate. With the warmer water conditions bass fishing should improve. The backs of coves have produced some nice fish. Please practice catch and release as bass are a limited resource.

Stripers

Fishing for stripers is best early or late in the day. The heat is making the time of day you fish much more important. Between Monday and Sunday we gave away 60 whopper mugs. Many fish under 8lbs were also weighed in. Many anglers chose to release their fish. In addition hundreds of shakers are caught and released each week. Top striper for this period went 15lbs. Anglers fishing from shore with anchovies take the majority of the stripers.

Salmon

We did not have any report of salmon caught this week.

Catfish

We had catfish of 25.2lbs, 18.3lbs, 25.7lbs, 18.1lbs and 14.5lbs weighed in during the week. Most of these fish were caught on anchovies. Chicken livers, shad and nightcrawlers will all catch big catfish.