Lake Del Valle Fishing Report

Del Valle Lake - Livermore, CA (Alameda County)


by Del Valle Marina
9-11-2015
(510) 544-3146
Website

This week it was hot! High 90’s in to the 100’s our hottest day was Thursday at 109 degrees. Striped Bass are still boiling in the morning then its isolated boils in to the afternoon and evening. I wouldn’t leave the narrows if you don’t have to, all the striped bass action is happening in the lower set of narrows. The last few days the Catfish have been almost impossible to find let alone catch. In my opinion its just too hot, even for the catfish to want to come out and play. Before the heat spell we were seeing lots of Catd from Kenny Khu and Ricky Garcia. We saw a Crappie this week of descent size about 2 pounds. Its been a while since we saw Crappie so they must be active. Smallmouth Bass and Largemouth Bass have started easting shad on a regular pattern. Top water baits, Jerk baits, Rattle traps, and Frogs have been producing nice tournament worthy bass. My friend Dr. Al came back and did some small mouth fishing of his own. Here is his report.’’

Al Hurwitz of Saratoga and Abbey Lev of Saratoga hooked up with eight Smallmouth Bass on 9/3/2015 while trolling the lake. The fish were somewhat deeper and slightly more scattered, stationing themselves about 20 feet below the surface in 30-40 foot water columns. The water level is down about 3 feet from recent weeks in 30 – 40 foot water columns. The water level is down about 3 feet from recent weeks, is very clear in the upper northern half of the lake, and runs 75 – 76 degrees at the surface. While some fishermen were drop shotting and catching Smallies, we were trolling with Panther Martin and Joe’s Flies feathered spinners. Applying Shad and Anchovies scents to the lures seemed to help. The Smallmouths are now gradually increasing in size, with a few of ours in the 1.5 – 1.75 lb range. Two of the eight fish broke off, including one large one, probably 2-3 lbs, judging from the bend it put in the rod and the line it was stripping from the reel. They are very strong fish, and I highly recommend that you go after them, practicing catch and release. Top water lures in early cooler morning hours , subsurface lures in the mid-late AM, and deeper lures or drop shooting off the bottom mid-day and later is the way to go. The Smallmouths are feeding very aggressively on Shad right now. Because of the lower lake level and warmer water temperatures, you will need to go further off shore than you may be accustomed. Try all areas of the lake for them, particularly points, rocky subsurface structure, and grassy areas. Thanks again to all the staff for maintaining the marina and boats in such great shape, and for their upbeat and cheerful assistance. All the best, Dr. al Hurwitz’’

Ok Ya’’ll good luck now go out there and rip some lips! Thank you to all of our Active duty Military and war Veterans without your sacrifice we would not be able to do this!

We will always remember!




More Reports

9-4-2015
A nice cool down the last couple days has been enjoyable. Yesterday’s high was 77 degrees then it dropped to 43 degrees last night. Water Temperatures are still in the high 70’s which is allowing the Stripers and the Catfish to stay aggressive. They are still eating cut baits like Anchovies, Sardines and Mackerel and some really active Cats are hunting down lures. Last night at 7:45 pm I had a 10 pound cat slam my chatter bait that...... Read More


8-28-2015
Striped Bass are going crazy on shad, blowing up the surface in aggressive boils. The boils have been scattered through...... Read More