Paul Clouse and Al Hurwitz trolled Los Vaqueros Reservoir on 12/21/23 and were disappointed with the bite. We trolled mainly Berkeley Flicker Shad Plugs  in 20-40 foot water columns. We caught all our fish (and had a few strikes) in and around East Cove. Paul caught a beautiful 3.75 pound 22 inch Striped Bass. We also caught a smaller Striper and a one pound Mt. Lassen Rainbow (all fish were released). Howden, Peninsula, and Cox Coves produced no hits for us. In addition, open water deep trolling with deep diving crank-baits produced no action. By contrast, folks fishing near the shoreline in shallow water did much better, catching limits of Trout. One group of three caught limits of Rainbows in Peninsula Cove, casting Rooster Tails from their boat into very shallow water. Another group caught Trout limits in skinny water at the back of Cox Cove. We tried a trio troll of a Rooster Tail, a Joe’s Fly, and a Mepps Aglia Long Spinner to no avail. However, in retrospect, I think we were trolling those lures too deep and too far off shore.

It appears that for now at least the Rainbows are taking up residence in protected and foraging waters very close to the shorelines, probably in grassy areas. For trollers, it means moving through shallow water, doing one’s best to avoid underwater snags.

The lake is clear, quite full, with a surface temperature between 57-58 degrees.

See you soon with a different trolling methodology for this time of year!    

All the best,
Paul Clouse, Lafayette
Dr. Al Hurwitz, Saratoga