Paul Clouse and Al Hurwitz had another outstanding day trolling Lake Del Valle for Bass on 8/29/24. After a slow start, the breeze picked up, and with that, the Smallmouth Bass started aggressively hitting. We eventually caught 17 Smallies along with one 15-inch Striped Bass. All fish were released in excellent condition. The Smallmouths seem to have migrated around Swallow Bay in the past two weeks. Some of the bigger ones are now being caught in the flats heading south off of Swallow Rock. Pictured are a pair of nice Smallies weighing close to 1.5 and 2.0 pounds. We note that “flats fishing” off points and over structure seems to be successfully evolving as we move into late summer. We were using 1/4 oz feathered spinners (mostly RoxStar Spinners) with scent applied. We troll the spinners 21-23 feet below the surface in 30 foot water columns. The water clarity is still very good (ideal for trolling), particularly in the northern half of the reservoir.  Surface water temperature is running 73-74 degrees.

With fishing this good, we can’t stay away, so we’ll see you next week!

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