The Fish Sniffer

San Pablo

(San Pablo) You don’t have much time to fish at San Pablo Reservoir this year, since the last day of the season is October 31, 2012

“Trout are biting again and are being caught from the shoreline near the Main Recreation Area and trolling near the Dam,” said Audie Banagan at the Rocky Mountain Recreation Company. “PowerBait in chartreuse and spring green has been working. Trolling for trout is best with broken-backed fire tiger minnow plugs about 20 to 25 feet deep.”

The lake’s last plant of 1,000 lbs. of trout was on October 8,  while the Department of Fish and Game planted 2,000 lbs. The water temperature has been around 64 degrees.   

Catfish have been biting on anchovies and chicken livers and the bass seem to be hitting on spinners and swim baits. Crappie and bluegill have been great out near the Boat Launch Area for fishermen using jigs and redworms.

Big fish honors go to Claudio Figueroa of Martinez, who nailed an 11.5 lb. catfish while using chicken livers at the Rock Wall. Not far behind was Stan Branda of Castro Valley with a 10.5 lb. catfish caught on anchovies in Scow Canyon. 

Ryan and Conner of Hillsborough caught 2 bass to 2 lbs. using a Shad Rapala and a Gold Kastmaster off the point of Scow Canyon. James Golden of San Pablo caught a nice 4.5 lb. largemouth while fishing near Oaks Point. 

Chabot

(San Leandro) Lake Chabot is still in the annual transition from summer catfish action to fall trout fishing. While the East Bay Regional Parks District has stocked the lake with trout since Labor Day, channel catfish still offer the most consistent fishing.

“For the best success on catfish, fish Indian Cove or Raccoon Point either from shore or boat with nightcrawlers or mackerel,” advised Bonnie Frisvold at the Lake Chabot Fishing Outfitters.

Ken Cruise demonstrated his angling prowess on Thursday, October 11 by bagging five catfish ranging from 3 to 5 pounds while bait fishing in Bass Cove.

The trout fishing is expected to pick up with the cooler weather, noted Frisvold, Big trout honors go to Sharlee Solis, who bagged a 9-1/2 lb. rainbow while using nightcrawlers.

The park district planted 750 pounds of rainbows the week of October 8 and 500 pounds the week of October 15. They will stock 500 pounds of rainbows the week of October 22.

The lake level is currently around 15 feet from full.

Shadow Cliffs

(Pleasanton) Anglers are fishing from the shore and by boat, (trolling), but few trout are being caught.  “This should change soon as the water cools and more trout are planted,” forecasted Pete Alexander of the East Bay Regional Park District.

The park district planted 500 pounds of rainbows the week of October 8 and 500 pounds the week of October 15. The DFG also planted 1,000 pounds of trout the week of October 15. The district will stock 500 pounds the week of October 22.

Del Valle

(Livermore) The trout are starting to bite at Lake Del Valle with the cooler weather, but catfish are still dominating the catches.

"The water temperature is still dropping," said Bob Stambaugh of Rocky Mountain Recreation Company. "It is currently 66 degrees at the boat launch. The water clarity is stained. With the current cold front, the anglers have started to pull in rainbow trout while using spinners, Kastmasters, and Power Egg/Power Worm combos."

He said the catfish bite has been holding steadily. The anglers have been pulling in quality channel cats while soaking anchovies, livers, and sardines.  

Big fish honors go to Pete DeFuglia of Newark, who caught a 20 lb. catfish in the Narrows while using mackerel. Kenny Khuu of Livermore and Baxter Shaffer also teamed up to bag a 71 lb. stringer of catfish.  

Other successful anglers include Jacob Ward of Livermore, who brought in a 20 lb. stringer of cats weighing up to 7 pounds while soaking anchovies at the Dam; Brian Mondaca of Brentwood, who caught a 7 lb. catfish on sardines; and Gary Howard of Livermore, who brought in a 22 lb. stringer of catfish while using anchovies at the Narrows.

Stambaugh found catfish success himself, fooling a 5 lb. channel cat with anchovies at Catfish Cove.

Stambaugh added, "Smallmouth bass have been hitting steadily on plastic worms and swim baits. Stripers in the 18 to 24 inch range have frequently been nabbed by anglers using swim baits, spinners and Panther Martins."

The park district is stocking the reservoir every week with 500 pounds of rainbow trout.

Quarry Lakes 

 (Fremont) Fishing remains slow at Horseshoe Lake, in spite of weekly plants of rainbow trout, reported Pete Alexander. Hopefully, the cooler weather will perk up the tough angling.

The park district stocked 500 pounds of rainbows the weeks of October 8 and October 15 and will plant another 500 pounds the week of October 22. In addition, the DFG planted 800 pounds of the rainbows the week of October 15.

 Chris Sinsay of Milpitas caught a 5.2 lb trout from a boat by the beach while using a broken-back Rapala. Fred Tinsley of Fremont landed three trout trolling with dodger/worm.

 Jason of Fremont caught and released six bass using a half-plastic worm on the backside of the peninsula. Finally, Bruce of Newark successfully battled a 6.14 lb. catfish at the old boat ramp while soaking shrimp.