The weather this week has fluctuated from warm sunny days or scattered showers, to cold windy downpours. Mountain rain runoffs have caused the water levels to raise about three feet. The mud has affected the clarity but there is still five feet of visibility. Anglers know one thing -- catfish like the fresh water and food from the rain and runoff.

Trout have been active this last week. They have been in the shallow water; anglers are having good luck on Power Bait, nightcrawlers, Rapalas, mice tails and Kastmasters. Many anglers have reported catching their limits.
Black Bass are on fire with anglers reporting having caught and released up to 12 bass. Most are smaller and in shallow water creating their beds. Best bet is still Senkos, either wacky or traditionally rigged. Also try a plastic crawdad, on either a half-ounce, or a one-ounce football jig head. If you do catch a bass, please release it, as she maybe pregnant. Remember that by taking one bass, anglers could be taking thousands away from the lake, so please, during the crucial spawning period, release any bass caught.

Stripers are on the prowl, with reports of anglers catching them on anchovies and mackerel. If you like tossing lures, try big trout swimbaits, swaver, huddlestons, spros, or jigs with a big spoon or hair raiser. Most reports have been from the deep rock walls near the dam. Try by the deep rock walls, in either the lower or upper narrows as well.

Catfish are biting with all this fresh water coming in. Anglers can try the inlet where the water feeds the lake, in the narrows, or by the Dam. The best baits to use will be anchovies, mackerel or sardines.

We would like to thank all of the anglers that come into the marina and report their catches! Without you, none of this would be possible.

WHOPPERS:

Efrain Aernandes and Albert Borrayo, from San Jose, caught 5 Trout. Weight of their stringer was 6.54 lbs with the largest weighing in at 2.22 lbs They were caught on Power Bait, fishing off the narrows.

Ricky Garcia, of Livermore, caught two catfish weighing 16 pounds with a 22.5 pound stringer on chicken livers fishing near the Dam.

Rey Holmes, from Santa Clara, caught a Striped bass weighing in at 3.02 lbs. on nightcrawlers in the narrows.

Gene Cerruti, from Livermore, caught one catfish weighing in at 15.5 lbs, on chicken livers fishing by the inlet.

Scott Grisson and Eric Goddard, of San Jose, caught two catfish, weighing seven pounds and four-point-three pounds on anchovies in the narrows.

Christine Shane, of Modesto, caught one trout weighing six-point-five pounds, on green Power Bait fishing in Catfish Cove.