Weather: Weather at the lake has been ranging from the 50s to about 86 degrees. The water surface temperature in the marina area is 71 degrees.

Clarity of water: The water has been clear around the Marina and clarity will increase as you get closer to the dam. The water level is higher than normal for this time of year.

Hot spots: The hot spots have been the Narrows and near the dam.

WHAT BAIT TO USE!!

Stripers - Anchovies, Sardines

Catfish - Chicken Liver, Anchovies, Sardines and Night Crawlers. Catfish tend to not be interested in any lures.

Trout - Power bait, Night Crawlers, have been working well. Trout also love lures such as Panther Martins, Kastmaster, Rooster Tails, and all types of small Spinners, Atomic Tubes

Largemouth/ Smallmouth - Plastic Worms have been a good choice, another good choice is Jigs or Drop Shots, various spinners

Crappie/Panfish - Night Crawlers, Redworms, and little Micro Jigs have been working good as well.

Don’t forget that to fish at Lake Del Valle, everyone ages 16 and older must have a Lake Del Valle Fishing permit and a California Fishing License. The Lake Del Valle permit is $5.00 per day. They can be purchased at either the entry kiosk or the Marina/Bait Store. The California Fishing License is $17.54 per day or $54.00 per year for a Resident of California. The California Fishing License can be purchased at the Marina/Bait Store. Also, a reminder after all fish plants please make sure you wait 2 hours before fishing the plant.

The fish are biting! Once again, Paul Clouse brings us the following report:

The Smallmouth Bass fishing is still good but not quite as on fire as the previous four weeks. I trolled Lake Del Valle on October 12, 2022, targeting Smallmouth Bass landing and safely releasing a total of nine fish of which six were smallies, (largest being 2 pounds in photo below), and three nice fat bluegills. I trolled my usual go to 1/4-ounce Panther Martin spinners with silver blades and feathers with liberal amounts of various scents applied. The larger smallies were caught off the points in the flats of Heron Bay while the smaller fish were caught along the eastern and western rock walls. In the morning the skies were overcast with cool temps which led to clearing skies mid-morning and mild temps after noon. There was a slight breeze. The surface water temperature ranged from 70 degrees to 72 degrees throughout the lake. The water level has risen approximately five feet vs. last Thursday 10/6 as water from the delta had been pumped into the lake via the SBA system which may have also led to more stained water clarity than in the past four weeks. All in all, still another good day of fishing at Lake Del Valle. Thanks again to the staff for getting me on and off the water safely, we’ll see you next Thursday for another great day of fishing!

Thank you Paul!