Captain Dan‘s Fishing Report for Lake Del Valle 6-05-15

The lake temperature is slowly climbing up into the low 7 0's and the wind has slowed way down from last month. Due to the weather changing the Striped Bass have become extremely aggressive. Almost anywhere on the lake Stripers can be caught on Anchovies, normally Sardines and Mackerel would work just as well but, that's not the case this week. All the Stripers caught this week were on Anchovies and nothing else. Also most of those Stripes were caught at the Dam or around that same area. I'm not too sure about the depth because nobody reported them but, I was catching them right around the 20-30 foot mark.

A big catfish was caught on Anchovies as well this week. The cat was pushing 12 lbs and was very deep, around 50 feet deep. More and more Whisker fish will come in with the temp rising. You will find me out in Heron Bay with my shark rod soaking whole Mackerel with giant circle hooks hunting for that 50 pound plus cat this summer. Feel free to always approach me at the lake! Look for the rental boat with the German Shepard riding on the bow!

Fisherman can still catch trout but the trout bite is starting to fade out. They have made the transition to the deeper water where Power Bait and spoons have been producing the most fish this week. Trolling has also produced fish but in the deeper water. One of the best trollers is my Good friend Dr. Al Hurwitz here is his report.

Hi Danny:

Al Hurwitz of Saratoga and Abbey Lev of Sunnyvale trolled the lake on 5/28/15 and hooked up with a number of Rainbow Trout, getting four in the boat. There were a number of other strikes that didn't stay pinned. The four caught Rainbows averaged 15 inches each and had a total weight just shy of six pounds. We were surface trolling heavy Krokodile spoons in chrome with a silver attractant tape. These spoons have an attractive wobble and drop down about ten feet below the surface with minimal drag. Fish gel attractant on the spoons seemed to help. The fish were caught 10 feet below the surface in a 25-30 foot water column and were caught on both the eastern and western shores of the lake. There was a flurry of afternoon Trout bites for about 30 minutes along the eastern rock wall at the entrance to Heron Bay. The water was very clear with a surface temperature from 68-70 degrees. I suspect that as the water temperature climbs further, the Rainbows will be driven into a deeper water thermo cline, and the Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass bite as well as the Catfish bite will fully emerge.

See you soon. All the best, Dr. Al Hurwitz."

Thank you Dr. Al for a great report and I must highlight the fact that they are using pro-cure scents! Everybody that reads this report knows how I feel about attractant gels and sprays or dips. The Lake is still on a slow draw down which is creating just a slight current out in Heron Bay. In my opinion that is also a contributor to the awesome Striper bite, they feel as if they are in a river system when the water is moving and that turns on the bite! Come up to Del Valle and catch a Stripe or two, you will not be disappointed in the action! While you’re up here come see us in the bait store\marina or come see me down on the rental boat docks or any of the dockhands for that matter, we just like to answer your questions and see your smiling faces! I'm going on a fishing trip up to northern Idaho and Montana for Northern Pike and Musky all of next week so I will be one day late on the report because Iwon’t get back until 2-3 am. Saturday morning. Good Luck everybody and see you next weekend!