Striped Bass Fishing is Coming Back

Del Valle Lake - Livermore, CA (Alameda County)

Danny T. of San Jose and Jason I. of Stockton caught several stripers. All of them weighed over eight pounds! They were fishing with anchovies in the narrows.
Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of Del Valle Staff

by East Bay Regional Park District
5-30-2019
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The lake temperature at Del Valle has been in the lower 60’s in the mornings with the temperature increasing throughout the day. This makes the early mornings a key time to be here if you are interested in trout.

The sunfish bite has really picked up at the water temperature increases. We recommend casting some red worms or mini-crawlers. You can find the bluegill and crappie around the weed mats near the shores or near the cattails as they are using these structures for spawning.

TROUT

With the rising water temperatures, trout will be harder to come by. If you are interested in trout, we recommend coming in the early mornings, when the trout are most active, before the water temperature rises. Many trout are being caught on either bait or shad imitations. The spring green Powerbait has been the most popular to use. Try using Kastmasters and small spoons. If you are fishing from a boat, we recommend trying to hook into the runs that are currently going on in Heron Bay. If you are fishing from shore, we recommend fishing from the east beach swim area. Come out soon! As the water temperatures continue to rise during the summer, the trout will move into deeper water and will be much harder to catch.

CATFISH

The catfish bite is good. Their favorite baits are large nightcrawlers or anchovies. The catfish hang out around the fallen trees that are all around the lake. Many of the catfish take some time to get moving so you want to get your bait close to the structure in the water and give them a decent amount of time.

BASS

The bass bite is going well. Many anglers are using top water lures in the early morning and then switching to worm imitations later in the day. Most of the bass are currently found in the tule patches that dot the lake. We recommend throwing shad imitations near spawning beds. The shad have already spawned this year and there are lots of small-sized shad currently schooling up.
 
STRIPED BASS

The striped bass fishing is finally coming back to life as the water temperatures heat up. We expect to start seeing striper boils all over the lake in the coming weeks. For now, the main way to hook into them is using anchovies or sardines.

I invite everyone to come out here and enjoy themselves this summer. The fishing is really coming alive right now! – Captain Jacob





More Reports

5-28-2019
The cold front that moved in this last week caused a slight drop in average lake temperature but be ready for the fish to come back alive once the water temp returns to high 60s low 70s. The striped bass are still the main fish you are going to want to target out here having gear that can map the lake below you is a huge advantage because for now these stripers are still running sub surface chasing the scattered shad...... Read More

5-20-2019
The lake temperature here at Del Valle has been in the upper 60’s to low 70’s making it perfect weather to come out here and bass fish! The striped bass are moving right now along the channels that move along the center of the lake. The striped bass are balling the bait up and pushing it on shore so you are going to want to use shad imitations to entice the stripers to attack you bait, flukes, or swimbaits are...... Read More