Lake Chabot's Fishing Conditions
Week of September 9, 2012
With summer coming to an end very soon, the weather has been pretty steady in the high 70's to low 80's with cat fishing picking up and remaining steady. More and more have been caught over by the island, the dam, Half Moon Bay and over in Bass Cove. The water clarity has been great over the past couple of months with about 6 foot visibility. However, the wind has been a problem later in the afternoon on a daily basis. We are done losing water due to the construction on the west shore trail here at the marina, and the trail will soon be closed completely for the construction to take place on repaving and reconstructing the ADA pathway. Regardless of the low water level and the construction, we are still renting out boats. The project is set to be completed by October 31, 2012. Sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause.

Since the beginning of summer, we have planted a little over 5,000lbs of catfish, but we will be starting with our trout plants again this week! When you bring in your big fish, we will take your picture and give you a "Lake Chabot Whopper Club" button. If you catch a whopper over 8 lbs (trout), 10 lbs (catfish) or 5 lbs (bass), you will also receive a Lake Chabot Whopper mug (see photo). For beginning anglers, if you have any questions on what to use, please come down to the Marina and one of our friendly staff will be more than happy to help you get set up on your fishing adventure. Boating has been quite popular in the past few months; if you're looking to rent out a boat, the best time to come out is in the morning or early afternoon to avoid crowds, especially on the weekends. As mentioned before, the wind picking up in the late afternoon has caused us to give out warnings or not send out kayaks, row boats, or electric boats because of safety hazards.

We have converted back to our regular fall hours! On Mon - Thurs we will be closing at 5pm and stopping boat rentals at 4pm. Fri - Sun we will be closing at 6pm and stopping boat rentals at 5pm. Make sure to get here early and beat the crowds!

TROUT
Trout fishing is extremely slow right now due to the temperature of the lake. Although catfish are still hitting pretty well, we are starting our trout plants this upcoming week! If fishing for trout, it's best to go to the clearest parts of the lake which are the dam and Half Moon Bay area. Make sure to troll about 15+ feet down from the surface. Since trout fishing has been slow, it's best to go out and try to catch them on nightcrawlers until they start hitting again. When trolling for trout, be careful with the anglers fishing on the shoreline. Our last trout plant was June 14th, so this weeks trout plant will be a nice change to the catfish dominated fishing scene.

BASS
Attention all anglers! Bass fishing has been on the rise! Bass are currently in post-spawn mode, so they are near the shoreline, about 10-15 feet deep. If you are fishing for bass, they are hitting mostly in the early mornings and evenings on plastics, jigs and hula grubs. Near the island or the tulles by Raccoon Point are always a good spot to fish for bass. Most of the anglers are throwing Senkos, drop shots and Brush hogs to get the fish to come out from their deep, off-shoreline structure. Livewells can be provided upon request thanks to Walton's Pond. Please practice catch and release for bass, as they are not stocked into the lake and their population depends on you!

CATFISH
Despite summer being almost over, it's still catfish season! The water temperature has been warm and consistent over the past couple of months as well as the amount of catfish being caught. So far this year, we have planted a little over 5,000 lbs of catfish into Lake Chabot, although they have been planting over in Coot's Landing and not at the marina. We are not sure when the last official catfish plant was or how many pounds it was, but it is done weekly. Typically around this time, catfish are going to be located by Raccoon point, but they've been sticking around the Half Moon Bay, behind the island and Coot's Landing area after being planted. Anglers are using mackerel, anchovies and chicken liver for bait, as well as night crawlers for live bait. We are done planting catfish for the year, so grab your stinkiest bait and come on out before all the catfish swim back down to the bottom of the lake! For beginners, if you have any questions on what to use please come down to the Marina and one of our friendly staff will be more than happy to help get you set up for your fishing adventure!

HOURS OF OPERATION
Monday -- Thursday: Boat rentals are from 6:00am - 4:00pm. Boats are due in by 5:00pm.
Friday -- Sunday: Boat rentals are from 6:00am - 5:00pm. Boats are due in by 6:00pm.
Hours subject to change based on weather conditions and light levels.