GENERAL CONDITIONS
Our anglers have been catching a variety of fish all over the reservoir. Trout and striped bass are both active, and even some large catfish and a nice-sized largemouth bass were landed. The water level is at 111,700 acre feet. The water level has stabilized this past week, but is slowly going down. The water temperature is currently at 55 degrees.

Our water clarity continues to be good. A good number of trout and stripers continue to be caught both from shore and from boats.


TROUT
Fishing for trout continues to be good with the cooler weather and regular trout plants. They are being caught in South Cove, Oak Point and all around the lake. Peninsula, Howden, Cox and Cowboy coves all have reported trout. The baits of choice for shore anglers are garlic scented PowerBaits, nightcrawlers or Kastmasters. Trout average a pound and a half but range to over 12 pounds.

Light tackle is important for catching trout with 4-6 pound test being plenty. There will be another Lassen plant sometime this week. Last week saw a double plant with Lassen putting in 1000 pounds on Friday and DFW putting in 1400 pounds on Tuesday. We will be planting once a week for the foreseeable future. Limits and large fish are coming out of the lake all over.

This week continued to have anglers catching significant numbers of trout. A 12.28 trout was caught in Penn Cove on a Rapala and a day later a 9.24 fish was caught. Oak Point has had some larger fish including a 7.61 on a Duo Spin bait. Past the Rock Wall and into Cowboy Cove is doing well with a number of fish coming out of the lake including a 7.9 rainbow on PowerBait. Many limits of trout have been seen as well as a lot of anglers catching just a couple of fish.

Trolling is picking up. Boating anglers are catching trout trolling Rapalas and other lures in the major coves. Some trout are being caught in Cowboy, Howden and Peninsula coves. Bait fishing and casting lures like Kastmasters are doing well. There is no need for line heavier than 6 lb test. We suggest moving every half hour or so until you find some feeding fish. There were plenty of limits of regular-sized fish seen from both shore and boats. Anglers are catching fish scattered along the shore with the South Cove reporting the most fish as many anglers are choosing that cove.


LARGEMOUTH BASS
Most anglers were focused on stripers or trout. Some anglers have been working the shore around structure and several bass have been caught and released. A 5.2 pound largemouth was caught and released in Howden Cove this past week. Keep in mind that largemouth need to be 12 inches to be kept. Please release any big largemouth bass you might catch. They are the future of largemouth bass fishing in the reservoir. The reservoir is now full of excellent habitat for the bass so we anticipate this fishery to improve over the coming years.


STRIPERS
We saw four large stripers caught this week. In addition to Zeng Yang's catches above, a 24.25 pound fish as well as a 19.65 pounder were caught at the mouth of Penn Cove near the island on swim baits. Some limits of 18-24 inch fish are being caught both off the shore and from boats with the fishing pier by the Marina being a popular location. Trolling lures using everything from Rat-l-traps to bombers to super spooks seems to be working. From shore, cut anchovies or shad is the bait of choice. Stripers need to be 18 inches or more. We are continuing to see a significant number of under size fish being caught and released. Please release the small fish as quickly and carefully as possible. They are the future of our striped bass fishery.


CATFISH
Even with the cooler water temperature, there has been a resurgence of catfish this week. Two larger fish were caught near the buoy line. A 13.8 and a 12 pound fish were caught on anchovies. Also, a 23.7 pound cat was caught off of the Marina Pier using an anchovy. For those wishing to target catfish, anchovy continues to be the best choice of bait. We encourage and appreciate the release of any monster catfish (15 lbs plus).


LV Calendar
January
Los Vaqueros will be open on Martin Luther King Day, Monday, Jan. 19.

Bird-Watching Boat Tours
Saturday, January 24
9 a.m. & noon at the Marina
Only one opening left for the 9 a.m. tour, noon is fully booked. Call (925) 371-2628 to register. There is a $5 fee per person, and there is a waiting list.

Mushrooms & Other Fungi
Saturday, January 31
10 a.m. to Noon.
John Muir Interpretive Center


February
Bird-Watching Boat Tour
Sunday, February 8
9 a.m. at the Marina
Only five openings left for the 9 a.m. tour. Call (925) 371-2628 to register. There is a $5 fee per person, and there is a waiting list.

Amphibians of Contra Costa County
Saturday, February 14
10 a.m. to Noon.
John Muir Interpretive Center


March
Girl Scout Program -Naturalist Badge
Saturday, March 7
10 a.m. to Noon.
John Muir Interpretive Center

Winter Hours Underway
Through The End of February
LV is open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Boats due back at 3:30 p.m.


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Have a comment or suggestion? Give us a call at (925) 688-8175, or send us an e-mail.