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Del Valle Lake and Reports

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Sunday, March 9th, 2014

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    Water Temp: 56 am

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: The big female largemouths were shallow in scattered rock the size of your fist to the size of a head. Lake level is just below the tules now with lots of debris in the water. Tough fishing trees on this lake, just too much fishing line hanging on them. Perfect pitches hang up on the line. I took a plunge trying to get my bait free and had to swim over/thru a tree to get to the ladder around the back of the boat. Lucky I didn't get hooked to the tree. Ironically, 2 women were swimming the lake for exercise that morning! Too dangerous for me - I'd be scared of cramping up and drowning.
    City: dublin

    Tips: Soft plastics only in the places I found fish or you'll be hauling long, stringy, rope-like junk constantly.

Sunday, January 5th, 2014

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    Water Temp: 49

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Asked the guy at the boat inspection how the bite has been, he replied " I'm not even gonna lie to you guys, it's been tough". And he wasn't kidding. Launched at 7am and back by noon. Tried jerk bait, kastmasters, 1 1\2 oz spoons, jigs, drop shot, Carolina rig, crank bait, fluke, buddy even tried his fly rod, nothing. 3 people on the boat fished from the dock to the damn with not even a sniff from a fish. Talked with a guy at the ramp on a float tube who said he got a couple, I'm a assuming trout, he had three rods 2 rigged mice tails and one with a rooster tail. Got home in time for the niner game so the day wasn't completely lost.

    Tips: Cold, sunny, no wind. Wasn't able to graph any fish, saw a bunch 80 ft and below and I'm assuming they were not down there eating.

Sunday, December 15th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 50

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Launched at 7 am with a buddy of mine that had never bass fished before. First ten minutes he hooked a 4 lb large mouth on a drop shot robo worm mm. It was on a steep rock bank, he cast on the opposite of the boat from the wall in 40 ft. Another 30 ft down the bank I switched from my 1/2 oz jig to drop shot shad shape worm in salt and pepper, hooked a 3.5 lb smallie. Went up and down that bank for a while longer with no luck. Moved to a deeper rock bank, tried spooning and drop shot. Caught someone's lost spinning rod with my spoon 60 ft down. Caight 2.5 lb large mouth on shad shape worm 50 ft down, released right away because his stomach was puffing up. Worked the area a while longer than moved to a cove by the damn. Found shad and bass feeding on them but could not get them to bite drop shot, fluke, jerkbait, jig, Carolina rig. Went back to our first spot and got a small smallie. Called it a day at noon.

    Tips: Last year at this time I got on a spoon and jig bite but so far nothing this year. It has been sunny, calm and cold so drop shot is the way to go. There was also a swimbait tournament going on, don't know if any giants were caught.

Sunday, December 1st, 2013

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    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Fished Sunday the 1st 7:00am -11am. Two guys who launched ahead of me and immediately started throwing giant swim baits. By the time I got the motor warmed up I could hear them hooting and holaring over something, couldn't see it but I'm sure it was big. Went to my first spot and worked a 1/2 oz brown jig with no luck. Went a further off the bank and drop shot Yamamoto shad shape worm for a small smallie and a small lm. Went to my next spot which was closer to the dam and the water was really clear. Tried spooning 15 -70 ft nothing, drop shot roboworm and shade shape for nothing, jerkbait and jig nothing. Went to the dam and it was like fishing Tahoe, clear water, blue skies, no wind, no fish. Went back toy first spot where water was not as clear and worked the area with drop shot shade shape worm for one smallie and two lg. off the water at 11 to watch some football.

    Tips: If you catch one there is probably more there. A couple more weeks and the spoon and jig bite should pick up. First time using the shade shape worm and It caught all my fish. Always good when you get a new bait that works.

Saturday, November 30th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 55

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Beautiful weather the past few times out but tough going for largemouth and striped bass for me. This lake is not easy this time of year! Difficult to find concentrations of lm and if I think I find them they won't bite the jigs or soft plastics I'm trying to feed them. Bait soaking guys were cleaning 3 5-10# trout late morning but my trout imitations got no striped bass responses.
    City: dublin

    Tips: Please post for us fish-challenged people. The only reason I post, good or bad, is out of respect for all the past fishermen who took the time to do it. Shad all in south end and very shallow at times.

Friday, November 1st, 2013

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    Water Temp: N/A

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Weighed in an 18.3#, 36.5" striped bass by 9am and back out after the picture. Switched to fishing for lm bass and got a couple 2# each in trees and drop offs. Day was actually slow until I decided to leave at 3pm but a striper wouldn't let me go. Then saw fish feeding across the lake so I stayed an extra hour and caught 7 more stripers to 3#. Had a blast.
    City: dublin

    Tips: Lm on soft plastic in the trees and crankbait on the drop. Stripers on top and 10-15' deep on plugs depending on when and where you find them.

Saturday, October 19th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 65

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Couldn't keep them off my topwater in the morning, but they were birds of prey instead of bass. A hawk repeatedly tried to attack it even after seeing me reel it in and heave it again. Got it away from the hawk, threw around a point and a cormorant? grabbed it. Once had to untangle one and set it free without it taking out my eye. Finally had to switch to subsurface lures.
    City: dublin

    Tips: Lots of bait and fish chasing them early in the south end but cranks and Senkos no good for me. Had trouble finding any fish on the graph later in day.

Thursday, September 19th, 2013

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    Water Temp: N/A

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: 1 sm, 1 lm and 5 stripers in the boat. Sm 1.5#, lm 4# the rest 3# or less and all caught in the narrows. Sm 9am on crank 10' on sloping rocks and lm at 4pm working a crank thru a submerged tree. Missed some others including a 4-5# leaper after 6 pm.
    City: dublin

    Tips: Tough for black bass for me but the stripers were everywhere after 6pm for 20 minutes- shad imitation and minnow bait. Didn't try topwater because I didn't have one on and didn't want to miss the frenzy. The 4-5 jumper may have been a lm (real close to weed edge) but all I saw was its back and length and I still hadn't taken the time to take the sunglasses off yet.

Thursday, September 5th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 74

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Calm from 7-10am when I caught a 3#lm pitching a softplastic along the weeds. Huge winds after that but I stayed until the afternoon. My optimism almost paid off, too. The wind sometimes positions the bait in the eddies so I was throwing a big shad crank and I finally got one of those bites again where you set the hook and you don't move the fish at all. Played it briefly but when I got the bait in only one hook, the only dull one, had flesh on it.
    City: dublin

    Tips: Get out and try even when conditions are bad. You just never know when that monster will hit. Even though I missed yet another chance it made my day all worthwhile.

Tuesday, August 13th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 74

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: test
    City: San Jose

Sunday, August 11th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 74

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: OK, this is my first report in I don't know how long, 4,5,6 years ! Who cares :) OK I fished with my 9 year old Son on Sunday, little baby bass everywhere(good spawn)we had packs of 10 4-5 inch bass chasing our lures but those little guys would not take the bait, We started at 6:45 across the boat ramp to the south but no takers, went to the narrows where I got my first 1 lber on a 6 inch robo worm in 1 foot of water, their were a few fish chasing bait and I got one to bite, about 15 minutes later I got a 3.5 lb bass on same worm in about 25 feet of water off a rockie point but after that 4 hrs of fruitless casting until I got another 1.5 lb bass to eat a dart head worm off the steep bank on right side of the dam in 25 feet of water than 1 to 2 hrs of fruitless casting and than I found a school of fish in 45 feet of water and dropped a 6 inch drop shot worm on its head and it hit, a 3.5 lb trout ! I let me son reel it in, nice fight :) and tasty :) With some vegies on the side that fish fed my family of 5 (all bass were returned to the water :)
    City: San Jose

    Tips: I tried rattle traps like previous report suggested but got nothing, I tried crank baits, rip baits, jigs, swim baits the only thing that worked was watermelon or brown worms worked reel reel slow either on dart head or drop shot. Oh I did get 3 very large bass to chase a 2.5 inch pointer but they just stayed under the lure and would not take it just like the 4-5 inches but these were big ! Bigger fish are deep 25+ If I were to go back this week I would fish deep rocks as soon as you can, I think if you toss a big bait deep enough and early enough you will get a toad, sun comes up and its dead !

Friday, July 26th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 76

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Rat-L-Trap caught all the bass. Biggest 5#, the rest 2# and under. Windy all day. Could not get bit on soft plastics around the weeds or wood. Tried topwater early when they were chasing but would not bite until using the Trap.
    City: dublin

    Tips: Graph the baitfish balls and the bass eating them and work your lure thru them.

Monday, July 15th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 76 am

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: 2 largemouth just under 2 pounds each on plastic worms 12-15' deep outside weed lines, one south end other in the narrows, before it got windy at 9am. No bites north end. Had a few other bites on the worms and a couple on a reaction bait in the wind. Trout guy was cleaning 8 fish and talked to another who had a striper caught on a swimbait. I threw a swimbait some but got none.
    City: dublin

    Tips: Move around and fish the conditions you're dealt with.

Thursday, July 11th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 78 am

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Late start caused me to miss the overcast calm. Fished the calm sunny for 1-2hrs. before the hurricane winds came up. Mostly soft plastics in the south narrows in the calm and deep crank and swimbait in upper narrows got me nothing. Tried north end hiding behind the mountains and got me 2 1.5# lm on back to back casts deep on brown plastic worm. Tried area for an hour and a halve and got nothing else, even on wacky Senko.
    City: dublin

    Tips: Saw the big bass shallow but couldn't fool them. Move around until you get the biters. Both bites I got the line was swimming off.

Thursday, June 27th, 2013

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    Water Temp: ?

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: The water was extremely clear with over 10' visibility, dead calm and hot until 9am. Tried to finesse them with soft plastics in/around weeds unsuccessfully. Took a break until the afternoon and used reaction bait in the wind in/over weeds/wood to catch 2 lm around 2# and 3# in the narrows. Fun to watch them come up and nail your bait.
    City: dublin

    Tips: Many beautiful sights around the lake kept me going when the bite was slow.

Sunday, June 16th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 72.6

    Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

    Report: Went out with the family so didn't get on the water until 10:30. Didn't have high expectations. Tucked just inside of a cove on the south side and marked fish the whole time. Threw orange belly craw lipless, green craw Strike King 3XD and LC MS Shad (can't remember the model but dives to 20'). Nothing. Marked fish all along the shore especially at the mouths of pockets, cranked the damn then the trolling motor quit so headed in.
    City: San Mateo

    Tips: Can't offer any tips as I haven't caught anything at Del Valle yet. Will hit it earlier next time though.

Friday, June 14th, 2013

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    Water Temp: 72 am

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: 4 in the boat 2-5# largemouth on soft plastics 2-11' deep. Tried topwater and swimbait early for easy and quality fish but nothing. Had a fatty 8#? come up on my big swimbait later in the day during the huge afternoon breeze but it didn't like seeing me and my boat. A little breeze off and on to move the boat along most of the day and enough bites and size made for an enjoyable day. Saw two other boats catch at least 1 or 2 going down shore before me so everyone seemed to be catching them.
    City: dublin

    Tips: Don't dismiss fishing shadows on this lake and use heavy enough line to get them out. I caught them in weeds and wood.

Saturday, June 1st, 2013

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    Water Temp: n/a

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: Tough for me. One bite only way back in the reeds but was a 6# bass. Caught it on a soft plastic early and as tucked away as I have ever caught one in this lake. Saw a bunch of beautiful Ranger boats on the lake, would be interesting to hear what worked or didn't work for them.
    City: dublin

    Tips: Don't fish on the weekend. A lot of the planted Christmas trees and other cover near shore were off limits due to all of the people fishing from shore.

Monday, May 6th, 2013

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    Water Temp: N/A

    Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

    Report: 2 on spinnerbait and 2 on soft plastics in the green stuff. 5# and 1.5# on reaction bait fast and 3# and 2# on plastics. Topwaters got looks but no takers.
    City: dublin

    Tips: All on shore related stuff.

Monday, January 21st, 2013

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    Water Temp: 48 - 52

    Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

    Report: Took a friend who wanted to learn how to fish a jig. Started around 8am and he caught the first one 2.5 LM ...cool the pressures off me. I dropped a nice 4lber at the boat... jumped once and spit the jig. After that it was a dead player for the next 3 hrs. Got a alot of bumps but no takers. Tried going down deep around 60ft. where we saw a lot of action with drop shot but Nada. Went back to the jig a got 3 more and called it a day. Tough jig bite but a beautiful day to be out.
    City: Bay Area

    Tips: When you get bluebird skies and bites tough, down size and get a few more bites like the previous report. Thanks all for posting and goodluck.