Paul Clouse and Al Hurwitz trolled Los Vaqueros Reservoir on October 5, 2023, looking mainly for Striped Bass. It was a pretty hot day, the air temperature rising close to 90 degrees. After a slow start, we caught 18 Stripers, mostly in a back section of Howden Cove. The fish were of varying sizes, the largest (pictured here with Al) weighed very close to three pounds. The fish were all released. We caught all of the Bass trolling Kastmasters and a Panther Martin Sonic Streamer. The lures were trolled 20-25 feet below the water’s surface in 30-45-foot water columns. We used a lead-core line tied to a 40-foot length of fluorocarbon leader. Scent was applied to all of the lures. There were some Striper “boils” ( the three-pound Striped Bass was caught trolling directly through such a frenzied Striper boil). At times, the fishing was so fast and furious that we had two “double” hits that were eventually caught. Regardless of size, all of the Stripers were very strong and tenacious fighters. They appeared to be hunting and trapping Threadfin Shad in the back of the cove, and our lures seemed to “match the hatch”.

The surface water temperature ranged from 69-73 degrees, and the water clarity was excellent. The lake water level was considerably higher than previously. The elevated water height and very good clarity both speak to an excellent future prognosis for Rainbow Trout fishing in the fall and winter months, just around the corner.

We would say a word of caution with regard to lead-core line use. Be careful of subsurface structure which can snag your lures if you’re not careful. Even with our sonic fish-finder, we managed to get caught up in some underwater shrubbery.                         

                               Paul Clouse, Lafayette & Dr. Al Hurwitz, Saratoga