GENERAL CONDITIONS
Over the past week or so, the weather has been dropping more and the hot weather is starting to come to an end, hopefully! The rain should be picking up within the next month which means that the lake will start to fill up as well as the likelihood of catching trout will start to increase. Though the rain is expected, it doesn't mean that it will happen but it will cool down the lake and the trout will hopefully be more active. Catfish have slowed down a lot, no record of any being caught in the past couple weeks has been taken down. They are still being caught over in the Half Moon Bay, Bass Cove and dam areas. Water clarity is about 0 foot visibility near the shoreline but in the deeper parts of the lake, it's about 6-7 foot visibility. The wind has been slowing down in the afternoons, though it does randomly pick up some days causing us to not send out rows, kayaks and electric boats. The lake is done losing water due to the construction on the west shore trail at the marina. The construction was set to be finished on October 15, 2012 but has yet to be completed. They do not have a set date for when it will be finished yet. Sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause.

We have planted 3,000 lbs of trout from Mount Lassen within the past month. We will continue with our regular trout plants again, though they are being planted over in Coot's Landing still.

When you bring in a fish of 5 lbs or more, 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. For beginning anglers, if you have any questions on what to use, please come down to the Marina and one of our friendly staff members will be more than happy to help you get set up on your fishing adventure. Boat rentals have slowed down due to the weather and summer ending, so take advantage of the small crowds and come take out a boat! As mentioned before, the wind picking up in the late afternoon has caused us to give out warnings or not send out rows, kayaks or electric boats do to safety hazards.

We have converted back to our winter hours! Every day we will be opening at 6:30am and closing at 4:30pm and stopping boat rentals at 3:30 pm. Weekends will be the same time as of Thursday, November 1st. We are making no exceptions if you come in at 3:30pm to rent a boat, we stop renting at those times for a reason.

TROUT
Catfish season is nearly over! Even though catfish are still biting, there is no excuse to not start trout fishing! They are picking up more and more as the weather drops. Within the past week, 4 whoppers have been caught by trolling with top water lures. If fishing for trout, it's best to go to the clearest parts of the lake which are by the dam and Half Moon Bay area. If you are planning to troll, the water is still pretty warm, so you may want to experiment with different sized weights and drop them lower than you usually would. Trout is starting to pick up a little in the mid-morning times. Recently, the Firetiger Rapalas with a Firetiger pattern have been best for pulling trout out. Usually some of the best lures to troll with are: Firetiger Rapalas, Kastmaster, and Mirashads. When they do start to bite more frequently, chartreuse and rainbow Powerbait will be your best bet to catch trout! When trolling for trout, be careful with the anglers fishing on the shoreline so your lines don't get caught.

We've had quite a few whoppers caught within the past week, most caught over in the area near Raccoon Point and Indian Cove. The three caught over there ranged from 5 lbs to almost 8 lbs. They were caught by Brian Ozenne and Eric Minit on Rapala lures. And over by the dam, Jeff Vandervan, pictured caught 12.1 lb trout using a Kastmaster. Calvin Antonini caught one weighing in at 6.8 lbs over in Halfmoon Bay using a Mepps Spinner lure. 3 year old, Adam Garcia caught a 7.93 lb trout over in Indian Cove using Powerbait.

BASS
Bass fishing has been slowing down as we enter into trout season. 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. A good spot to fish for bass would be near the island, or the tulles by Raccoon Point. 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 in the lake and their population depends on you!

CATFISH
Summer is over and catfish are slowing down. The water temperature was warm and consistent all summer long, but it is starting to cool off a bit. We planted a little over 5,000 lbs of catfish into Lake Chabot this season. Typically around this time, catfish are going to be located by Raccoon point, but they have also been around the Half Moon Bay area, behind the island, and Coot's Landing. Anglers are using mackerel, anchovies and chicken liver for bait, as well as night crawlers. We are done planting catfish for the year, so grab your most stinky bait and come on out before all the catfish swim back down to the bottom of the lake!

WHOPPERS
This week, we've had four whoppers come in.

Brian Ozenne caught a 7 lb and 5 lb trout over in Raccoon Point.
Eric Minit caught a 5.5 lb trout over in Indian Cove, all three of these whoppers were caught using Rapala lures.
Jeff Vandervan (on photo at the top) caught a whopping 12.1 pound trout over by the dam using a Kastmaster.
Calvin Antonini caught a 6.8 lb trout over in Half Moon Bay using a Mepps Spinner lure. And 3 year old Adam Garcia caught a 7.93 lb trout over in Indian Cove using Powerbait.

HOURS OF OPERATION
Monday -- Sunday: Boat rentals are from 6:30am - 3:30pm. Boats are due in by 4:30pm.
Hours subject to change based on weather conditions and light levels.