12 Oct 23 , 2020 VOL . 39 • ISS . 22
L os Vaqueros Reservoir , a Contra Costa Water District reservoir
that receives its water from the Delta , reopened on Saturday , September 26 to fishing after being closed on August because of a fire in the watershed . Anglers can again pursue rainbow trout , striped bass , channel catfish , largemouth bass and other species at the popular recreation area , but fishing for
Los Vaqueros Reservoir , located between Livermore and Brentwood , offers top-notch fishing for striped bass , channel catfish and rainbow trout .
Photo courtesy of LOS VAQUEROS MARINA , Brentwood .
Big Catfish and Stripers Highlight Los Vaqueros Reservoir Reopening
catfish and striped bass offers fishermen the best chance of success at this time . The reservoir , located near Brentwood 46 miles from Stockton via Highway 4 , first opened to fishing in September 2001 . I was one of the first anglers to ever fish the lake , along with Larry Ward , then the President of United Anglers of California , Ward caught the first fish , a 20-inch rainbow that was bright and shiny like a steelhead , on a Kastmaster lure . I then proceeded to catch my limit of rainbows to 20 inches while tossing out Kastmasters and soaking PowerBait . Since then , the water district has raised the dam and expanded the lake once – and is now planning to conduct another dam raising project . The proposed project will include a regional intertie ( the Transfer-Bethany Pipeline ), improved pump stations and pipelines and could increase the reservoir ’ s capacity up to 275,000 acre-feet . The proposed project builds upon the first phase of expansion from 100,000 to 160,000 acre-feet funded by the
Anthony Qiu shows off an 11 lb . channel catfish that he enticed with chicken liver at Los Vaqueros in July . Photo courtesy of LOS VAQUEROS MARINA ,
Brentwood .
Contra Costa Water District and completed in 2012 . “ Los Vaqueros is one of the projects being evaluated in the context of a broader Bay Area effort to work collaboratively as a region to improve water supply
Los Vaqueros is a prime spot to take children fishing , as the smiles on these boys ’ faces attest .
Photo courtesy of LOS VAQUEROS MARINA , Brentwood . reliability ,” according to the Contra Costa Water District . “ Expansion of Los Vaqueros Reservoir improves Bay Area water supply reliability and water quality while protecting Delta fisheries and providing additional Delta ecosystem benefits .” Fishing has been “ really good ” for striped bass and catfish at Los Vaqueros since it reopened , reported Jeff Jackson at the Los Vaqueros Marina . “ Anglers are catching both species from shore near the pier by the marina while using anchovies and chicken liver . The keeper stripers being caught average 3 to 5 pounds each ,” he revealed . Anglers have successfully battled some huge channel catfish at the reservoir lately . Scott Bradley landed a 32-pound catfish while fishing PowerBait from a rental boat in Cowboy Cove two weeks ago . Alex Michaels also bagged a 30 lb . catfish on anchovies while fishing from a boat in Howden Cove . Another angler landed two 7-pound catfish and one 8-pounder on Saturday , October 3 , while bait fishing on the lake . Catfish plants have help bolstered catches at the reservoir this year . The lake management planted 1,000 pounds of catfish in the reservoir .
In contrast , trout fishing has been very slow lately . “ We ’ re waiting for the water temperature to go down before we start planting trout again ,” Jackson stated . The lake is currently holding 140,000 acre feet of water and the surface water temperature is 72 degrees . Since the lake was first opened to fishing in 2001 , a number of huge fish have been by shore anglers and rental boaters fishing Los Vaqueros . Fernando Gonzalez of San Lorenzo caught the lake rainbow trout record weighing 16.42 pounds on a gold Kastmaster in the South Cove on January 24 , 2015 . This is the only lake record set at the expanded reservoir . Kastmasters seem to have a lock on Los Vaqueros fishing . A Kastmaster was used to catch the first fish ever landed at Los Vaqueros back in 2001 , the 20 inch rainbow caught by Larry Ward . King salmon were stocked only four times at Los Vaqueros . The CDFW planted salmon fingerlings at Los Vaqueros in 2004 , 2005 , 2007 and 2009 , but has planted them since . Harry Stoner of Stockton broke a nearly three-year-old salmon record by . 2 pounds with a 6.2 pound chinook caught on February 29 , 2010 . He was fishing in Sunken Oak Cove ( now known as