Paul Clouse and Al Hurwitz trolled Los Vaqueros Reservoir on July 9, 2026, looking for Rainbow Trout and Striped Bass. We were fortunate that the winds died down long enough for us to get on the water. After a breezy start, the lake became calm and the trolling conditions were excellent. An epic day! We kept 12 fish for the stringer, including two 5-fish limits of Mt. Lassen Rainbows, and 2 Striped Bass. We released 2 Rainbows, 2 Stripers, and 2 Largemouth Bass (the Largemouths each weighed about 1.5 pounds). Probably had another dozen strikes that didn’t stay pinned. Quite a day! The 12 kept fish weighed 23 pounds in total.
    Pictured here are two shots of Paul with a beautiful 4 pound Striper and a 3.2 pound Mt Lassen Rainbow. The third shot is our stringer at day’s end.
     The  majority of the fish were caught in deep 50-80 foot water columns near and at the entrance of Cox Cove. Some others were caught in deep water at Howden Cove. We also caught and released a small Rainbow at the entrance of Cox Cove. We exclusively used single hook and tandem hook streamer flies with anise/krill scent applied. The flies were trolled 10-15 feet below the surface. Lead-core line was used to get the lures down, and “wiggle discs” were positioned in front of the flies to add action.
     The water clarity was excellent, with a surface temperature ranging from 66 degrees in the early morning to 70 degrees in the afternoon. The air temperature reached a high of 88-90 in the afternoon.
    Certainly one of our top fishing days ever! Hope to get back very soon.
    All the best,
         Paul Clouse, Lafayette 
         Dr. Al Hurwitz, Saratoga