Catfish are on the bite at Lake Chabot

Lake Chabot - Castro Valley, CA (Alameda County)

Catfish are on the bite at Lake Chabot

by Lake Chabot Marina
8-30-2013
(510) 247-2526
Website

GENERAL CONDITIONS
With summer starting to come to an end, the weather has been a pretty steady heat in the high 70's to low 80's while catfishing has been picking up and becoming steadier as well. This past week, several nice catfish were reported getting caught by the first dock on the west shore trail at night using anchovies. The water clarity has been great in the past few weeks with about a 15 foot visibility but at the same time the algae is starting to bloom over the shallow parts of the lake. When you bring in your big fish, 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 will be more than happy to help you get set up for fishing adventure. Boating has been picking up more and more during the summer months, if you're looking to take out a boat, the best time to come out is in the morning or early afternoon. As mentioned before, the wind picking up in the late afternoon has caused us to give out warnings or not send out kayaks, rows or electric boats.

SPECIALS
Attention all boaters we now offer food delivery to your boat! Call the marina place and order for $25 or more and it will be brought to your boat.

HALF OFF ALL BOAT RENTALS (including Patio Boats!)
Tuesday -- Thursday (non-holidays)

New Apparel!
We've got some new apparel here at Lake Chabot! We just got a new shipment in of shirts and a new variation on one of our sweatshirts. Our original pink and orange sweatshirts now come in grey! And we have a brand new lake blue shirt, as well as a new brown trout shirt. Come by and check them out!

Fish Plants
Since the beginning of summer, we have planted a little over 4,500 lbs of catfish. The last plant was on August 28th of 500 lbs. of catfish from Mt. Lassen. We only have a few more catfish plants schedule for this summer and as soon as the water temperature cools down we will start planting trout again. Trout won't start to pick up until the water cools down, and we won't get our first trout plant for fall until late September or early October.

Fishing Hotspots Map (PDF)
Download Lake Chabot Fishing Hotspots Map (PDF). Last updated August 28, 2013.

TROUT
Trout fishing is extremely slow right now. It won't start to pick up until the water cools down and we won't get our first trout plant for fall until late September or early October. For now, make sure to use bait that is bright to lure the fish in and if you're going to be trolling, the best lures to use are Firetiger Rapalas, Kastmasters and Mirashads. As we get closer to summer the water will begin to warm up, so if your trolling make sure to use some split shot about 18 inches away the lure. When they do start to pick up, chartreuse and rainbow Powerbait will be the best baits to catch trout! When trolling, make sure to let out about a hundred feet of line and let the motor do all the work but also be wary of other anglers on the shoreline so your lines don't get caught!

BASS
Bass fishing has been on the rise! 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 mostly on plastics, jigs and hula grubs. Near the island or the tulles by Raccoon Point are always a good spot to fish for bass. Silver Rainbow Flukes are also doing really well with 3/0 wide shank hook. Several reports of bass anglers using swimbaits are getting a lot of follows but can't seem to pull them out of Half Moon Bay. Livewells can be provided upon request thanks to Walton's Pond. Please practice catch and release for bass, as they are not stocked into the lake and their population depends on you!

CATFISH
Catfishing slowed down a little for anglers fishing off boats, but fishing at night is starting to pick up. The first dock on the west shore trail is starting to pick up. Reports of several nice size catfish are getting pulled out the night of the fish plant. This dock tends to get pretty packed at night so make sure to come early to claim your spot. Our latest catfish plant was on August 28, 2013 with 500 lbs from Mt. Lassen. We only have a few more catfish plants schedule for this summer and as soon as the water temperature cools down we will start planting trout again. They will plant right next to the marina on the west shore trail. Water temperature will determine how active catfishing will be. The warmer the water the more active they will be, especially at night. Typically around this time of the year, catfish are going to be located by Raccoon point, behind the island, back by the dam and bass cove during the day. Anglers fishing at night are doing fairly well fishing near the marina at night especially on the first and second docks. Anglers are using mackerel, anchovies and chicken liver for bait, as well as night crawlers. We have several weeks of schedule catfish plants left for this summer season, when the water temperatures starts going back down we will start planting rainbow trout again, so grab your most stinky bait and come on out before all the catfish swim back down to the bottom of the lake! With the heat picking up here and there, catfish might start picking up but there's no guarantee!

WHOPPERS
No recorded whoppers for this week.

SPECIALS
HALF OFF ALL BOAT RENTALS (including Patio Boats!)
Tuesday -- Thursday (non-holidays)

HOURS OF OPERATION
Monday -- Thursday
Boat rentals are 6:00am -- 5:00pm
Boats due in by 6:00pm
Friday -- Sunday
Boat rentals are 6:00am -- 6:00pm
Boats due in by 7:00pm

Hours subject to change based on weather conditions and light levels.


< Previous Report Next Report >




< Previous Report Next Report >


More Reports


8-17-2013
GENERAL CONDITIONS With summer starting to come to an end, the weather has been a pretty steady heat in the high...... Read More

8-1-2013
GENERAL CONDITIONS The water clarity is about 15 feet but the bite has still been off and on with trout. When it is on, bites have been caught from the shore and trolling. 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...... Read More