Lake Del Valle Fishing Report

Water temps have jumped into the 70s at Del Valle, and after an excellent spring, the bite is starting to cool off a bit. Trout plants are over, the latest coming the last week in April. There are still fish to be caught, though they've moved into much deeper water chasing cooler temps. Powerbait and floated nightcrawlers are your best bet during the day. Early mornings are kicking out some shallower fish on spinners and spoons.

Sticking with bait is your best bet for stripers and catfish (obviously) as well. Stripers have also moved deep, but a few keepers are being caught on soaked anchovies. Catfish are hitting chicken liver and garlic-dipped baits, with the best action coming in the evenings.

The bass bite remains good, with both smallmouth and largemouth hitting swimbaits and drop-shotted 4½-inch plastic worms near rocky structure and secondary points. A few fish are still shallow... with the occasional one still bedding or protecting their fry. Weightless Senkos can be deadly for these fish.

The recent cold spell has cooled Del Valle down a bit, but water temps are still hovering right around 63 degrees. Before the storm, fishing had been lights-out across the board, with big fish being caught from multiple species.

On the bass front, water levels are high, and fish have been pushing into fresh cover to spawn. Plenty of smaller males are being caught on soft plastics, but the real action has been with glide baits and big poppers for those giant females. Multiple fish over 7 pounds were caught this week alone. Folks are also reporting an excellent bite on swimbaits and A-rigs in open water near points... pulling both bass and smaller stripers. Speaking of stripers, an 11-pounder was also caught this week on soaked anchovies.

Trout are producing as well, with another Lassen stocking dropped last wek. Boaters are hooking 2-3 pound fish on Rooster Tails and Mepps spinners. Shore casters are also finding sucess on the West Shore dock and East Swim Beach using PowerBait and floated nightcrawlers.

Look for the awesome bite at Del Valle to continue into May.

A recent stretch of warm weather has pushed water temperatures up more than 6 degrees, with the lake now sitting right around 57°F... and bass season is officially underway. Fish are showing up in the shallows all over the lake, with the backs of coves and warmer areas seeing more fish cruising shallow.

Getting bites, however, has been the challenge. Plenty of anglers are seeing fish, but getting them to commit is another matter. The folks who are catching fish are doing so primarily on finesse... drop shots and flukes. Worth noting, a few smallmouth have already been spotted pairing up, and holding near their spawning area.

On the trout front, Lassen stocks continue and the bite has remained very good. PowerBait, floated nightcrawlers, and micetails are all working well. A few nice crappie have been pulled out last week as well on mini jigs.