The lake level is down to 680 feet above sea level and still dropping by the day. Water temperature is hovering around 50 degrees. Bone chilling frosty mornings give way to decently warm afternoons in the 50's but the afternoon winds are pretty cold, so bring an extra jacket.

Rainbow Trout have been biting in the morning to mid-afternoons on inflated nightcrawlers, but not much more than that. An occasional anglers have been using either Power-Bait or Mice tails in various different colors, green and white being preferred. Small Rapalas such as j-5, and j-7's in fire tiger and black & silver colors have been doing well being trolled or cast from the shore.

Striped bass are still being caught, as well as in the shallows in about 5-15 feet of water. Jerk baits and hair raiser jigs have been the method of choice, but the A-rig is a secret among Big striper anglers. They will also eat bait like mackerel, anchovies, sardines, and chicken livers.

Catfish are always a safe bet when you want to catch something, especially in winter when the fish are heavily concentrated due to the lakes low level. They can be caught on all the baits that a striper would eat, including many others such as nightcrawlers, shrimp, squid, and salmon belly. I always keep a few bottles of Pro-Cure in my Tackle bag at all times. Pro-cure is a super sticky gel in many different scents that can be applied to lures or bait.

My good friend Dr. Al came up to the Lake and dragged some lines for smallmouth bass. Here is his report:
"Hi Danny-

Al Hurwitz of Saratoga and Abbey Lev of Sunnyvale fished the lake on 12/10/15 between rainy downpours. We had 4-5 strikes, with two fish caught. One was a decent Striped bass caught in Heron Bay and the other a nice smallmouth bass. Most of the bites were along the western shore north of the Narrows (opposite shore from Heron Bay and Swallow Bay). Al lost a nice smallmouth of about 3 lbs. when the fish came completely out of the water and spit the hook. The fish remain very scattered due to the lake water level down about 20 feet. We were trolling with panther martin and rooster tail spinners. The fish were about 15 feet below the surface in a 20-25 foot water column. Water clear with surface temperature of 55-56 degrees. We need more water for more efficient trolling.

All the best, Dr. Al Hurwitz"
Good luck to everyone now rip some lips!

No fish were reported or brought to be weighed in this week.