The weather this week was beautiful in the mid 90’s and the water temp is a wonderful 77 degrees. Wind this week was mild but still present. Catfish are still on the prowl eating cut baits in the warm shallower near beds. Most of the cats getting caught have been in the Narrows and in the back of the coves. Anchovies have been the secret bait this week. One of the tricks while fishing with Anchovies is keeping them frozen for as long as possible,either in a cooler with lots of ice or covering them with a rag and keeping the bag is the shade. Always cut the heads off the Anchovy and thread your hook backwards through the meaty chunk at the end then half hitch your line two, or three times around the body. This allows you to put more heft in to your cast and get it much further out where the fish are.It also keeps shaker Striped Bass and smaller Catfish from stealing your bait right off the hook, the fish are very stealthy about robbing you! I always bring at least two bags of Anchovies with me in case I get in to the fish, nothing is worse than finding where the fish are and running out of bait. Then you have to leave your spot to go back to the marina to get more and hope the fish are still there upon your return.

A story that really tugs on my heart strings is a young man named Kyler who just turned 6 years old this week. He and his father had been fishing four different times and had not caught a fish yet, and then they saw my flyer for guided fishing tours. Within the first hour we had fish on, but to make things even better, seconds after the first fish took the bait a second rod started screaming line and it became a double up! Kyler’s very first fish was a double up with his father. We kept Kyler’s fish but had to release his father’s Striped Bass. This young man ended up catching three Catfish that day. That is a father son bonding experience that I am proud to say I was a part of. Now Kyler has returned with his dad and is a fishing addict. Its funny to me how one good day of lip rippin can hook someone, no pun intended.

My good friend Dr. Al came up the lake to drag a few lines for Smallies and he sent me his report for that afternoon. ‘’ Hi Danny:

Al Hurwitz of Saratoga and Abbey Lev of Sunnyvale had a banner day trolling the lake on 8/6/15. We caught 28 Smallmouth Bass using feathered Panther Martins, trolled 5 to 25 feet below the surface. We were fishing in 20 – 30 foot water columns. Applying Shad, Anchovy, and Herring scents to the spinners seemed to help. The fish were in a variety of sizes, the larger ones around 1.5lbs. We had three double hookups and one triple hookup from the Smallies (a rather remarkable feeding frenzy)! Water temperature was 75-78 degrees at the surface, and the water clarity was good to excellent. The lake level is down several feet over the past few weeks. The Smallmouths were caught all over the lake, took the hook enthusiastically, and were great fighters! If you are trolling for this great fish, move along rocky structure and cover near points, try feathering spinners at a variety of depths, use scents applied to the lures, and practice catch and release.

Lake Del Vale Smallmouth fishing is not to be missed, especially for those who haven’t tried it before. The fish will hit surface flies and poppers, casted and trolled lures ( e.g Panther Martins, Rooster Tails , and Rapalas), drop shot rigs, and bottom jigs dressed with crawfish plastics. We are very fortunate to have Lake Del Valle as an outstanding local resource for Smallies- add this species to your Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Striped Bass, Catfish, and panfish outings. All the best, Dr. Al Hurwitz” Thank you to everyone who reads this report, you make it possible for me to do what I do. Now go and rip some lips!