In spite of recent success and the best of intentions, Paul Clouse, Ted Cribari, and Al Hurwitz could not get a bite while trolling Lake Del Valle (LDV) on 5/14/26. We tried Streamer Flies, a favorite spoon, Joe’s Feathered Spinners, and Panther Martin Spinners all to no avail. The fish clearly had lockjaw, since these lures have usually worked vey well at this lake as well as other venues. The lures (with scent applied) were trolled 5-20 feet below the surface in multiple sections of the lake.
    In speaking to certain members of the Del Valle staff (who we know to be skilled anglers), they stated that the lake had been in a recent state of flux, with water being introduced and released in the same time frame. They stated that fishing had been been tough recently, even in their skilled hands, due to these shifting hydraulic conditions. An AI (artificial intelligence) analysis of fishing conditions at LDV on 5/14/26 stated that “poor solunar timing, disruptive winds, rising water temperatures, and abundant natural forage” were all factors in the fishing slowdown. However, we actually found the winds to be light until the end of our outing. Furthermore, while we would have expected the rising surface water temperature of 68-70 degrees to slow the Rainbow Trout bite by driving them into deeper water, we would have expected the Striped Bass and Smallmouth Bass bite to have picked up in that instance. That didn’t happen.
    All that said, we’ll be back when the lake stabilizes further in the warmer weeks ahead.
    All the best,
         Paul Clouse, Lafayette 
         Ted Cribari, Los Gatos
         Dr. Al Hurwitz, Saratoga