Another +1 on the Delta.  It is, by far, the most consistent for big bass and numbers of them (at least for me).  as far as proximity to Valejo, that would be my suggestion.  There is, of course, the other bodies mentioned such as San Pablo Res., Chabot, etc, but I have made the determination recently that the Delta is the numero uno bass spot for the bay area.  Now go get em!

That really is an incredible looking piece of craftsmanship!  Great work!

That is actually the exact rivet tool I am using!  I returned a cheaper one and got that one, thinking that might be the problem. 
As far as I can tell, I am using the correct adapter on the gun for these 3/16" rivets.  I will double check that. 

Haha!  That does sound bad.

This is what is happening   

Hello everyone, I am Raptor and I am new to the sport of kayak fishing.  I have been fishing since I was 6 and paddling since I was 8, but now that I'm in my 30's I have finally decided to officially combine the two! 
Anyways, I purchased a used Scupper Pro TW and a Ride last September and have slowly been collecting gear and outfitting them over the past few months.  They are both great kayaks and have worked well to catch some bass in the delta and trout up in some Sierra lakes.  I will be hopefully be venturing out on the bay and ocean soon.  I would like to thank all the members here for contributing such valuable information that has already helped me enormously. 

Now that you have my (perhaps unnecessary) back story, I am currently attempting to install some flush mount rod holders, and some pad eyes using pop rivets.  Since this is my first time using pop rivets, I decided to practice first on some scrap plastic and a bucket.  The problem I am experiencing is that the rivet shears with about a half inch of shaft still protruding from the top of the rivet.  I thought maybe it was the rivet gun, so I am now on my second gun from home cheap-blo and still having the same thing happen.  These are the crack of dawn, aluminum rivets purchased from kayak fishing supplies.  Can anyone with experience using pop rivets please help me?  Thank you in advance.

 Very helpful!  Cheers, dude!