Calero mini-report (non yak)

I had a couple hours of daylight after work with nothing else demanding my time for once.  I zipped over to Calero to try my luck from shore.  I figured if I took time to load the yak, pedals, paddle, anchor, life jacket, etc, I'd run out of daylight before I could get anywhere interesting.
 
Water temp off the end of the boat docks (a foot or so down in the water) was 60.8 degrees (up almost 4 degrees from my last trip there 8 days ago).
 
Wind was still whipping a bit but not as bad as last time I was there.
 
I tossed a red watermelon yamasenko by the ramp for a while with no luck.  Went around towards the dam (far side of the picnic area) and had a dink smack the tail of my worm just as I was lifting it at the end of a retrieve.  The little bugger had chased it all the way to the water's edge before short-striking it in plain sight.
 
Guess I'll have to watch the last bit of the retrieve in the future...never know when they'll hit.
 
There were maybe a dozen other people fishing from various spots on shore and only a couple boats on the water.  They must not have been doing well because the boats moved a lot and the folks on shore never seemed to have their rods bent over.  A guy fishing closer to the dam said he lost one 12-13 incher.  He had two rods with him...looked like a spinner on one and a worm like mine on the other.

Boy, I was thinking the same thing!  Drove out there even, down to the pay booth and decided an hour wasn't worth the 6 bucks.  So I cheaped out, even thought of parking by the levy and taking the chance at a ticket, but skipped on that too.  Took a couple pictures, water looks nice an high!  Saw the shore and few boat anglers out there, must have seen you down there somewhere!   

Ah man, I was thinking about going tomorrow.  Maybe I will have to change my plans.  I've got a few leftover minnows, maybe I'll take my chances and try to drown 'em.

Michael

Live bait might do better than tossing worms...especially if you bring the yak and get away from shore.

I think the shoreline drops off too slowly to really get down.  Being on the water tossing towards shore is likely a better setup.  Bring an anchor to help fight the wind.
 
Als - sorry I missed you...went on a last minute decision (it was a toss up between hitting Road Rider for a new helmet or tossing senkos for practice....practice won).
 
I wasn't worried about the six bucks to get in.  I picked up an annual parking pass and an annual launch pass last time I was out there.  Makes it much easier for me to hit Stevens Creek after work (it's close to where I work but their parking machine is nowhere near the launch ramp so pre-pay is much easier).  Happens to make it easier to get into Calero as well (the guard just waved me in when she spotted the passes...I hadn't even made it to the guard shack yet).
 
I figure the $$ for the passes goes directly to the Park vs. taxes barely giving them anything.  I like hitting the local water spots and don't mind flipping 'em a wee bit of green to make sure they stick around.
 
City Parks are free but county parks cost.  I wanna toss my Outback on the little city pond over by Coleman and Almaden Expressway.  I've had good luck from shore with small bass and poppers.  I'd like to find their parents and that likely means being on the water (to get along the island, under the bridge, etc).
 
Calero looks to have a bunch of partially submerged weeds in the end farthest from the dams.  Seems like those would be a good place  to chase bluegill, bass, and crappie once spawning is done (assuming those weeds stay wet).  Gotta get out on the water to reach those.

Since I am up so early, for un-known/un-planned reasons, I think im going to hit up Calero in a few hours this morning before the jetski's arrive.   

I got an east bay park pass, but not one for the south bay just yet.  I just seem to frequent the EB parks more and since they charge for fishing too, it keeps the fee's less per trip as well.  I gladly pay for parking / launching / planting...  But if I just want to pull up and toss a lure for 30 mins, don't wanna fork over $$ for it   So, I actually did wander over to almaden lake, and tried fishing for a little while on the winfeld south end for a lil bit of nothing.  I used to live across the street there in the redwood style condo's and thought it would be fun to fish there.  But the bass seem to be as picky as can be, and I rarely had any success there unless I was fishing for carp...

The SW ponds over on the other side coleman and almaden I have heard plenty of stories about bass, but it seems like you have to climb a fence to get in there, not sure why it's closed off.  It's tempting though to find a nice rarely fished pond to target some nice big bass  

Hey Al, I was at Calero Tuesday and was shocked when I had to pay $6 to park and $6 to launch.  The fishing was OK, but man was I suprised at the rate.

The park ranger told me that if I wanted to park and fish for free that I should go to Almaden Reservoir, which apparently is different than Almaden Lake.

As for the SW ponds over on the other side coleman and almaden, I fish them occasionally.  There is an entrance but unless you're looking for it, it's easy to miss.  We should hit it up sometime as I am only 10 minutes away.

Good luck today wherever you ended up going.  Look forward to a repot.

Michael

I haven't tried the SW ponds.  Can you get a yak through the entrance or maybe a float tube?  Or, are they small enough it's just shore fishing?

I haven't tried the SW ponds.  Can you get a yak through the entrance or maybe a float tube?  Or, are they small enough it's just shore fishing?

a float tube yes, but a yak might look a little funny - they're tiny little ponds.  In fact, I wish I had a float tube to use there.

Michael

Hey Al, I was at Calero Tuesday and was shocked when I had to pay $6 to park and $6 to launch.  The fishing was OK, but man was I suprised at the rate.

Michael

with wheels, you can drive around the back, park for free wheel your boat to levee and launch.

with wheels, you can drive around the back, park for free wheel your boat to levee and launch.

J, how do you get to the back?  I saw some county jailbirds working back there but didn't feel like asking them.  Also, is it considered legit or might somebody who does this be ticketed?  I'm all about saving a few bucks but would have to imagine that one is still required to pay no matter where they park and play.

Michael

JM may be referring to entering calero by the stables.  If you drive past the lake, and hang a right where the stables are, drive in about half way, there is a free parking lot if I remember correctly.  Its a ways to the water though.  Did it a few times to reach the far side of the lake while shore fishing, but you end up walking quite a ways to fish.  I suppose if the water level is high enough you could find a way to launch back there as well.

So, since I was fairly sleep deprived and cold when I got home, I fell alseep and haven't gotten to the report yet.  But I will say I had a blast!  Tons of fish, and just kept bringing them in!  NOT that many people out there, I was first to the water, the only kayak,  and alone for about an hour out there.  The bass were bitting pretty good from what I saw with other bass boaters, and my own catches.  Overall a great time!