Del Valle Skunk 2/28

I de-virginized my kayak in Del Valle this past Saturday.  I have not had time to post yet, and really wasn't too excited to post a zero catch.

I got a very late start and was on the water at 12:30ish.  Walking my yak over to the launch ramp on my newly crafted PVC kart I saw a guy headed to the bait shop carrying a nice rainbow, it went 7 lbs at weigh in-I caught up with him just as the shop was weighing it in.  Excited from what I saw, I launched at the boat ramp and towed around a bright orange baby shad crankbait as well as a broken back floating rapalla.

Water temp ranged from 60 at the launch to 54 near the damn.  I tried to vary my speed, stuck close to the shoreline when there were not shore anglers around.  I took a break and had lunch around 2:30ish, and talked to a guy in a 14' aluminum boat for a little while who said he has an Ocean Kayak rigged for fishing.  He was targeting smallies without much luck, throwing crankbaits at the shoreline (rocks) and cranking it back.  Nice guy.

Continued on, following the shore of Swallow Bay and all the way to the Damn.  All the fish that I was able to mark were 30+ feet down.  I was starting to get a little frustrated, but I didn't really come prepared to bait fish.

Noticing the Sun was about and hour and a half to two from going down I started back and detoured along the way in a nice little cove and threw a weightless senko for a while hoping to get bit.  With my time restrictions I decided to head back.  I towed the same two lures back at a quick pace and made it back talking to a few boaters around the launch.

Two guys in an orange fiberglass boat-Who decided to stay uncomfortably close to me for about an hour had caught two having one get away (out of their fish basket).  A couple of young guys in a OD green john boat with an electric trolling motor looked like they knew there stuff.  I saw them land a 3-4 lb. silver coming in to the launch.  They said they got limits.  I inquired about their set ups, and they were both really nice guys, bringing their rods over they ran an egg sinker (prob. 1/2 to 3/4 ounce) over a swivel about a foot leader with a white floating worm (skinny and about 2'' long) and a white power egg on a number 14 treble hook. 

Which made me think back to why it was such a cluster F--- at the ramp and near the docks.  The young guys explained to me that the fish get stocked right at the ramp and they pretty much hang right there.

Lessons learned:

1.  Get an early start
2.  Ask the guy catching the 7 lb.er where and what he is using before getting     out on the water.
3.  Talk to the bait shop people and get whatever I need to catch fish.
4.  The crowd near the ramp and docks were there for a reason!
5.  Get a better paddle-I went approximately 16+ miles and man that alum. paddle is rough.
6.  Go with a buddy-I got a little board
7.  Del Valle is beautiful and only about 15 minutes from my house-I need to learn that lake!  And get a camera for the yak-Even though I got the skunk it was a beautiful first experience and a really nice paddle.

Thanks for reading-Any Del Valle pointers would be appreciated!

Big Matt, your experience at Del Valle is almost exactly my experience in the 2 times I have tried that lake.  Don't give up, my friend Deva (Fish Flogger) tagged an 8# Rainbow on my last time there. 

matt i hope my old marauder didn't have any leaks =)

definitely you want to upgrade your paddle if you'll be doing 16 MILES a day!  Wow!

i'll help you keep an eye out for one.

matt i hope my old marauder didn't have any leaks =)

definitely you want to upgrade your paddle if you'll be doing 16 MILES a day!  Wow!

i'll help you keep an eye out for one.

Ben!  No not at all the Marauder held strong.  I really didn't plan on going that far, I for some reason thought Del Valle was only a few miles long

I got home and looked at a map and its approx. 7 miles to the dam and back if you go in a straight line and I did a lot of exploring so I guess it would be about 16 miles.

Thanks again for the great new ride (for me anyway) and the help.

Great detailed report Matt.  Your time will come and you'll get 'em, don't you worry, just keep at it.

1.  Get an early start

I can't disagree with that one.

4.  The crowd near the ramp and docks were there for a reason!

Personally, I'd prefer to troll all day and take the skunk than set up and fish planters' row.  Not trying to knock those that do, just not my cup-o-tea.

6.  Go with a buddy-I got a little board

or carry a VHF.  Listening to the chatter breaks up the silence.

Welcome aboard,

Michael

Thanks for the advice Michael.  I will be sure to pick up a VHF soon-especially before hitting the salt.

Agree with Michael, if you monitor VHF 69 you can get some intel from the PB guys. I only go to the dam if I get VHF intel or Fishsniffer reports saying trolling is good there. I live close and have an annual pass so I go there frequently but only for 2-4 hours so I can't afford to go to the dam unless fishing is good there. October - November and April-May are my favorite times to fish DV. January and February are the toughest trolling months at DV IMO. I really like paddling and roll solo frequently but I did get a dog to so I have someone to talk to and keep from jumping out of the boat.  Until 5/1 I will be touring the east bay lakes and you are welcome to join me.  BTW I got skunked there also 2 times in the last month so don't feel bad. 

scott

This is turning into the I got skunked at Del Valle report.  I got skunked there last month too!

Agree with Michael, if you monitor VHF 69 you can get some intel from the PB guys. I only go to the dam if I get VHF intel or Fishsniffer reports saying trolling is good there. I live close and have an annual pass so I go there frequently but only for 2-4 hours so I can't afford to go to the dam unless fishing is good there. October - November and April-May are my favorite times to fish DV. January and February are the toughest trolling months at DV IMO. I really like paddling and roll solo frequently but I did get a dog to so I have someone to talk to and keep from jumping out of the boat.  Until 5/1 I will be touring the east bay lakes and you are welcome to join me.  BTW I got skunked there also 2 times in the last month so don't feel bad. 

scott

Scott-

I appreciate the offer-Definately let me know next time you will be visiting one of the bay area lakes.  I need to learn to fish all the lakes that are in my backyard.

I guess even the experienced have bad luck from time to time.

This is turning into the I got skunked at Del Valle report.  I got skunked there last month too!

My bad.  I don't want to spread the negativity.

I do live close though-I will try to figure Del Valle out the best I can and post what I learn on NCKA.

thanks for the effort in the writting of the report. del valle is my DEVIL lake and have been frustrated the days I've spent there.
Thanks for the good read and DON'T GIVE UP(like me)!
aPICTUREpostedMAKESupFORlackOFfish,ALWAYS!

Knock on wood, but I have never been skunked at Del Valle. I've had some days when it was tough to come by a fish, but I've always caught one there.

The key for me has been slow trolling jointed Rapalas, and I mean SLOOOOOW trolling them. In no wind, I'll only dip a paddle once ever two or three seconds. I also will change sizes and/or colors every 30-45 minutes until I figure out what is working. Firetiger has been my most consistent color, but I can remember times when only a J-5 in gold was working.

When the Rapalas aren't working or I need to get deeper, I use a 1/4 oz brown trout colored Kastmaster. With the Kastmaster I ,give two or three quick strokes and then coast, a few more strokes, coast again. I think having the kastmaster rising and falling is what is triggering the strike.

I hope this helps for you!

-Jay

Fishing-Jay, a question about your post.  I suppose your Rapallas are floating.  Do you use the lure without any weight and if so, how far do you fish it off your Kayak (distance I would suppose equals depth of the lure)?  Is the lure going from the surface to just a few feet under, or is it at a deeper initial depth and then making it's moves?  I would assume the distance from the Kayak is quite important for this will control the depth.  This is all new to me and I am trying to get an understanding of how things work.

If you get the J series rapalas they are all floating and run at about 5 to 8 feet deep. I run them with about six feet of 6lb flouro leader on 8lb mainline braid about 50 to 75 feet back. The distance isn't all that important because once you get it back about 30 feet or so they will run the same depth. Also, trout don't really seem all that spooked by kayaks.

If I were you I would go ahead and get about 4 rapalas for starters: J-7 firetiger, J-7 rainbow trout, J-5 Brown trout, and J-5 silver. With those colors and sizes you should be able to pick up a trout. Just remember, troll slow, and when your rod loads up keep paddling for two hard strokes before you reach for your rod so that you can keep enough pressure on the line while you reach up and start reeling.

Hi Big Matt,

Sorry to hear you got skunked. I've been fishing there 1.5 years and think I've only been skunked maybe once. Maybe I've just been lucky but it seems that getting skunked is not the norm for this lake...unless you are fishunter 

My tip would be to try a threaded nightcrawler. Just use a sliding sinker rig with a 3 ft leader. I use a small bait holder hook. If you don't already own one you'll need to buy a threader. They have them at the marina bait shop. I find that this rig works well at pretty much all california lakes for trout. Rapalas are also a good option for this lake and I've had pretty good luck pulling a hammered silver little cleo. I would recommend trying the narrows. It's not a long paddle and I've caught the majority of my trout there.

Best of luck next time you go out. I wish dv was only 15 minutes from my house. It's a 1.5 hour drive for me. Consider yourself lucky to be so close to such a wonderful fishery. Congrats on getting your first yak. Fishing will never be the same for you.

-FF