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Lake Del Valle Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The East Bay's stocked oasis: a canyon lake of planted trout, striped bass surprises and Bay Area crowds handled with grace.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~73 F est.
Air / High
72 / 74 F
Wind
WNW 12 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Lake Del Valle offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. Today brings clear skies, wind WNW around 12 mph, rising pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 74. Water sits around 73 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Smallmouth bassGood

Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Rainbow troutGood

Prime dry-fly and hopper season. Match the hatch morning and evening; nymph the seams midday.

Largemouth bassFair

Prime chasing season. Work moving baits on points and pockets: spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and squarebills, with a stick worm behind for followers.

CrappieSlow

Spawning shallow around cover in spring; jigs under a float near buck brush and laydowns.

Tomorrow: Similar at 75 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~73 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp72 F
High / Low74 / 57 F
WindWNW 12-14 mph
Pressure1013.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 15%
Sunrise / Sunset06:40 / 19:31
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~73 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Showers, 74/57 F, wind 14 mph, rain 15%

Fair or better. A 14 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Del Valle: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Prime chasing season. Work moving baits on points and pockets: spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and squarebills, with a stick worm behind for followers.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: May-Oct

Current and rock. Finds gravel flats, boulders and drop-offs, and fights far above its weight. Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Best: Apr-Jun, Sep-Oct

The workhorse of western rivers: riffles, seams and dry-fly eats. Prime dry-fly and hopper season. Match the hatch morning and evening; nymph the seams midday.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Spawning shallow around cover in spring; jigs under a float near buck brush and laydowns.

When to come: the Lake Del Valle calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Smallmouth bass
Rainbow trout
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 73 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~73 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake Del Valle today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 77 F, wind to 16 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 76 F, wind to 15 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Smallmouth bass led the card at good. High of 72 F, wind to 16 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

California requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

California license + park day-use. Trout plants seasonal; striper 18-inch: check park/CDFW postings.

Access

Del Valle regional park launch, rentals, bank access lake-wide.

About this water

750 acres south of Livermore, Alameda County, CA. The East Bay's stocked standby.

Fishing Lake Del Valle: the full guide

The regional-park fishery

Del Valle fills a golden canyon south of Livermore: an East Bay Regional Park lake whose heavy trout plants (fall through spring) and resident stripers built the Bay Area's most dependable public fishery. Two million visitors share the park: the fish keep biting anyway.

The trout season

October-May is the program: weekly plants (the park posts them), PowerBait-and-crawler soakers at the classic banks (the dam, swim-beach points), and trollers pulling grubs at 5-25 ft. Derby weekends spike the stakes: holdovers past 5 pounds reward the season's diligent.

Stripers and the warm months

The lake's landlocked stripers (aqueduct arrivals) take over summer: anchovy soakers at the dam, topwater surprises at dawn, fish to 20-plus pounds on live shiners: while largemouth work the tule edges and catfish plants keep the family docks bending. The two-season identity keeps the lake honest year-round.

Park practicalities

The launch, rentals and bait shop run park-standard (entrance fee, quagga inspection): the 10-mph limit keeps water calm: and East Bay heat makes summer mornings the only serious window. Note the water-body advisories posted (mercury guidance on some species): the park signs it clearly.

Common questions

When does Del Valle stock trout?

Roughly October through May, weekly: the park publishes plant days. Winter mornings after a plant are the Bay Area's easiest limits.

Are there big stripers in Del Valle?

Twenty-pound fish come up every summer: aqueduct immigrants grown local. Live bait at the dam or dawn topwater: the lake's adrenaline counterpoint to trout season.

Is fishing good at Lake Del Valle right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Los Vaqueros Reservoir16 miCalifornia Delta33 miSan Pablo Reservoir37 miPacifica43 miSan Luis Reservoir47 miLake Camanche59 mi
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