Lexington Resorvior is fairly large. It has some bass in it. Bluegills
can also be caught there. You might want to go here when the water level is
fairly high because it does drop a lot. It is visble off highway 17.
Almaden Lake is a good spot for largemouth bass. It is rarely crowded.
You should go to the side of the park that is closest to the intersection
of Coleman and Winfield. Just fish right off the side of the water near the
bamboo sticks. You should use spinnerbaits for the bass. It also has catfish,
carp, and bluegill. There is also a lot of little shads in the lake. The lake
is not too large. It might be one of the best places in the Bay Area for
Bass. But one thing is that the water is contaminated. And it
is not good to eat any of the fish. So this is a more of a catch and release
type of lake.
The wharf in Santa Cruz is right over the ocean. So you might want
to go there if you want to catch stripers. You can catch stripers with anchovies.
Anchovies can be caught right below or near the wharf. You don't want to cast
to far beyond the wharf. It is also a good crabbing place. We have caught
numerous crabs there with cat food, chicken [raw], and halibut. You can buy
a Halibut carcus for only $1.00. It is sold in a store. You might want to
be careful when you are crabbing because a seal can come and take your bait,
along with your net. Those seals love halibut so be very careful when you
crab. We have lost 2 of our 3 nets because of the seals taking them. Try size 6 hooks with shrimp on them for anchovies or sardines. If you catch an anchovie or Sardine you can hook it and fish for Halibut. We got good tips on fishing from a boat rental company, called Santa Cruz Boat Rentals, at the very beginning of the wharf. They also have good tackle and bait there. So you might want to try asking them for some advice.
Parkway Fishing Lakes
The fish in this lake are stocked. The fish are catfish and trout.
There is a little pool near the lake. It has catfish and trout in it. But
you have to pay for each fish you catch. You have to pay for them by the pound. Try using salmon eggs for the catfish and trout that are in the pool.
Del Valle can get very windy. And You don't want to be there under those conditions. We have been there once and it was a very bad fishing trip
because of the wind. But otherwise it should be a good place for catfish and
there should be trout there. I like Del Valle because it has good places to
fish if you have a boat. And the other bad thing about the wind is that if you stop your boat in the water it will move very quickly.
Vasona has some catfish in it and might have some trout. There are a lot of weed things at the bottom of the water and your bait might get caught in them. You can try the smelly catfish bait that you will be able to find at fishing stores to catch the catfish.
