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Located in the Castro Valley hills of Alameda County, 315-acre Lake Chabot offers anglers a quiet, scenic location away from the urban madness where they can pursue rainbow trout, largemouth bass, channel catfish, bluegill and crappie. Because of a unique habitat enhancement project, the lake’s fishery is expected to get even better in coming years.
Built in 1874-75 as a primary source of water for the East Bay region, Lake Chabot was closed to recreation for 91 years. Legislation passed in the 1960’s opened the lake to recreational uses including fishing, picnicking, bicycling, hiking and equestrian use.
It is now one of the most popular lakes in the Bay Area due to its heavy plants of rainbow trout and channel catfish and its improving bass and bluegill fishery, resulting from three years of habitat enhancement by volunteers and the East Bay Regional Park District.
Starting in January 2003, volunteers organized by Jon Walton of Walton’s Pond in San Leandro began putting Christmas trees in Lake Chabot to create habitat for largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie and other species. The Black Bass Action Committee (BBAC) used a live release boat to anchor the trees in the water on concrete blocks throughout the lake, mostly along the restricted shoreline.
The volunteers each year placed 250 trees around the dam, Bass Cove and Half Moon Bay, according to Pete Alexander, fishery program director of the East Bay Regional Park District. The volunteers went back to Lake Del Valle this January to restore the fish habitat there – and they plan to come back to Chabot and Quarry Lakes to re-do the habitat work after several years.
When they started the project, Chabot was essentially a big gravel bowl with little fish habitat. “This type of habitat project allows us to build the food chain from the bottom up,” said Walton. “The trees harbor plankton life and attract juvenile fish to use them as fish hotels. As the bass grow, they will use the fish hotels as ambush sites for forage fish.”
Because of lack of juvenile bass recruitment, Chabot's bass population became characterized by a population of a few big trophy fish and the juvenile bass that they fed upon. The habitat project allows the bass to seek safe harbor from the adult largemouths, allowing more largemouths to reach keeper size and larger.
Is the habitat project working? “When you rebuild the food chain from the bottom up, it takes 5 to 10 years before you start seeing a major improvement in the bass fishery,” explained Walton. “It’s not a quick fix to the fishery.”
However, Walton has already noticed two changes in the fishery. “During the first year after putting in the trees, we began to see fish associating with the habitat,” he noted. “The second thing we have observed is the appearance of more 2 to 3 pound bass in the fishery.”
“A lot more people are catching bass now,” observed Stan Wong at Lake Chabot Fishing Outfitters. “On the hot sunny days, you can look in the coves and see fish over 8 pounds, along with a lot of juveniles.”
The park district first stocked Florida-strain largemouth bass in Chabot in 1972. Since then, the district has periodically stocked the lake with anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 bass.
Every year bass over 10 pounds are taken at Chabot. Louis Vasquez set the lake largemouth record in 2002 when he landed a 17 lb. 10 ounce fish.
Abner Morgan landed the largest bass caught at the lake last year, a 13.55 lb. largemouth, fishing a Senko at Catfish Landing. Ryan Thomi, a marina employee, has caught the largest bass this to date, a 10 lb. 12 oz. fish, while fishing a swim bait in Indian Cove on February 10.
The fishing at press time was just improving from a slow start this winter because of muddy water conditions. “The year began with slow fishing, but the fishing started to pick up as the water cleared up,” Wong said. “Anglers are not catching a lot of limits yet, but they’re taking 3 trout per rod on the good days. The trolling has been slow to date; shore anglers are finding the top success.”
However, lake regulars like Dave Burdick of Alameda seem to have no problem catching trout on trolling adventures. He caught a 6.5 lb. rainbow, the largest of the season so far, on February 26. He bagged his big fish and released four others while trolling a nightcrawler behind a Wedding Ring off the lake’s island.
Channel catfish are the second most commonly caught gamefish at Chabot. Alexander has never documented natural catfish reproduction in Chabot, though big, fat holdover cats are taken every season. The district stocked 5,049 pounds of catfish last summer.
The lake also has an improving population of bluegill and a cyclical population of black crappie. Forage species include inland silversides minnows and golden shiners.
San Leandro Creek, the creek that Chabot Dam was built on, once had a population of steelhead that ascended the stream, but steelhead are now blocked from reaching the creek’s headwaters by Chabot Dam and by San Leandro Reservoir further upstream. San Leandro Reservoir is maintained as a refuge for native landlocked steelhead, so no fishing is allowed there. Park rangers heavily patrol the lake, so don’t even think of fishing there.
“The fish in San Leandro Reservoir are genetically pure landlocked steelhead,” said Alexander. “They range from 2 to 4 pounds and up to 22 inches. They are spawning in the upper creek right now.”
Approximately every 8 to 9 years when San Leandro Reservoir overflows during a period of heavy storms, a few big trout go over the dam, into the creek and then into Chabot where they are taken by surprised anglers, according to Alexander.
You won’t find any noisy personal watercraft or recreational boats on the reservoir, since only electric motors are allowed on the lake. The lake currently is a standby drinking water supply where gasoline motors and water contact sports like swimming are not allowed.
Miles of parkland and trails make Chabot a haven for shore bound and boating anglers. Like other East Bay lakes, this is very well managed water that provides good trout and catfish action for close to home anglers, along with a promise of improving bass fishing with the initiation of the habitat enhancement project.
Lake Chabot Facts
Location: Lake Chabot Regional Park is located in the Castro Valley hills off Lake Chabot Boulevard. The reservoir features 315 surface acres when full.
Hours: The lake is open daily from sunrise to sunset, weather and patronage permitting. Fishing is most popular for trout and catfish, but the reservoir also features largemouth bass, bluegill and crappie.
Facilities: The Lake Chabot Fishing Outfitters provide a well-stocked bait and tackle shop, rod and reel rentals, boat rentals and a cafe serving cooked-to-order breakfast and lunch. The Marina and Cafe open at 6:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and 6:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Fees and Permits: Parking is $5.00 and the Daily Fishing Access Permit is $4.00 A California State Fishing License is required for anglers 16 and older.
Camping: Tent and RV camping are available year-round at nearby Anthony Chabot Campground. To reserve a tent or RV site, call EBRPD at (510) 562-2267
Picnicking: Chabot has many first come, first serve and group sites available.
Boat Launch Information: Canoes, kayaks, float tubes with full chest waders and scull craft 20 feet and under may be carried in and launched for a $2.00 fee No inflatable, rowboats or any other types of boats may be launched at Chabot. Gasoline powered motors are not allowed. The Chabot Queen is available for Lake History Tours and Chartered Tours. Fees vary. For rates and information on tours, call (510) 247-2526.
Facilities and fishing Information: Lake Chabot Fishing Outfitters, P.O. Box 2213, Castro Valley, CA 94546, Phone: (510) 247-2526, Fax: (510) 582-1230, Email: gofish@norcalfishing.com, www.norcalfishing.com/chabot.html. For fishing information, you can also call Walton’s Pond in San Leandro, (510) 352-3932.
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Increasingly tough fishing for bass spurred Walton and the district to organize the project in cooperation with the BBAC, the Alameda County Fish and Game Commission and local volunteers. Once known for its big bass, there were virtually no fish in the 2 to 4 pound range left in Chabot before the project began. The juvenile bass became part of the “food chain” for adult bass after the largemouths spawn every spring.
Rainbow trout are still the main quarry of the majority of anglers at Chabot, though anglers can expect to see the bass fishery improve in coming years. The lake is planted regularly during the winter, spring and fall with a combination of Mt. Lassen trout, funded by the park district fishing access permit, and DFG catchable rainbows. Last year the park district stocked 18,000 lbs. of rainbows in the lake, while the DFG planted around 6,000 pounds. Alexander expects to see a similar number of fish planted in 2006.