Bethany Reservoir Fishing in Alameda County, California
Clifton Court Forebay Area

I like to flyfish for bluegill or small black bass. either dry mosquito pattern, or wet streamer work ok. I try to catch a bluegill any way that I can, so i know fish are biting, before switching to flies. fished a lot of hours this weekend, but had very few bites and no bluegill. I fished different types of live worms. maybe when water temp reaches 60 degrees instead of current 53 degrees bluegill will be easier to catch.

Fished flies. nothing. maybe better when weather and water temp rises. keith oneoldhippie at gmail.com

the catfish were biting all day it was fish on. No strippers but 3 to 5 pound cats all day on anchovies great fishing

i just threw out some chunks of mackarel with 2 oz of weight. I was able to get catfish to bite one after anthor on it.None exceeded two pounds though. also caught a couple stripers. those too, werent to big, but still fun to catch.

I've been there a few more times since last comment, with one after another bite. if you are getting plenty of bites, but can't seem to hook them, try switching over to a circle hook. it requires no hook set, and hooks the fish nearly every time. they're great for beginners, but remember do NOT set the hook with a circle hook, for you will miss them almost every time. For rigging, i use a Carolina rig with a size 4-2 hook with 1-2 ounces of weight. Almost any bait will work. I've caught both stripers and cats on mackerel, chicken livers, anchovies, sardines, almost anything. Fishing anywhere near the main entrance seems to be best. Good luck!

After a few more trips, I've got Bethany down. your best shot is a Carolina rig with a 1 ounce barrel swivel, size 2 circle hook (i prefer gamakatsu), with about a 1 in chunk of an anchovy mid-section. Anywhere near the main entrance this will guarantee fish. Simply cast out far as you can, put your pole on a rest, and wait for the fish to hook itself. you will see bite,bite,bite then all of a sudden the pole with be constantly flopping all over. This means the circle hook got the fish on for you, all that is left to do is to real 'em in. Really the only mistake that can be made is to set the hook with a circle hook. That will rip the hook out of the fish's mouth every time. Remember it is NOT a j hook. So whether your experienced or not, this rig will guarantee either some striper or catfish, I've caught both on this rig. My last trip i did exactly this, and caught 26 fish, with some cats exceeding 3 pounds. So good luck on your next fishing trip to Bethany!!!!

AT BETHANY THE BEST TIME TO FISH IS AT NIGHT I SEE VERY FEW LEGAL SIZE STRIPERS BUT VERY BIG CATFISH AT NIGHT TIME WITH CHICKEN LIVER . PATIENCE

SLOW BUT REWARDING AND BIG FISH ALL SPECIES

if this is los vaqueros reservoir off of vasco which i think then it is the number one place i have ever fished in my life usually tie on a split shot or do yuor liter wiht a 1 4 or 1 2 oz. weight barrel with a small bass hook or a gold treble and throw a worm or power bait and hold on to your pole cause it will catch fish left and right i am talking about spring and summer though i went in december of 08 and on my first cast i pulled in a nice bass with a crankbait of a baby bass color then on the far side of the lake close to the rock wall i caugth a nice ten pound trout off of a crankabit going for striped bass it was amzing but i am catch and release but if i oculd choose any lake at all to fish it would be los vaqueros watershed off of vasco number one in my opinion for basstorutand even some salmon