THE SUBURBAN TROUT REVOLUTION

The Changing Landscape Of Gear And Tactics For East Bay Area Lake Anglers

By Mark Fong

For most of my adult fishing life I have had a singular focus. I was a bass fisherman and only a bass fisherman. If I was fishing, I was bass fishing.

But then a funny thing happened a few years ago. I was writing about – you guessed it – bass fishing for a regional periodical and one day the editor asked me if I could do an article about suburban trout fishing for an upcoming edition.

As I began researching the story, it soon became apparent that a lot had changed since the last time I broke out my trout rod. Truth be told: Before becoming bass-centric, growing up I cut my teeth fishing for trout at the local reservoirs near my Bay Area childhood home.

Back then trout fishermen like me fell into two categories: you were either a fly fisherman or a bait dunker. I was the latter, having spent many memorable days at San Pablo and Lafayette Reservoirs soaking PowerBait for planter trout.

Today, the East Bay suburban trout scene continues to grow and evolve thanks in no small part to a growing segment of hardcore anglers who pursue suburban trout with specialized artificial lures and nextlevel tackle with the same fervor and dedication that would rival any bassing savant.

It is this trend that spoke to the bass angler in me and has effectively reignited my love for trout fishing. Let’s take a look at some of the key factors that have helped to shape the new breed of suburban trout angler.

The Fisheries

Traditionally, the suburban trout season runs from the fall to the spring. During this period conditions are ideal for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to plant hatchery trout in many local East Bay waters. At the same time, the East Bay Regional Park District typically plants Del Valle, Lake Chabot, Shadow Cliffs, Quarry Lakes, Contra Loma, Temescal and Don Castro.

In addition, San Pablo Reservoir (closed until its Feb. 3 reopening) and Los Vaqueros Reservoir are very popular local trout fisheries as well, and managers there supplement the CDFW trout plants with private hatchery stockings, including trophy fish. The majority of the planted trout are rainbows; however, on occasion some of the non-CDFW plants include the popular pale-colored but red-meated lightning trout.

JAPAN’S INFLUENCE ON TROUT FISHING

Trout fishing is very popular in Japan, where there are many anglers but not a lot of places to fish. Managed fishing areas are very popular options. They’re akin to the trout farms found in the U.S. that require payment to fish.

Some areas in Japan raise their own fish onsite and typically have multiple ponds that offer anglers different options, such as catch and keep to catch and release.

Japanese trout receive a lot of fishing pressure and successful anglers have learned to refine their tactics to catch them. As such, Japanese tackle manufacturers have developed very specialized and sophisticated tackle for trout fishing. The list includes extraultralight rods, tiny finesse baits and gossamer lines. Most of this tackle is made for the Japanese domestic market (JDM), something that is not widely available in the U.S., but resourceful American trout anglers have learned to source JDM tackle directly from Japanese tackle shops.

As it turns out, JDM area tackle is extremely effective and well suited for catching our local trout as well. JDM rods and reels are a joy to fish. Japanese anglers tend to favor quality over price and as a result that tackle can be pricey. (A word of