Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 2723 Oct 26-Nov 9 | Page 18
16
Oct 26 - Nov 9, 2018
Map Feature
VOL.37 • ISS. 23
Shadow Cliffs Lake is a great spot for anglers to fish from shore and boats for rainbow trout, channel catfish and largemouth bass.
Photo courtesy of the ROCKY MOUNTAIN RECREATION COMPANY.
S
Shadow Cliffs Reservoir Offers Trout, Catfish and Bass
hadow Cliffs Regional Recre-
ation Area, a regional park
on the border of Pleasanton and
Livermore that is part of the East Bay
Regional Parks(EBRP) system, is a
great example of what can happen
when government agencies, busi-
nesses and the public work together to
do things right.
A former gravel quarry, Shadow
Cliffs is now a prime fishing spot to
catch rainbow trout, channel catfish
and largemouth bass in the Pleasanton
area. The land was donated to
the East Bay Regional Park
District EBRP by Kaiser
Industries, formerly the
operator of the quarry,
and opened as a park
in 1971.
The U.S. Bureau
of Outdoor Recre-
ation provided
a grant of
$250,000
for
devel-
opment of park facilities. With
this funding, EBRPD developed a
266-acre park that included an 80-acre
lake, picnic facilities and large parking
lot.
The lake includes a sandy beach
with swimming, water slides and
supports fishing and recreational
boating. It is also a popular picnic area
for Pleasanton and East Bay Region
families. Now the water slides have
been taken down and is now planned
to be replaced by an Interpretive
Center.
During periods of big storms
when other East Bay lakes
become muddy and hard to
fish, Shadow Cliffs and
its East Bay neighbor,
Quarry Lakes, remain
fishable.
“Shadow Cliffs
maintains relatively
clear water condi-
tions during and
after winter
storm events,”
said Ed Culver,
EBRPD fisheries biologist in his latest
report on the reservoir covering the
period from 2013 to 2017. “For this
reason, the rainbow trout catches are
often very good when other local
reservoirs are turbid and unfishable.”
Fish community surveys are
conducted annually at the same sites
from June-July, according to Culver.
Surveys are conducted at night using
an electro-fishing boat. This method
utilizes an electrical current sent
from the boat through the water,
which temporarily stuns the fish for
easy collection. Upon collection, fish
are identified, measured for length
and weight, and released back into
the lake. Four sites were chosen at
Shadow Cliffs along the nearshore
zones.
“Due to issues with the boat trailer
in 2016, and mechanical issues with
our electrofishing boat in 2017, we
were unable to sample Shadow Cliffs
in 2016 or 2017, therefore, this report
includes information from 2013-
2015.,’ said Ed Culver, EBMPD
fisheries biologists
“There has been a
decrease in total catch
rate over these 3 years,”
said Culver. “Large-
mouth bass dominated
most of the catch for all
years. The largemouth
bass we collected consists of high
numbers of juvenile and young adult
fish, but few larger adults.
“Because Shadow Cliffs is a steep-
sided reservoir, there is a relatively
narrow littoral zone, (submerged
aquatic weeds), along the shoreline
of the lake. The littoral zone of a lake
provides important rearing habitat for
young bass and sunfish. A majority of
Big rainbows are the reward for anglers fishing at Shadow
Cliffs in the fall, winter and spring.
Photo courtesy of the ROCKY MOUNTAIN RECREATION
COMPANY.
largemouth bass sampled in Shadow
Cliffs are from smaller size-classes.
“Because of the general shape of
Shadow Cliffs, with a narrow littoral
zone surrounding fairly deep water,
our surveys typically do not sample
the larger fish that are deeper and
further from shore where electro-
fishing is not effective. Therefore,
the survey data primarily reflects the
smaller bass found in the nearshore
habitat that is accessible to electro-
fishing,” he said.
Besides the naturally reproducing
fish species discussed here, Shadow
Cliffs supports a popular put-and-take
fishery for rainbow trout and channel
catfish.
Funded by the District’s Fishing
Access permit program, Shadow Cliffs
generated over $76,000 in revenues
and over $93,000 was expended on
fish plants in 2016.
Shadow Cliffs received 20,750
pounds of rainbow trout from EBRPD
and an additional 6,750 pounds of
trout from the California Department
of Fish and Wildlife in 2016. The
District also planted 3,250 pounds of
channel catfish during the summer
months.
In 2017, EBRPD planted 20000 lbs.
of trout and 3250 lbs. of catfish, while
the CDFW stocked 6000 lbs. of trout/
catfish.
In 2018 so far, the EBRPD has
planted 9,700 lbs. of trout and 3250
lbs. of catfish, while the CDFW has
stocked 5500 lbs. of trout/catfish). The
CDFW Urban Fishing Program also
stocked 500 lbs. of trout.
The lake received the first trout plant
of fall 2018 when the park district
stocked 750 pounds of rainbows the
week of October 1. You can expect
trout fishing to improve as the weather
cools and more rainbow plants go into
Shadow Cliffs in the coming months.
Some of the largest fish caught
and reported by anglers since 2013
include: two channel catfish over 16