Ponds in the bay area (south bay)?

[loganmike]

Hey Gang,
I am playing Daddy day care for my young boy this summer and need some local ponds to take him to in the baby bjorn and fish for a few hours. I live in the south bay, planters or warm water would work.

If you would rather PM, Please do, I appreciate it fellas.

me

[albchen]

Hi loganmike,

Best bet is probably early morning / late afternoon panfishing. Planted trout are probably out of the question, as they will be fairly deep in the summer months, and some Bay Area lakes stop stocking them in the summer months. I've had some fun at all of the lakes/reservoirs in the South Bay. Stevens Creek reservoir has trail access, as does Loch Lomond. The Campbell Perc ponds are also decent for a shore-bound angler.

Best regards,

albchen

[Mike Churchill]

I used to live in Morgan Hill (south of San Jose). After trying out all of the local reservoirs there (Anderson, Coyote, Chesbro, Uvas, and Calero) I eventually started making most of my bass and panfish trips to Chesbro. The kids and I caught lots of bluegill and the occasional bass (before I had any real clue about bassin' with a flyrod). It also has lots of carp but I didn't pursue them back then.

Good luck.

[Notch]

The many ponds in Henry Coe state park are loaded with bass and bluegill. You might have to hike/ride a bike a little farther to get to the good ones, but even the ponds close to the parking lots have eager fish. I think any small fly/streamer would be hard to resist for those fish this time of year.

http://shauntitus.com/wp-content/upl...kelly-lake.jpg

[Hairstacker]

The many ponds in Henry Coe state park are loaded with bass and bluegill. You might have to hike/ride a bike a little farther to get to the good ones, but even the ponds close to the parking lots have eager fish. I think any small fly/streamer would be hard to resist for those fish this time of year.

http://shauntitus.com/wp-content/upl...kelly-lake.jpg

It's true, I have experienced fantastic fishing on some of the back ponds in that park. I would, however, urge caution about going there in the summer and being too ambitious. It get's deathly hot and the park is set in a rolling countryside with lots of big hills. Adequate provisions for drinking water are a must.

[Nomadic Fisherman]

Hey there Loganmike,

I had the best time taking my kids to Loch Lomand in Felton.
We would rent a boat with an electric motor and I would let them drive it to on of the back coves.
There were so many bluegills out there that the kids would get tired of catching them.
I used flies and foam poppers. Smash the barb down for easy removal

Things to bring:
1) Sandwiches and Snacks
2) Water - Soda
3) Handwipes - don't want your snacks to taste like bluegill
4) A small bucket. This use to be more entertaining then catching them
You can release them and then catch more

My kids are teenagers now but they still like to go when their social life allows.

Hope this helps.

Mikel

[MarkF]

Loganmike,
I grew up in Los Gatos. Take your son to Vasona L. Bass, Bluegill, Crappie. Even better during the summer if you have some kind of boat/float tube and can work the tules all along the east side of the dam and across from the dam, especially in the evenings, plus the bats are fun to watch as they chase your popper through the air. Crappies love the area around and under the pier,fish the shady side morning or afternoon, occasional bass there too lurking under the pier. Look for bass under the overhanging willows on the trail from the pier to the dam.

Mark

[fj40]

Took Notches reply to heart and went up to investigate Henry Coe state park. Could not tell by the maps but it is all hike in/backpacking type stuff in there. Good thing for me that one of my other favorite things in life is trail running. As always I keep my sneakers in the backseat and laced em up. Threw my stuff in a backpack and hit the trail. Ran out about 3 miles to Bass lake. Lots of little sunfish eager to take a stripped in nymph but the larger bass were having none of my stuff. I had some followers but no takers. Fished for a couple of hours then ran back to car. Awesome day! Thanks Notch!

[Hairstacker]

Took Notches reply to heart and went up to investigate Henry Coe state park. Could not tell by the maps but it is all hike in/backpacking type stuff in there. Good thing for me that one of my other favorite things in life is trail running. As always I keep my sneakers in the backseat and laced em up. Threw my stuff in a backpack and hit the trail. Ran out about 3 miles to Bass lake. Lots of little sunfish eager to take a stripped in nymph but the larger bass were having none of my stuff. I had some followers but no takers. Fished for a couple of hours then ran back to car. Awesome day! Thanks Notch!

The other thing to note is there is a back entrance providing a far, far shorter, "easier" access to some of the lakes in the back like Coit and Kelly. You'll still have to go over a mother of a hill but it's far shorter and easier than the 23+ mile, 4,200 feet elevation gain round trip you'll experience from the front entrance to reach those lakes.

[Notch]

Glad you got into some fish. I've heard many stories about Coe but never followed them up.
If you're a trail runner (as I am), something a little closer to home would be a trail run into Briones regional park. There's many miles of good single track, and apparently some farm ponds to check out. Look at this:

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=615479

http://boulter.com/geocaching/maps/m...ca/Briones.jpg