Fishing Shadow Cliffs

Shadow Cliffs Reservoir is a converted gravel quarry that is stocked with trout and catfish by the DFW and EBRPD. There are a few bass ponds within the park that provide additional fishing. See reports.

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About the Lake

The reservoir does not really have a huge amount of fishable shoreline. Much of the land by the lake is not owned by the park, and a significant part of the main trail is closed thanks to storm damage. That means that in peak trout season, the lake can be quite crowded.

People seem to do ok off the docks here using Powerbait — some hot spots are the second dock, the bench to the left of the boat ramp, and the Stanley Blvd shoreline. Cast as far as you can to get to the deeper water. The water can be quite shallow from the swim beach to the first dock, but the stocked trout can congregate here if they are freshly planted — throw a minijig or a spoon for a few casts, and move on. It is extremely snaggy here though, so be wary. They also seem to show up on occasion in the really shallow water to the left of the swim beach, for whatever reason — people will wade out and cast at them (at your own risk — there are no wading signs littered throughout the park).

The third dock gives you access to a mix of shallow and deep water that can provide action on occasion. Following the third dock, there is a small fisherman’s trail that goes to the end of the reservoir where it gets extremely deep, but it’s quite hard to fish thanks to overhanging foliage and the lack of flat ground — if you wear good boots, you might be able to get a little bit of privacy here.

There are some big resident bass. There are also catfish that are planted in the main reservoir as well — apparently the fishing can be quite good after trout plants, as they supposedly feed on the crawdads that in turn feed on dead stocked trout.

The back ponds provide an option if the fishing at the main lake is slow. They’ve been full of weeds at the spots I’ve tried, but the fishing has been decent for bass and some large bluegill — try to stick to weedless gear.

Notes

The EBPRD charges both a $6 parking fee (more than Quarry), as well as a $5 fishing fee. Expensive, but can be worth it if you can find the fish. You can park outside and walk in, but make sure to buy a fishing permit.

Official website: EBPRD

Fish plants and somewhat biased fishing reports: Angler’s Edge

Check out my Bay Area trout fishing guide.

Recommended Gear

For the trout:

Powerbait Micetails

A piece of soft plastic infused with Powerbait flavoring. These days, I far prefer micetails over Powerbait, as I think they have a bit of extra attraction in moving water. Additionally, micetails are way less messy than the Powerbait, and you don't leave random floating pieces of plastic dough floating in the lake after you're done fishing. To make sure they float, use a size 8-10 mosquito hook.

See on Amazon

Mini jig, 1/16 or 1/32 oz

A small tube that can be twitched in the water to entice wary trout. Keep your rod tip high, and wiggle the lure in the middle of the water column. Can be very effective, especially if you can see the fish. Can be hard to cast far, unless you're using very light line (2 - 4 lb)

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Acme Kastmaster, 1/8 oz

One of my favorite lures for trout fishing, very useful for covering a lot of water and finding where the active fish are. It's a very aerodynamic lure that can be casted quite far on light line. I've had the most success on stop-and-go, erratic retrieves. Use gold Kastmasters on sunny days or in murky water. Use silver Kastmasters on cloudy days or clear water. Kastmasters can be somewhat expensive - South Bend also sells Kastaways which are somewhat cheaper but can't say I've personally used them.

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Panther Martin, 1/16 oz

A classic trout spinner. I like a retrieve with many erratic jerks with these spinners, to let the blade flutter as much as possible. Traditionally the gold blade with black body and yellow spots has been the most effective for me, but the other colors should also work.

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Powerbait

The classic trout bait. I typically use micetails in favor of Powerbait these days, but sometimes the original dough will work when nothing else will. Take a small bit of the dough, and mold it around a size 16-18 treble hook on a sliding sinker rig. Cast the bait out and just let it sit. It can smell kinda bad, so be ready to vigorously clean your hands afterward. I've linked the garlic flavor, but the corn and original scents work just as well. I personally don't think the color matters a whole lot, but some people swear by chartreuse.

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Thomas Buoyant, 1/4 or 1/6 oz

A Kastmaster alternative. It casts a somewhat smaller distance, but the spoon has a slightly different fluttering action that seems to sometimes entice more hits.

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For the bass:

Yamamoto Senko

A must-have soft plastic for bassing on the West Coast. I usually fish these wacky-rigged - basically just sticking the point through the thickest part of the worm without any weight. Cast it out and repeatedly jig it, letting the Senko flutter back to the bottom. It seems to work quite well on the heavily pressured lakes in the Bay Area. Green pumpkin is traditionally considered the best color.

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Strike King Spinnerbait

Spinnerbaits are my favorite lures for covering water when bass fishing, as not only do they provide a lot of action and noise, but they also are relatively weedless compared to other hard baits. Honestly the brand doesn't matter too much here - I've linked the brand-name Strike King lure here. Like other lures, stop-and-go retrieves are the way to go.

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Hula Popper

Poppers are my favorite topwater baits - there's just something so appealing about the way they chug and spit water on the surface, and the way bass attack them so aggressively and visibly. Brand doesn't matter too much here again - I linked the classic Hula Popper. Keep your rod tip low to the water, and repeatedly jerk the lure. You can also "walk-the-dog" on good poppers by repeatedly wiggling the lure in a particular direction, once again with your rod tip close to the water. Your popper will start darting side-to-side, creating action that no bass can resist.

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Recent Reports

Experimenting at Shadow Cliffs

28 Dec 2024

Lately, I’ve been trying to move away from using Powerbait because I dislike the environmental impact of dough falling off hooks and littering the shoreline. As a result, I’ve been meaning to switch to salmon eggs instead, though I’ve always wondered how they compare to Powerbait in terms of effectiveness. Today, I decided to make the drive out to Shadow Cliffs to put them to the test. I rigged a white and orange micetail on one rod, while on my second rod I hooked up a single orange salmon egg with a mini marshmallow.

I started off by fishing the Stanley Blvd shoreline. Gently tossing out my salmon egg about 30 ft netted me a small Lassen and a tiny DFG, while I didn’t get a single hit on my micetail rod.

However, the water was pretty disgusting there, as there was a lot of littered Powerbait covering the shoreline as well as a significant amount of glitter floating in with the wind. Because of that, I decided to move down to the panhandle of the lake. There, I caught two tiny DFGs on the micetail. I did get a hit on the salmon egg/marshmallow but it didn’t quite stick.

Not bad for a couple of hours time. I don’t typically fish Shadow Cliffs that often because it’s always a bit crowded for my taste, but maybe I’ll start having to visit more given my success today…