Los Vaqueros Reservoir & Watershed

My quest to find a scenic jogging route in Brentwood continues. Los Vaqueros Reservoir is beautiful! On the way there driving on Walnut Blvd., I saw three fluffy sheep scurrying away, one beautiful fawn horse (she looked like Celeste), a herd of black cows, at least dozen rabbits, two tiny baby squirrels, and I heard something grunting like a pig but didn’t see what it was because I kinda screamed and ran. Lol There was a sign about rattlesnakes that put me on edge since I was by myself and out there before the park was even open. The dam was cool looking and there were tons of little birds flying around it. It was nice to just sit and hear the water flowing and birds singing. Maybe a picnic spot? There is only a mile of area to walk/​jog on after you get to the staging area, but I saw some bicyclists start to come in as I left which is like a 3 mile ride from the entrance. 5 miles from my house. Might do that instead of driving next time. All in all, a gorgeous place, full of nature, and probably a good place to bring kids. Not so much for jogging. #Brentwood

Los vaqueros is a beautiful place to visit. You have the opportunity to BBQ, fish, clean your fish, hike and take a boat ride. They have beautiful landscaping and clean facilities. The restrooms were extremely clean which shocked me, other places have dirty restrooms that you do not want to stand in period. They sell lots of tackle and bait inside which is good incase you forget something. The staff and other park visitors are all friendly, which makes the experience even better. I almost had to walk a half mile to fish but the gate attendant informed me on a different way to get to the lake so I ended up not having to walk more than 30 feet, I appreciated that very much. Los vaqueros is one of my favorite lakes to visit to fish

This place is amazing to walk around; you come here early in the morning and just begin walking and you’ll see various wildlife on the hills; there might be lots of people but you hardly hear anyone… just the birds; I remember when this place wasn’t here and only Vasco Road was there… your drove Marsh Creek Road to Vasco and then drove south straight into Livermore; now the old Vasco Road is underwater along with farms when the State made the Reservoir and Watershed; what I think is so interesting to look at are the tops of trees that are underwater and knowing that there are farms and a road that’s under all that water; it takes almost all day to walk around the reservoir but it’s just wonderful… very relaxing and the views go on for miles.

Great place to fish and have a picnic with family at the same time. If you are interested in fishing make sure you go to the «south cove» because that’s where shore fishing is the most convenient. It’s a little bit far from locality so if you plan to make a quick trip to the store for supplies or food that is going to be hard. Finally there is parking fee and extra fee for fishing per person (in addition to CA fishing license).
The rangers are nice and the environment is clean.

This reservoir is awesome and has EXCELLENT fishing, we have never left without catching. All the people who whine about not catching must not have any basic fishing skills. No dogs and no bikes make hiking here refreshing. Not a lot of shade overall so plan accordingly.

Have not been, but my next door took his son here today to fish. They were there for about 3.5 hours, starting at about 12:30, and they caught four trout. Two of them were close to two pounds!!! He gave me two of them, which we grilled for dinner tonight. They were awesome! I can’t wait to go.

This place is awesome! If you like some fishing, specially for bass and trout, this is the place. The Lake is Huge! with lots of underwater structure, deep points and drop-​offs, plus you can only use their boats, which in my opinion are great. The marina has a descent amount of fishing stuff and info but, what really makes this place cool is the staff, I had the chance to meet Jim and he got me up to date on all the info that I needed, this was my first time fishing here and it was more to scout the place, but I was able to catch fish even though it was slow, anyway, this guy Jim help me to set up the boat, loan me some rod holders and a fishing net, duh! I forgot mine.
So bottom line: If you want to have fun in a lake without been bother by jet skies and high powered boats and catch some fish. Go to LV and have a blast. Ask for a boat with canopy, there is no shade in the middle of the lake.

I came in the Walnut Blvd side and paid $ 6 to enter and park. Drive up to the interpretive center. Hiked up to the damn which was pretty but not much to see from that side. The interpretive center was a let down. We were allowed to go into one room with a couple of old tin milk jugs and a representation of a teepee and a video. That was it. The hiking was nice. And maybe going in from the Vasco side will be better. We plan to go this weekend so we will see. Not all that thrilled with it as of yet.

This place is in the process of getting remodeled and expanding. Every week that I go there it keeps looking better and better! The fishing there is awesome when you come during the right seasons. Be prepared, there is a fee to fish plus parking and so it will kind of get pricey. Overall, I’m a fan of this place! I must have caught 10 – 15 strippers since I started fishing here this year.

Well, I guess we are just spoiled. We don’t think that it’s that great paying an entrance fee, a fishing fee to not catch anything after 3 hours. The place is beautiful, but there is no fish, not for those used to real fishing. What a waste of time.

My first time here I was hung over and tired. Came here to fish and came home with nothing!
One thing is to charge for a park fee but a fishing fee?! Isn’t paying for a license for the state enough? Extra bucks here.
My second time here, we caught 2 stripe bass about 19 and 27 inch. Beautiful.
Third time, nothing.
It’s a hit and miss. But they are suppose to have a bunch of cool fishes here.
Next time I’ll catch a catfish!

Finally got a canopy boat with shade, which keep us from the sun. But the only bad part is there are only 2 if them an you have to come extra early to get one. But pretty much a good place to fish. Even thought i have not caught my big fish yet.

Excellent place to get away and go fishing. Stripers come in from the delta and get pretty big. They also have catfish and trout in the lake. They carry frozen shad and anchovies at the watershed and sell other things like nets, power bait, etc… Check out my latest catches in the photo section. Happy fishing!

Los Vaqueros is a beautiful reservoir. It is expansive and very well maintained. I came here to fish with a few friends last weekend. There is ample parking near the Marina as well as a secondary lot to the north. They keep a very well maintained website with information on fishing, activities and maintenance. I have yet to see another location with such accurate records and useful information on fishing.
The Marina shop has tackle, bait, and a lot of information about the fish being caught this season. The people running the shop are very friendly and helpful. LV tracks a lot of data on fishing and wildlife, which they use to better manage fish planting, etc.
My only complaint has to do with the boat rentals. My friends and I drove 1.5 hours out to LV. Only after we arrived did we learn that they were not renting out boats due to high winds. There is no mention of this caveat on their website and there was no way for us to know that this could happen. It was a pretty big disappointment to be all geared up for boat fishing and then have to fish from shore. We weren’t prepared for shore fishing, so we weren’t able to catch anything after about 4.5 hours of fishing. Others along the shore were pulling in Bass and Trout.
It would be very helpful to have some kind of notice posted on the website so that people can plan ahead if boat rentals are closed.
A few things to note: Wear bug repellent. There are many winged things in this area and a lot of the crawling variety as well. Maybe it was just where we were on shore, but there were literally HUNDREDS of little spiders (about the size of ants) crawling around just above the water line. Beware of snakes as well. I did not see any but when the day heats up make sure to watch out. There is no shade so be prepared with sunblock and some form of cover. I’m still recovering from a blistering sunburn!

The pastoral views of the blue lake and far-​side hills are tranquil and, at the same time, awe-​inspiring. A great place to relax and declutter your mind.

I hear fishing is decent here but the couple times I’ve been here… NOTHING! Spent about 5 hours each time using everything from powerbait, salmon eggs, night-​crawlers, clams, lures, etc. Not even a bite.
There’s much better fishing spots in the bay. I’ll leave this place for the hikers, but don’t bring your dogs… NO DOGS ALLOWED.

One of my most favorite places to fish. I’m not saying you catch a fish every time but when you do, it’s well worth the wait. The people here are friendly and the prices are fair. Almost didn’t want to write a review and encourage more people to come here out of selfishness. Definitely the best fishing around

Bob and I drove here on one of the first clear days in January just after weeks of rainy days. The sky was a beautiful clear blue with Simpon-​like clouds; puffy and big and low. We saw an article by Pete Otteson of «The Record» Pete said it was a nice drive, (highway 4-​lots of fun bridges to cross) you’d have a good chance of catching a fish due to the fact that they plant regularly, and there was a visitors center with plenty of good hiking. Well, Bob didn’t catch a fish, there were plenty of trails to explore and there was indeed a visitors center. We did catch some «peace of mind» though! It was a beautiful clear day and we got away from it all-​I added a picture of the sun setting just as we were leaving the area-​enjoy!