Bethany Reservoir

What a beautiful December day! The kids and I met our friends today at Bethany Reservoir to test out the new boats in my fleet and to do a little fishing. All the boats got a thumbs up and everyone enjoyed a great day on the water! Bethany Reservoir is located south of Byron and north of Tracy and is filled with water pumped from the southern region of the delta. It's actually part of the California Aqueduct. According to Wikipedia, "the aqueduct begins at the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta at the Banks Pumping Plant, which pumps from the Clifton Court Forebay. Water is pumped by the Banks Pumping Plant to the Bethany Reservoir. The reservoir serves as a forebay for the South Bay Aqueduct via the South Bay Pumping Plant." If you were to paddle all around the lake following the shoreline, you would paddle a little over four miles.

We arrived around 11:00 a.m. and found the reservoir all to ourselves. We saw one fisherman who was leaving as we were unloading the boats. There is a self pay station and it say's it's $5 but there were no envelopes to be found. There is a nice launch ramp with a pretty high dock to put your boats in. There are shaded picnic tables and a pit toilet available. There are also a couple of small piers you can fish from. I figure it must get windy in this area due to the reservoir being surrounded by windmills but today there wasn't a stitch of wind.

Three of us decided to try out the Liquid Logic Mist 12's to start the day. We found the Mist to be comfortable, stable and quite quick. Gabe took out the Redfish 12 and he spent almost four hours on it! He's over 6 ft and he felt the boat was very comfortable especially roomy for his long legs. He also said it was fast and felt very stable. After lunch, Mary and I took out the Liquid Logic Deuce Coupe. It was exceptionally comfortable with the thick padded seats, very stable and all the cup holders are very convenient. It's also a very dry ride which will make it great for the tours I'm offering. All these boats are available to rent at Delta Kayak Adventures! I also have a Redfish 10 available for smaller paddlers.

Unfortunately neither Gabe or I caught any fish today but we'll give it another try soon! Overall, Bethany Reservoir is a wonderful place to paddle and I look forward to returning. If you have never kayaked before, it would make a great place to try it for the first time. It's a decent size lake to get a good workout, surrounded by gentle rising hills and an awesome view of the Sierra's on a clear, crisp day like today!