Giant Valley Oak Saw History at Los Vaqueros

No one is sure what happened. A few months ago a huge Valley Oak near the North Entrance of the Los Vaqueros Watershed suddenly shattered, all of its massive limbs crashing to the ground and the tree died.

The oak was among the largest in the watershed, and had stood on the floor of the Valley for perhaps hundreds of years.

Watershed Resource Specialist Bill Barham, who keeps track of the thousands of oaks in the watershed, said there was no apparent reason for the big tree’s sudden collapse.  He suspects the weight of its huge and long limbs -- full of water after this wet winter and spring -- may have been the culprit. LV’s notoriously high winds probably didn’t help as there is no wind protection near the tree. Other older oaks in the watershed are doing fine.

Bill often parked his truck under the oak’s shady canopy while working on a nearby cattle watering equipment, and said he’s glad the tree broke apart during the night when he was not there.

A close look at the tree’s remains shows that at some time it had been burned. There are black-charcoal scars on the remnants of the tree trunk and its giant branches. Maybe it was hit by lightning long ago, or a cowboy let a campfire get out of control.

The tree stood alone in the Valley below the north entrance near Brentwood, though there are numerous smaller oaks nearby along the length of Kellogg Creek.  

Valley Oaks are the largest oaks in North America. They can live more than 600 years and grow up to 100 feet high. Rings haven’t been counted on this tree, so there’s no telling how old it was; though no one believes it was close to 600 years-old nor even 100-feet high.

But even if it were 200-years-old, it had been there longer than California has been a state and is older than the nearby historic John Marsh house. Gold was still a secret in California when this tree sprang to life.

The area where it thrived has changed from being a cattle grazing center for the Spanish missions to wheat fields in the 1870s. The hardscrabble land later became a general farming area and then went back to being used for cattle grazing.

Now part of the watershed, cattle and sheep still graze in the area and up until a few months ago enjoyed the tree's shade. All around the tree are remnants of old cattle water facilities, such as metal hoops from long-gone wood water tanks.

During the last 250 years, the land has been called Poso de los Vaqueros, (Cowboys’ Spring), Cañada de los Vaqueros, (“Valley of the Cowboys’), The Vasco and The Basco before being named “Los Vaqueros.

Of course, the oaks and their abundant acorns are the reason why Native Americans settled here nearly 10,000 years ago.

But the Volvon and Ssaoam tribes generally left the area 300 to 400 years ago. It’s unlikely this tree was around when the Native Americans were harvesting acorns at LV, though we’ll never know until we count the rings.

As for the remnants of the oak?  You can see them when you drive into the North end of the watershed. Once you spot the tree, it’s hard to look past it again.  Even from the road, the remains of the tree are huge.

But the splintered trunk and tumbled massive limbs are not going anywhere. They will decay right where they fell.  “It’s biomass,” said Bill when asked about the tree’s future. “It will be a good home for ants, bugs and other creatures in the watershed.”

Read more about the history of the Los Vaqueros area in “Rancho to Reservoir”.  You can buy a real paper copy at the John Muir Interpretive Center, or read it online here.

New Hours

During September, the hours at the watershed will get shorter.  We’re now open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Fishing Report

GENERAL CONDITIONS

We had major hot weather early in the week followed by 3 very windy days. Both of these factors had an impact on both the fish and the fisherman.

Even with the above factors working against anglers, they continued to catch some quality fish including stripers, trout, catfish and bass.

Our water temperature varies between 68 and 70 degrees depending on the wind and air temperature. When the weather is hot fish early in the day for best results.

Our water level is currently at 87 percent and slowly going down.

Please note:

• Rattlesnakes are out and around so please stay out of rocky areas and high grass.

• Summer winds continue to be an issue, please call ahead before heading out. The pattern has been for wind in the mornings, then laying down in the late morning and coming up again around 5:00 or 6:00 pm. Winds should be less of a problem as we head into September and October. Saturday we had sustained winds at 38mph with gusts to 44mph. Sunday afternoon was beautiful with almost no wind.

• We are in fire season so please be extremely careful.

Boat rentals are Half Off Monday - Friday, non holidays (Labor Day is a full price day). You can rent a 16-foot boat for up to 5 hours for only $25. Our patio boats are available at $50 for half a day. This is a great way to fish or just tour the lake and look for birds and animals.

Hours: Our hours starting Sept. 1 will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Free Fishing Day Monday

Labor Day is a free fishing day in California.  That means you don’t need a state fishing license to fish anywhere in California on Monday.  

At Los Vaqueros, you’ll still need to pay for a permit, but you can bring a friend fishing and not worry about a license.

TROUT

Trout fishing is spotty but some anglers continue to catch a few fish. The trout are still being caught close to shore near the weed beds. Try fishing power eggs or nightcrawlers under a bobber. PowerWorms are also effective. Trolling continues to be pretty slow. If you are in a boat try bait fishing in the backs of coves or trolling close to the shoreline. Rapalas and Kastmasters will take a few fish. We had two anglers check in six trout from Peninsula Cove. Another group of three had five trout from Howden Cove. Both boats were using a variety of baits.

LARGEMOUTH BASS

Bass continue to receive light pressure. Experienced anglers who target bass are all taking at least a fish or two. Try fishing Senko's in the backs of coves and along the weed beds. The mouth of Peninsula Cove has produced some nice fish. Please release any big bass you catch as they are a limited resource and are not stocked in the reservoir.

STRIPERS

Not much has changed with the striper fishing. We continue to see stripers in the 10 to 15 pound range. We are also seeing a lot of shaker stripers and remind anglers that stripers must be 18 inches to keep. They are fun to catch but please release them carefully. They are the future of good striper fishing here at Los Vaqueros. Frozen anchovies and shad are hooking the most fish. Some anglers are setting up with surf leaders and others are using sliding sinkers. The majority of the stripers are coming from the Rock Wall area, off the two piers, off of Oak Point and down into Sunken Oak Cove. Most of the stripers are being caught by shore anglers. Anglers should fish early or late in the day for best results. Remember to watch for stripers chasing bait fish or trout. If you see this happening, cast your bait towards the feeding fish. We have not had many anglers fishing swim baits, but casting swim baits should be effective. The top fish this week weighed in at 15.9 pounds.

SALMON

Nothing was reported this week but salmon received almost no fishing pressure last week. We anticipate salmon being more active towards the end of September. Anglers that want to start now should try a dodger followed by their favorite lure. Get it down between 20 and 50 feet. The mouth of Peninsula Cove and Howden Cove have produced in past years.

CATFISH

Liver, anchovies, mackerel, nightcrawlers, dip bait and stink baits will all take fish. Not everyone catches a fish, but the fish caught are large. We encourage catch and release of the big fish. The top catfish checked in last week weighted 21.4, 19.2 and 15.3 pounds. We have had a few big fish come from deep water at the north end of the reservoir but most of the catfish are caught in backs of coves. The ADA pier has produced some nice fish for anglers working the deep water near the Rock Wall.

CARP

Carp fishing has been good for those anglers going after these fighting fish. Dough baits and dip baits are your best bet.