LAKE CONDITIONS: Lake Camanche's current elevation is 212.4 feet above sea level, a drop of .6 feet this week. The lake will drop slowly this week.??There is currently no water flowing into Lake Camanche and water is flowing out of Lake Camanche at 367 c.f.s. The surface water temperature at the marina has warmed up to 76 degrees. The Sechi reading for water clarity down to 20 feet.

TROUT: Trout trollers continue to find that the fish are holding down very deep, now that the surface water temperature has risen to 76 degrees. Anglers getting their bait or lures down 40-50 feet deep report good success with Needlefish in Fire Tiger color, R-Lures and Vance's Slim Fins in silver/blue, silver/red, and red/gold. Limits of trout were reported at North Shore by 3 gentlemen from Mantecca who were trolling these lures on Wednesday. They started early in the morning, and caught most of their fish before noon. They were fishing the area near Hat Island, the dam, and the bay at Dike 3. Fish were caught at 35 feet early, and down as deep as 50 feet later in the morning.

Ryan Long and Dario Leventini reported that overnight fishing at Dike 3 has been terrific lately. They anchored at Dike 3 and dropped underwater lights, and caught easy limits for everybody aboard before midnight. They were anchored in about 45 feet of water, and used Power Bait and Power Eggs to catch many nice trout up to 5 pounds.

Locals Bob and Terry Bacon have been having the same kind of luck fishing overnight at Dike 3. Twice this week they have spent the night fishing there, and each time they caught so many fish they couldn't keep up. Bob said he was catching fish before his bait had a chance to get to the bottom, so he put away a couple of his rods to slow down the action. He said several times he had fish on 2 rods at the same time, and one time he had fish on 3 rods at once. Bob had fish that weighed 4 ?? poiunds, several at 4 pounds, and several more at 3-4 pounds He was anchored in 45-50 feet, and was using Berkeley Gulp corn with a nightcrawler combination.

BASS: Camanche regular Terry Turpin, with friend Florence Ellevan, from Foster City, had great action fishing for bass during their stay this week. Terry reported that the top water bite early and late in the day was fantastic, and that a Rebel Pop-R surface plug in silver/blue or silver/black was the bait that the bass couldn't resist. He fished up river the entire 4 days he was here, and caught and released 13 fish the first day, 20 the 2nd day, 9 the 3rd day, and 9 again on the 4th day. He caught bass up to 8 pounds, with numerous fish in 3-4 pound range. When he was not fishing the top water baits he was using crankbaits, jerk baits, and 4 inch Yamamoto worms in shad pattern. When using the top water baits he said he was very shallow, and close to shore. During the day he said most of his fish came in less than 15 feet of water.

Locals report that Camanche Arm has been a hot spot lately for top water fishing early and late, and the submerged island tops in the mouth of the harbor are holding large bass. One angler caught bass up to 4 ?? pounds using Camanche Jack??s worms in purple, or green pumpkin. He was dragging plastics on the submerged islands, and caught his fish in 15-20 feet of water.

CATFISH:Campers continue to catch nice catfish at North Shore in Camper's Cove, and Rabbit Creek. Several fish between 6-9 pounds were weighed in this week, with mackerel and chicken liver the baits most often mentioned. Rocky areas hold more fish than sandy beaches, and night time seems to be more productive than during the heat of a busy day.

We encourage all anglers to report their stories, comments, or concerns to either North Shore Store, South Shore Store, or to us by email at eporray@camancherecreation.com. Thanks again for choosing Lake Camanche for your recreation destination.