COMMENT: This week The Stockton Record newspaper ran an article incorrectly stating that the boat launch ramps at North and South Shore were not in operation. This was not correct, they meant to say that the ramps were in operation; so we would like to assure everyone that both of our Marinas and launch ramps are fully open, with no restrictions. We apologize for any confusion that this may have caused. Thank you, from the staff at Lake Camanche.

LAKE CONDITIONS: Lake Camanche's current elevation is 205.9 feet above sea level, a drop of .7 feet this week. The lake should drop slowly this week.??There is currently no water flowing into Lake Camanche, and water is flowing out of Lake Camanche at 344 c.f.s.??The surface water temperature at the marina has cooled to 78 degrees. The Secchi reading for water clarity is down to 15 feet.

TROUT: Trout trollers continue to catch trout this week, but finding the right depth has been the problem for some anglers. The thermocline is firmly established at about 30-32 feet deep. Trollers without downriggers, or lead core line, have a tough time getting down to that depth, but the fishermen who can get to that depth seem to catch fish. Early mornings, or late in the day are always your best bet.

The most commonly mentioned lures this week include Needlefish in Fire Tiger, or Cop Car; R-Lures in purple scale, or yellow scale; and Ex-Cels in silver/blue or red/gold. The area in front of the buoy line at the dam, and from Hat Island to Little Hat Island to the dam are the favorite trolling patterns at Lake Camanche.

E.B.M.U.D. has announced that the Hypolimnetic Oxygen System has now been turned on at the dam. This system (also known as the Speece Cone) adds oxygen to the water to raise the oxygen rate in Camanche in late summer. This raised oxygen level draws fish of all species to the area of the dam, making the dam and the buoy line a great area to fish.

BASS: There were few reports from bass anglers this week, but Andrew Mikal, from Sacramento, did catch a beautiful largemouth bass on Saturday evening. He was fishing from shore at North Shore campgrounds, and caught a 2.8 pound bass while using a Brush Hog in red colors.

Bass continue to be caught near Dikes 1 and 2, along the rocky shorelines. Bass are holding near shore, in 10-20 feet of water, and are taking plastic worms in green pumpkin, purple, or smoke. Top water baits are very good in early morning, or late evening; and spinner baits in white, chartreuse/white, or yellow/white are productive also.

The rock pile areas near Lancha Plana are also holding a lot of nice bass. The rocky points, or rocky drop-offs, are a favorite area, and the same plastic worms, spinners, and also crankbaits in crawdad or shad colors work well.

CATFISH:Local resident Dean Wade continues to catch lots of nice catfish. He goes out about 3 times a week, and always seems to come in with 7 or 8 catfish, in the 4-9 pound range. He loves to fish upriver, and usually uses mackerel. He fishes between 15-25 feet deep, in rocky areas, and this week had fish up to 10 pounds, with several over 7 pounds.

A camper from Vacaville reported catching 3 nice catfish while camping at Blue Oaks campground, at North Shore. He was fishing in the rocky areas at the end of the peninsula, and caught fish at 4, 6, and 7 pounds. He was using Power Bait??s catfish bait, in the liver and also blood flavors. He was fishing from shore, in about 15-20 feet of water, and caught all of his fish on Friday evening, and overnight into Saturday morning.