Hook Line And Sinker Report
Robert from the Hook in Oakley reports.
Black Bass:
The largemouth bite has slowed down some in overall weight with the recent cold weather. It has dropped the water temps into the mid to low 50's which means you'll have to slow down and cover areas very thouroughly to get the most and better quality bites. Keys for getting bit right now are to look for areas out of extreme current, clearer water and areas holding lots of bait. If you find these 3 keys you will find the fish. Fish slower techniques with plastics like drop-shotting, split-shotting and texas rigging and stick to more straight tail or small curly tail worms and down size your presentations. Also, a suspending rip bait this time of the year works well.

Striped Bass:
The majority of the stripers have moved well into the middle portion of the delta by now and from Frank's Tract to Stockton on the San Joaquin River should be holding good numbers of fish and will until Feburary. Also, Old and Middle Rivers and into Discovery Bay are holding some good sized fish right now with 30lbs.+ sized fish being reported in the last week. With the water temp. dropping drastically and dirtier water flowing in bait fishing will be the best bet for top results. On the live end mudsuckers and minnows fished off the bottom and fresh or frozen shad will all get the job done.

Fish Hookers Report

We have just returned home after the Fred Hall Fishing and Boat Show in San Francisco. We probably spoke with a lot of you folks that check out our website. Well, we have checked with a few of our friends that have been out fishing the last few days and find that the catching has been good especially for stugeon.

The sturgeon fishing is consitant from San Pablo Bay all the way up to Sherman Island. The water is a few degrees cooler than it was and it is a muddy color but that has not stopped the sturgeon from biting. There was so much water coming down the river a few days ago that it washed most of the bait away. It is difficult to find gress shrimp because of all the fresh water in the system. The best baits are roe and eel.

Do from Dockside Market went out fishing yesterday with mudsuckers, ghost shrimp and eel and brought back a 22 pound striper and 71 pound sturgeon. The best area was at the end of Chips Island . There were a few shakers released also.

The fishing in the Pittsburg area should continue to get better as the water begins to clear on the top and also underneath. We will be out tomorrow to catch some of the nice sturgeon in the area.

Trout: Continues to be great! Many of the rainbows are big, red, and hook-jawed, weighing 3-to-5 pound on average. Most anglers are catching 2-4 quality fish. Trout can be seen swirling and chasing shad all over the lake, especially in major coves. Trollers and bank anglers alike are still having success. This has been by far the best fishing we have seen in years. Most trollers are catching fish in the top 15-20 feet of water, so downriggers aren’t necessary. It is important when trout are near the surface to have plenty of line out while trolling (your lure should be at least 100 ft. behind your boat). Your boat chop will spook the fish from the water’s surface, and you want to give them time to come back up and see your lure. Another great way to keep your lure out of the boat’s chop is to use a side planer. Many fish have been caught in the main lake, as well as at the mouths of major creek arms and coves and upriver between the two bridges. Using a crawler or crawler/spinner combo (wedding rings or Uncle Larry’s) with ProCure nightcrawler scent is working well. Shad-patterned lures continue to produce many excellent fish. Try a broken-back or Countdown Rapala, a Cop Car or threadfin shad Needlefish, or an Excel lure. Most trollers are not using dodgers or flashers. Glory Hole Sport’s BIG FISH OF THE WEEK (salmonoid) goes to Arnold Boatman from Manteca for his 7.8# Brown trout caught near the spillway while trolling a homemade silver lure during the afternoon. Arnold also caught nice fish, some over 3# on another day this week while fishing with Ken Howze using gray Needlefish. Other successful trollers this week were: Howard Thielbar, Jamestown (5.8#), Dennis DeHart, Los Gatos (5.4#), Jacob Parker, Antioch (4.8#), David Eastwood, Arnold (4.1#), Harold Garibaldi, Acampo (3.7#), Jay Daniels, Wilton (3.7#), Glade Faulkner, Toaly (3.7#), Larry Gross, Fiddletown (3.8#), Ed Weikum, Mountain Ranch, David Eastwood, Arnold (3.3#), Bob Reinhardt, Jr., Morgan Hill (3.3#), Don Myshrall, Mokelumne Hill (limit of planters). Bank fishing has still been going strong with successful anglers using a variety of colors of Power Bait including yellow, rainbow glitter and green or chartreuse. A crawler/marshmallow combo has been working well also. Bank anglers who came into Glory Hole Sports with nice fish this week include: Jim Secora, Tuolumne (4.7#), Al Judnich, Sonora (4.3#), Dave Camden, Arnold (4.0#), Jim Comphel, Twain Harte (4.1#), Fred Roberts, Modesto (4.0#), Frank Jocksch, Millbrae (3.7#), Mike Derby, Jr., Rail Road Flat (3.5#), Jessica Keyes, Linden (1#).

Kokanee: Done for the season, although trollers are picking up a few 8” fish.

Bass: Bass are suspended holding in 30-40 feet of water for the most part, with an occasional angler reporting catching shallow fish during overcast skies or some of our warmer rainstorms. A few anglers have reported observing an early spring behavior with the bass. Target the mouths of creek arms and submerged islands, and up into the deeper creek arms. When the wind comes up, the fish will sometimes move shallow to chase the bait that the wind is blowing into the shore. Drop-shot rigs with shad-patterned or crawdad-colored worms are going to produce the most fish, but bigger fish will be caught with brown jigs or swim baits. Jigging a spoon over submerged islands, 30-60 feet deep, is another good choice for winter bass fishing.

Catfish: slow though an occasional angler does catch one now and then. Dave Fong of Sonora came in with an 11pound cat caught near Bear Creek while trout fishing with green Power Bait. Dave wins the Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week (catfish) with his big cat. Tuttletown, Angels Cove, Glory Hole Point, or under the 49 Stevenot Bridge are all good spots to try for big cats. Use mackerel, anchovies, or sardines, a sliding sinker, leave your bail open, and be sure your hooks are sharp.

Crappie and bluegill: Slow. Try fishing live minnows or trying to entice them with jigs in red/white or purple/white. Target coves or some of the major creek arms that have a lot of stand-up trees in them fishing at 30-40 ft. depths. As always, fish tight to structure.

 

Lake Pardee

Lake Pardee will finally re open the gates for the 2006 season on THURSDAY February the 2nd for Campers and Recreational Vehicles only. The gate will be manned until 11 PM both Thursday and Friday for the opening. Fishing for shore anglers will begin FRIDAY morning the 3rd at 12:01 AM and at daybreak the same day for boaters. The Lake Pardee Management and Staff are looking forward to welcoming back all our friends both old and new.

Lake level is normally 10 foot or more below the spillway this time of year in anticipation of runoff from winter storms. The forecast is calling for some wet stuff this weekend so some dirt and debris will end up in the water but it never lasts long and the clarity quickly recovers to 10 feet or beyond.

Three plants are scheduled by Lake Pardee and another by the Department of fish and Game prior to season opening.

All facilities (except the pool) and services will be available on opening weekend. Check the Marina for all your fishing, boating, bait and snacking needs. The Coffee Shop is always a great place to start whether it’s a full breakfast or just a steaming cup of coffee to kick start your day.

Good Luck---Tight Lines.

For information or reservations call (209) 772-1472

 

The Lake Camanche Fishing Report - January 24, 2006

LAKE CONDITIONS:

Lake Camanche’s current elevation is 217.56 feet above sea level, a drop of 4.4 feet since last Sunday. The surface temperature at the dam is 53.8 degrees F. and drops to 50.6 degrees at the bottom. The surface temp readings upriver are 49 degrees, a result of lots of inflow from Pardee Lake. The lake waters are slightly colored with a Secchi dish reading of 11 feet at the dam and 6 to 9 feet at the upriver sampling locations.

Gate hours for North and South shores are 5 A.M. TO 11 P.M.

TROUT: There were lots of anglers out yesterday taking lots of limits of 1 pound to 6 pound Rainbows. Most trollers did best with floating Rapalas in Fire tiger or gold/black back. Another hot ticket is to troll Sep’s Scented Pro Grubs in chartreuse; pink or orange about 4 feet behind a ¼ ounce split shot or try Needlefish in bright colors, such as the #581 pearlescent white or #054, which is chartreuse with fire dots. When the skies are cloudy or overcast, the fish are right on the surface; if the sun appears , use leadcore to get down to 15 feet deep or so. John and Shirley Bartlett, of Ripon, caught 2 limits of beautiful rainbows this week. They were trolling with Uncle Larry’s spinners, and also wedding rings, and caught most of their fish up the river. Rich and Maureen Drawbert, from Camanche, caught their limits of trout while fishing in shallow water near the islands outside of Camper’s Cove. They were using Power Bait.

Bank angling has improved lately, thanks mostly to the fog and overcast keeping the ‘bows close to shore. Use Power Bait in orange or chartreuse near the North ramp or South Chevron Point. Casting and retrieving the Magic Bullet works off the banks early and again late in the day.

South Shore pond action is very good since we planted the pond with over 600 pounds last week. All sorts of stuff work at the pond; best bet is to use Power Bait in chartreuse or white. Jim Murray, from Camanche, caught a 13.11 pound rainbow from the pond this week using a Pistol Pete lure.

This week’s trout plant of 1,200 pounds will be at North Shore.

BASS: The W.O.N. Bass tournament was held at Lake Camanche on Saturday. We congratulate Leandro Sanchez and Bill Martin for winning the meet with a big fish of 8.41 pounds, and a total weight of 16.62 pounds. Jay LeClerc and Bob Haag had a 5 fish limit weighing 14.63 pounds, and Taylor Parsons and Jeremiah Payne had a total weight of 14.5 pounds. Brown or purple jigs, and worms in brown, purple, or blue were some of the favorite baits. Most bass were in 15-30 feet of water.

BOTH NORTH SHORE AND SOUTH SHORE STORES ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED DURING THE WEEK AND OPEN ON THE WEEKENDS ONLY. BOAT RENTALS ARE AVAILABLE DURING THE WEEK BY TELEPHONE RESERVATION ONLY. PLEASE CALL NORTH SHORE (209-763-5166), OR SOUTH SHORE (209-763-5915) FOR DETAILS. BOTH SHORES ARE OPEN EVERY WEEKEND (WEATHER PERMITTING).

Northshore store:(209) 763-5166

North gate: (209) 763-5922

Boat rental reservations are recommended.
Phone North: (209) 763-5166 Phone South: (209) 763-5915.

Southshore store: (209)763-5915

South gate: (209) 763-5913

Gate hours for North and South shores are 5 A.M. TO 11 P.M.