The Fish Sniffer

Amador

(Ione) If you want to hook monster trout, it’s hard to beat Lake Amador this time of year.

Just ask Sean Donn, who landed a 16 lb. 10 oz. trout while fishing a silver Kastmaster off the front corner of the dam. Or ask Case Amoni, who bagged a 112.44 lb. trout while fishing green Power Bait just before the spillway, reported Laurie Lockhart at Lake Amador Resort.

“Besides these fish, we’ve also weighed in cutbows going 15 and 12..9 pounds,” said Lockhart. “Anglers have also landed quite a few fish in the 6 to 8 pound range lately.”

“The fishing is rated about 6 on a scale of 1 to 0,” she said. “Not everybody is catching a limit. The key is to fish shallow and close to shore, since the fish are looking for bugs and other food that wash into the lake as the water level rises.”

While a number of baits and lures are working, she recommended using white Power Eggs or fire tiger Rapals for the most consistent sport.

The water level is only 8 feet from maximum pool and the boat launching facilities are in full operation.

Camanche 

(Burson) You can take your pick of black bass or rainbow trout at Lake Camanche now.

Local bass fishermen are reporting that on sunny days they have been getting between 10 to 15 bass per day at Lake Camanche. They are drop shotting shad colored fatty worms and half ounce brown and purple jigs in about 35 to 50 feet of water, according to the Lake Camanche Recreation Company.

Sudden changes in weather seem to have the trout confused and less active then what would be expected this time of the year.  Anglers are still catching trout, but tend to catch that single large fish rather than limits.  

Baits of choice are still rainbow and chartreuse PowerBaits with or without glitter and/or garlic as well as night crawlers and power eggs. 

Big rainbow honors go to George Raborn of Lodi, who caught a 7.94 lb. trout while fishing the Narrows with a Fire Tiger lure during the recent Central Valley Anglers Derby.

Other successful anglers include Kita and Michelle of Lodi, who nailed a couple of trout while fishing by the Houseboats, and 8-year-old Kristyn Avery of Lodi, who landed a 1.5 lb trout while bank fishing by the South shore marina with Power Eggs.

Nathan Lenard (and son) of Elk Grove managed to bag two trout. Fifteen-year-old Marcus Helm of Galt caught a 3.5 lb trout near Hat Island while using a Dodger with a Rapala.

Finally, Gene Nixon of Lodi pulled a 6.66 lb trout out of the South shore trout pond while fishing with Power Bait.

 Lake Camanche's current elevation is 221.44 feet above sea level. The inflow from Lake Pardee is currently at 456 c.f.s. The outflow from Lake Camanche is currently 256 c.f.s. The lake is 76% full and the water temperature is 56 F degrees.

New Melones 

(Angels Camp) Bass fishing at New Melones is tough, but that didn’t stop Mike Sanders of Hughson from catching a new lake record spotted bass weighing 8 pounds, 3 ounces.

“We caught the fish on a Huddleston rainbow trout swimbait with a ROF 12,” said Melanie Lewis of Glory Hole Sports.  “This is the second spotted bass over 8 pounds taken in the past month.

Finesse presentations remain the top technique with 3 to 4-inch  hand poured worms in natural shad and crawfish hues, 5-inch Senkos, or heavy ½-oz. or ¾-oz. football head jigs in deep water to 60 feet. Darker colors such as black/blue, and brown/purple are working best.  

Bank fishing for rainbow trout continues to be slower, in spite of regular Department of Fish and Wildlife plants.

Lewis said a standard bait rig with a sliding sinker and a 3 to 4 foot leader and a light hook continues to be the best. Pink/white Gulp! Power Eggs or Berkley Power Eggs are working well with Kastmasters or Krocodiles also being effective. “The trout have scattered throughout the lake, and trollers will need some patience to locate the fish,” she advised.  

Gary Burns of Take It To the Limit Guide Service reported plenty of rainbows while trolling with night crawlers behind a Shasta Tackle Sling Blade with a 1/4  ounce weight at a setback of 120 feet behind the boat. The top areas are Carson, Coyote, Angels Coves, the southern end of the lake, and also in the middle of the lake

“It is not a fast bite, so don’t give up, put in your time and you should be able to put rainbows in the boat,” Burns emphasized.

If you want big channel catfish, Lewis recommended slowly dragging frozen shad, sardines, or anchovies along the bottom.

New Melones Reservoir dropped ½ feet to 1016.74 feet in elevation and 67% of capacity.  Lake Tulloch rose ½ feet to 476.37 feet in elevation and 51% of capacity.   

Don Pedro             

(La Grange) “The bass bite is picking up pretty good right now,” reported Manny Basi at The Bait Barn. “Berzerk Baits ½ oz. with purple hornet or junior’s special are hot, as are TNT Baits special ops.  Smaller swimbaits are producing, shoot for 3-4 inches in size worked off the bottom.” 

“Pedro trout are in a funk right now,” said  Monte Smith of Gold Country Sportfishing. “Cold weather and cold water are making it tougher to get the trout to bite. “

A recent trip showed a scattered bite, with better action closer to shore.  “I top lined and downrigged from the surface to thirty feet deep with scented spoons; working coves and points for trout.  Its slow, so covering a lot of water is key to get limits,” said Smith.

Don Pedro is at 68% of capacity.

McClure/McSwain 

(Snelling) “We are seeing an uptick across the board,” said Terri Mello at A-1 Bait and Tackle. “Bass up to three pounds are falling for cinnamon grubs, live crawdads and minnows in the Bagby and Cottonwood areas.”

Trout are patrolling the top twenty feet and offering up a robust bite on crawler/flasher combos at the dam and crappie are taking orange assassins.  

“McSwain is kicking out trout limits on bubblegum Power Eggs,” reported Mello. “Chartreuse and rainbow PowerBait is also producing; with most action at the Brushpile. Trollers are picking up good numbers of trout with gold Rapalas.” Lake McClure stands at 44% of capacity.