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ROCKING
& ROLLING ON CAMANCHE!
By: Ron Wilson
February 12, 2004....
Saturday morning, the stars were out and it looked like it was going to be
a nice day of
fishing at Lake Camanche.
The only evident
problem was a bit of wind as we were leaving my cousin Blaine’s house in
Modesto. I just hoped it wouldn't blow us off the water and ruin our day
of fishing!
It was foggy and slow
going as we drove through Lockford. We got to the launch ramp and you
couldn’t see the lake at all!
We launched and headed into the fog towards the buoy line. Once there we
started trolling toward, what I hoped was Little Hat Island!
I
had set up a couple top water lines, one with a large dodger and the other
with a smaller one. Both were rigged with Ex-Cel Lures 200 feet behind the
boat. I also set out two leadcore rods with Ex-Cel’s about 15 to 20 feet
deep, (four colors).
I
thought I knew where we were headed, but it was all guesswork on my part
because you just couldn’t see that far! I was hoping that those bass nuts
that were zooming through the fog didn't run over our top water lines.
We soon had a nice trout in the boat that fell for an Ex-Cel Ladybug. A
short time later another good one fell for a blue/silver Ex-Cel with a
gold flake tail. It was a nice fish but came off after a couple runs.
I
was completely lost now but I could see the sun through the fog and knew
which direction to take in order to get back where we came from.
On the way back toward the marina I set up a downrigger rod, but before
too long the whole downrigger suddenly decided to fall off the boat! The
Penn hand crank downrigger setscrews had vibrated loose and in a flash it
was gone! Back to trolling lead core and top water lures.
I
just got everything set up when I looked up and the fog suddenly lifted. I
could see all over the lake.
I
watched as boat after boat sped by heading towards Hat Island. I guess
that must have been where the hot bite was reported!
I
was still thinking about the 8 to 10 pound fish we had last year, so I had
Blaine set a course to the humps and bumps around Little Hat Island.
We putted along but it was like we were in the Dead Sea. I switched colors
several times but the fish were either not on the bite or we weren’t on
them.
We were running blind, no depth finder, only a flasher, but that doesn’t
tell me what I need to know.
Another mile down the lake just past little hat, we crossed over a
hump and hooked the fish I was looking for.
The clicker screamed as line peeled off the leadcore rod. I picked it up
and felt the fish make one last run and then nothing. Talk about
disappointment.
We headed to the spillway and then we made a pass down the buoy line back
toward Hat Island without so much as a nibble.
 We
had spent enough unsuccessful time in the area, so I reeled in the rods
and told Blaine, “we left the fish this morning. Let’s head back to the
North Shore Marina. “
We made a pass out in front and picked up a couple fish and then headed to
south shore ramp looking for a big one.
About every half hour we picked up or lost a fish. The wind was really
starting to kick up as we trolled up toward the narrows. The predicted
winds of 5 to 10 miles an hour ended up 20 plus!
We started picking up fish but they were DFG plants in the 10-inch class.
We headed back toward the north shore boat ramp but when we got across
from it I headed toward the white buoy marking the underwater point about
a quarter mile from the ramp.
Just before I made a turn over the deep-water channel Blaine caught his
biggest trout yet. No
monster but one in the 3 pound class that gave him a good fight.
“That's a big one,” he said. I said, “Nope that's one of the smaller nice
fish”! There are lots of 4 to 6 pounders in the lake and every now and
then an 8 to 10 pound fish is caught. The exceptional 15 to 20 pound fish
happens every year or two also.
I
made a turn and finally found the school of fish we were looking for as we
were rewarded with a triple hookup. They were just pond fish but fun
nonetheless.
I
asked Blaine if he wanted to turn them loose. He put two in the box and
shook the other one off and said, “That's our limit, lets head for the
barn”!
I
guess he had enough of the rocking and rolling in the wind. I guess I had
also, as I didn't argue one bit as I reeled in the other line and called
it a day.
Camanche sometimes gets a negative rap for being an expensive lake to
visit. However the extra fee's collected at the gate go straight to the
fishery and when you look at the quality of fish that come from this lake,
its worth every penny to me.
For more information on Lake Camanche go to our
Central California lakes section and click on Camanche. |
