Air temperature: 56-78
Wind direction/speed: NW 0-12 mph
Water temperature: 72-75 degrees
Water clarity: 4-15 feet

On October 12, 2018, I left my house at 0500 with every intention of fishing Lake Camanche. My buddy Justin and I have been on quality fish up there for the last month, so I knew it was my best bet to catch a bunch of quality fish.

While driving through Manteca I suddenly and unexpectedly had a change of heart. After fishing Camanche and New Melonies over the past couple months, I decided to call an audible and head to a lake I haven’t been to in over a year.

I decided to head up to Lake Don Pedro in an attempt to catch quality fish. This is no easy task on a body of water that you haven’t fished in over a year. These types of situations always intrigue me because I’m always wondering if my old spots will be productive.

The day started out fairly slow as I preceded to catch a couple fish in the two-pound range. My bait of choice was a bladed A rig which I tipped with 4” swimbaits. I was marking healthy schools of bait which appeared to be getting ambushed by bass in the 35’ rage.

I bounced around to several different spots I have had history on, and caught several more fish in the 2-3-pound range. I found a deep point which had a fairly slow tapper and my Lowrance HDS 12 lit up with life.

I maneuvered my boat close to the bank and began grinding my A rig uphill towards the boat. The fish couldn’t resist my offerings and I loaded the boat with several 3-pound mules and largemouth.

I noticed several large marks on my graph which were pinned to the ledge I was catching the rig fish on. I dropped down a light shakey head setup directly to the marks. I lost track of my bait as I reeled out the slack and set the hook.

Whatever I hooked was big and it ran out into deep water. I followed the fish and eventually was able to turn him towards the boat. Unfortunately, he came unbuttoned before I could get him into the boat, however I was able to catch a glimpse of him before his departure. I estimate the fish was in the 6-8-pound range which is a decent fish for any body of water.

Overall it was a fun day fishing on a body of water I hadn’t been to in over a year. The fish were still on the same banks and points as they were over a year ago, and they were still willing to bite the same baits.