LAKE CONDITIONS: Lake Camanche's current elevation is 213.6 feet above sea level, a drop of .84 feet this week. The lake will drop slowly this week.??There is currently no water flowing into Lake Camanche and water is flowing out of Lake Camanche at 390 c.f.s. The surface water temperature at the marina has warmed up to 73 degrees.

TROUT: With the big holiday crowd here at Lake Camanche this week, there were few reports about fishing action from anglers. Trollers are finding that the trout are holding down between 35-45 feet deep, so downriggers or lead core line are the best way to get down to that depth. The area from Hat Island to the dam continues to be the favorite area to troll, and Needlefish, R-lures, Ex-Cels, Vance's Slim Fins, and Rapalas are the lures most often mentioned.

One group of holiday anglers reported catching 7 trout, up to 3 ?? pounds, while trolling NeedleFish in the Cop Car pattern, and also R-Lures in chartreuse. They were trolling across the face of the dam, and also along the area of Dike 3. They found fish about 30 feet deep early in the day, and down about 35-40 feet later in the day.

Two of the marina regulars continue to have great success bait fishing at Dike 3. They anchored in 42 feet of water, and were using Power Bait in chartreuse or rainbow, and also Power Eggs in yellow or white. They caught 2 limits of trout, with 2 five pounders, and a 3 pounder included. They found the trout to be on a very light bite, and also very sporadic. The biggest fish of the day was the one that had the lightest bite.

Another group of bait fishermen found some good action in the Causeway area.??They were anchored in 40 feet of water, above a creek channel, and caught 6 trout up to 4 pounds. They were using Power Bait in corn color, and also in dark green color. They started fishing at 6 a.m., and caught their fish between 7 a.m. and noon.

The weekly trout plants will now be discontinued until the fall. Since the surface water temperature is at 70 degrees, or higher, trout will not survive the shock of warm water. Trout plants will resume in the fall when the water temperature drops below 70 degrees, usually sometime in October.

BASS: The bass bite continues to be very good for anglers fishing from boat, and also from shore. Bass are holding in 10-20 feet of water, in rocky areas, or areas with flooded trees and brush. Plastic worms and leeches, Baby Brush Hogs, and tube baits are the baits most often mentioned by anglers.

One of the marina crew has been having pretty good luck fishing for bass upriver. He has been fishing in the Narrows, China Gulch, and the rock piles around Lancha Plana. Bass are being caught on Camanche Jack's worms and leeches in brown, purple, and blue, and also Senko worms in cinnamon brown, and natural shad color. All fish were caught in 12 feet of water or less, and were caught along rocky shorelines.

CATFISH: A number of nice catfish were caught this weekend, with fish up to 9 pounds being reported at North Shore. Campers were catching fish in Camper's Cove, the Causeway area, and Rabbit Creek campground. Mackerel, chicken liver, nightcrawlers, and Power Baits catfish bait were all working for anglers. Catfish love smelly bait, and like to hang out in rocky areas in the bays. Night fishing is usually very good, but the fish were being caught during the day also.

We encourage all anglers to report their stories, comments, or concerns to either North Shore Store, South Shore Store, or to us by email at eporray@camancherecreation.com. Thanks again for choosing Lake Camanche for your recreation destination.