Rain forecast for the weekend and off and on next week.

The lake level has come up seven feet since last report and is currently 8 to 10 feet below spill and holding. Visibility improved substantially and is presently good to 17 feet or beyond as measured in the Marina. Water temperatures have crept up a little to 50 degrees at the 20 foot mark and 55 at surface.

Some Trollers on the Lake this morning concentrating at the Dam face and the River mouth, but most likely many will head upriver towards Columbia Gulch. The Trout remain close to the surface at this time; keep your equipment in the 10 to 25 feet level. Some are using lead core at 3 to 5 colors while others are setting downriggers at the same depths.

Small beaded lures in red, pink and fire tiger patterns tipped with corn or night crawler are popular behind flashers or medium size dodgers. Boaters are getting fish (weather permitting) but they are not concentrated in any one area.

A good many anglers were working the banks in the Recreation Area this morning. Saw some caught behind the EBMUD boathouse opposite the launch ramp. The busiest bank areas today are once again Rainbow Point and the shore on the opposite side near the left side of the Marina. Bank fishing has been decent throughout the week depending on the weather conditions. Garlic flavored Power bait and eggs in yellow and chartreuse have been the best. Another set up gaining popularity is a Pistol Pete fly at the end of a 4ft leader behind a water bobber, cast out 30 to 50ft and slowly reeled in.

Recent success stories: Chuck Wayne from the Bay Area got a nice German Brown, pictured above right in the River mouth in 10 feet of water using a wedding ring. The depth and lure are unusual, Browns tend to go lots deeper and love Rapalas but that's fishing, unpredictable!

There is a large Bass tournament scheduled for Saturday so we should have some fresh up bass info for the next report.

The Marina pays attention to what lures, equipment and baits anglers have the most success with and they try to stock what works. Some people are surprised at how well stocked the Marina actually is. Stop by check it out and ask the employees what's hot what's not.

Pardee Lake Recreation has planted 12,000 lbs. of Rainbow Trout in combination with the Department of Fish and Game plants of 5,000 for a grand total of 17,000 lbs.