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Fishing Report 10/17/18
Fish

I finally bought a boat. As much as I was tempted to buy new, the used boat that I was looking at spoke to me in a sense. Over the past year or so, I’ve been inspired by a lot of boat restoration projects that I’ve seen online. I originally toyed with the idea of building an aluminum bass boat from the ground up. I couldn’t find the right sized aluminum hull that would meet all my demands though. I’m not a speed freak, but I do like to be able to get from spot to spot quickly, and occasionally I’ll be fishing in the wind, current, and rough water. So, I went with an older glass boat over an aluminum boat. Like a lot of boat owners, I felt obligated to stick with the brand that I’ve had good experiences with. So, I stuck with BassCat. My last BassCat was one of the best boats that I’ve ever owned. I also was fortunate to meet the owners of BassCat Boats who treated me, a stranger, like family. They didn’t even know at the time that I was an owner of one of their boats. That experience combined with several others, made it difficult to consider any other brand. So, when I saw the boat that I recently purchased in the condition that it was, I felt in a way obligated to bring it back to the fishing machine that it was originally designed to be. Now, my only concern is that I won’t have the time to work on it since I already have several fishing trips planned.

 

Delta Report:

Bass fishing continues to be good for anglers fishing reaction baits for numbers of keeper sized bass. For larger bass, anglers are still catching them while fishing with top water lures or fishing around thick vegetation. Striped bass fishing is starting to pick up as anglers continue to do well early in the morning on topwater lures and while trolling broke back rebels during the day.

 

New Melones Lake:

Trout fishing is slow, not many anglers are fishing right now so there are very few reports being submitted. Catfishing continues to be good for anglers fishing with chicken livers through the night. Bass fishing continues to be good for large numbers for those fishing small plastics and tossing shad imitating lures.

 

Lake Pardee:

Trout have been hard to come by lately for most anglers; some anglers are doing well but report having to work very hard for their bites. Most of the fish are being caught between 6am and noon. Trollers are having the best of luck while fishing between 30 and 90 feet deep. The lake is currently scheduled to close soon so if you’re looking to get out one more time on Lake Pardee you have until the beginning of November before it closes until February.

 

Lake Don Pedro:

Anglers trolling are still doing well while trolling for trout. Many of them are trolling between 60 and 80 feet deep. Bass fishing is fair for anglers fishing with worms and jigs. There are a lot of schools of bait that are being found around the main lake points making them easy targets.

 

Lake Camanche:

There are few reports coming from the lake right now as the fishing has slowed down for a lot of anglers. Anglers fishing for bass are reporting catching them deep one day and shallow another making it very difficult to put together a pattern. Anglers fishing for trout are also having trouble finding a bite. Many have chosen to wait until later on in the year when the lake resumes its trout plants.

 

Lake Amador:

Trout plants are scheduled to resume this month and last through the spring. Anglers are waiting in anticipation for the weather to cool. For the first time in two years the lake is going to be planted with locally raised Donaldson’s Trout. Bass fishing is fair for anglers fishing reaction baits up shallow or fishing around the schools of bait being found all over the lake right now.

 

Tip of The Week:

When filling your spool with line it’s always good to not completely fill up the spool with new line. The line when wet, will expand causing you to have to discard excess line. I’m as guilty as anyone of wanting to fill my spool with line and still overfill my reel from time to time.