(209) 599-2023
What others are saying about us....
Ron Wilson - Outdoor writer
Action: Sierra Sportfishing Style
Joe Franscella - The Ripon Record
Sierra Sportfishing - In Search of Comanche's Big Rainbows
Dan Bacher - The Fish Sniffer
Lake Camanche Mgmnt Stocks Both Trout And Florida-Strain Bass
Dan Bacher - The Fish Sniffer
Ron Wilson - Outdoor writer
Tis' the season
Ron Wilson
Outdoor writer
Lake Camanche -
The trout bite is fixin' to bust wide open, as it's
that time of year!
Knowing that, Guide Bruce Hamby, of Ripon, and I went to
Lake Camanche two
weeks ago to check out the trout fishing there.
Bruce likes to experiment with all types of lures.
Last year we used a
lot of Ex-Cels with success, but this year we tried
grubs. Heck, it was
almost like black bass fishing -- take a single shank
number four hook, thread
on a Berkley Power Egg with whatever choice of color you
prefer, and then
select a three-inch plastic grub of whatever color you
like, let out some
line and hook the line to a downrigger clip and lower it
into the water at
the depth the fish are. Boy that sure sounds simple
doesn't it!
Bruce and I started at the buoy line from the North
Shore Camanche boat
ramp, and trolled toward the dam. We set up with four
different colored
grubs in the top 15 feet of water.
The first strike came from a white grub with a
chartreuse power egg in
front. We trolled a while with no success so I put on a
small flasher to
help add more action to the chartreuse egg and pink grub
I had on. Within a
couple hundred yards I had a nice one on for one good
jump before he threw
the hook.
We trolled on for another quarter mile without any
action before Bruce
got up and let the line out on one rod past 100 feet. In
short order Bruce
had a nice one on that jumped and really gave his
Lamiglass rod a workout.
We traveled another quarter mile on the water while
he fought the fish
from one side of the back of the boat to the other. This
fish fought like a
real trooper, and what we thought was a nice fish in the
5-pound plus class
turned out to be a long 3 1/2 pounder.
Bruce had figured out the pattern, an orange grub
with an orange egg
over, at 100 feet behind the boat.
We arrived at little Hat Island and Bruce scored
again, and before we
got to the buoy line at the dam Bruce had hooked a
couple more. While I was
soaking
up the sun Bruce was hammering the fish.
I switched over to orange grubs on my two rods and
soon was into the
fish too. To bad it took us 3 hours to figure out the
bite otherwise we
would of been out of there early, but then again we
would of missed a few
hours of fishing and the weather was just great.
We started trolling back to Hat Island and we got a
double. I finally
had a good rod shaker in the 3-pound class that was fun.
One thing I noticed about fishing the grubs is that
the trout just seem
to swim up behind the bait and swallow it without hardly
letting you know
they are there.
I watched as Bruce's rod tip just bounced like a
nibble would be if he
were bait fishing. Bruce grabbed the rod and set the
hook and said this is a
real nice one. I got all the rods in and even turned the
boat back toward
the fish some so that Bruce would not be spooled by the
fish. After several
minutes of battle we could see that it was better than
5-pounds. After a few
anxious moments when the fish made a couple runs behind
the boat I finally
managed to net it -- a real nice fish in the 6-pound
class. Bruce's scale
said 5.15, but the tail was on the ground so it was
bigger than that!
If you plan on doing some catch and release I would
not recommend using
grubs because the fish about half the time will swallow
the bait before you
know they are there.
Now is the time to head to your favorite area to
catch fish, but be sure
and get an early start because the hotter it gets the
more the pleasure
boaters will show up!
Ron Wilson is an outdoor writer with over 30 years of writing, angling and outdoor experience. He is a part time contributor to The Ripon Record, and can be read regularly on the Valley Outdoorsman.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Action: Sierra Sportfishing Style
Joe Franscella
The Ripon Record
There's one man who can
greatly increase your
chances of coming home
with heavy limits of fish
and mountable trophies.
He's Ripon's Bruce Hamby,
owner and operator of
Sierra Sportfishing Guide
Service.
Lake McClure -- Not everyone has the time or resources needed to insure a successful day of angling. There are those days that are marked by weighty limits and trophy fish, but there are also those that are known for hours of waiting, followed by little to no landing.
There are some who are able to spend considerable periods of time perfecting the angling art, but even they are skunked from time to time.
Whether or not you have all of the time in the world to spend out on the water, or just enough for limited excursions, there’s one man who can greatly increase your chances of coming home with heavy limits of fish and mountable trophies. He’s Ripon’s Bruce Hamby, owner and operator of Sierra Sportfishing Guide Service.
Hamby, 55, has been fishing California’s lakes, rivers and reservoirs since he was 8-years-old, and his experience has resulted in an unending procession of satisfied, repeat customers who rely on him year-after-year to make their fishing experiences fantastic.
Hamby guides his customers out on day trips to reservoirs like New Melones, Don Pedro, Mc Clure and Pine Flat. He returns them home with huge browns, rainbows, kokanee, salmon and king salmon, time-after-time.
King salmon are Hamby’s specialty, and Lake Shasta is prime territory.
Every year, starting in the summer, Hamby leads dozens of expeditions to the Northern California lake. There, his clients spend action filled days of non-stop angling; where they consistently bring back heavy limits and prize wall mounts.
Hamby’s Shasta excursions are a bargain! A two-day adventure starts in Ripon early on a Saturday morning. Hamby provides the transportation, all of the fishing equipment, and has accommodations ready upon arrival. Clients need bring nothing more than their personal items, clothes, a fishing license, a camera with plenty of film, and of course, an ice chest for all of the fish they’ll catch!
It takes about 3.5 hours to get to Shasta. After breakfast in Redding, it’s out onto the lake to begin an action packed day.
Clients fish from a custom built 1999, 22-foot Fish-Rite vessel, rigged with state-of-the-art equipment. The boat is an angler’s dream. Hamby oversaw every detail of its design and construction, right down to the placement of the cabinets.
While out on the water, fisherman troll with an array of downriggers and surface lines; all rigged with a variety of lures and baits. Experienced anglers know what to do when they hook up. Those who are still learning will get walked through the experience, step-by-step if that’s what it takes.
On Sunday clients fish again, and then head out at around 2 p.m. They’re back home spinning fish stories by around 6:30 p.m.
Shasta trips require a minimum of two fisherman, the cost is ideal, everything, including accommodations is included for $325 per person. Cost is $300 per person for parties of three. Clients are responsible for their own food and drinks. There is also a deluxe Shasta trip available.
Hamby’s day excursions start at $90 per person and $70 for children under 12. There is a $180 boat minimum. Hamby provides all of the equipment; clients need to bring their own food and beverages.
I went out with Bruce last week to Mc Clure and returned home with a nice limit of rainbows. I hooked into more than I caught, but lost a few in the battles. Besides reeling in the limit, I also learned a lot about species and their habitats from Hamby. Ron Wilson, the Modesto Bee hunting and fishing writer, was with us as well. I picked up some great pointers listening to and watching also. I thought it was a great day.
Reach Hamby at 599-2023, or via email at Sierrasportfishing@hotmail.com.
Joe Franscella is the Editor of The Ripon Record newspaper. He writes "The Outdoors" column
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sierra Sportfishing - In Search of Comanche's Big Rainbows
Published in The Fish Sniffer, June/July issue
Reprinted with permission
Dan Bacher
Bruce Hamby of Sierra Sportfishing had one of the best spurts of action on big rainbows he ever experienced on Lake Camanche during the week of May 10 to May 16.
On one trip, an angler landed two rainbows weighing 7.2 and 8.8 pounds while trolling blue/silver with gold glitter Excel spoons at 0 to 30 feet.
During the same week, every trip produced at least one trout over 5 pounds.
Lake Camanche is no stranger to big trout, since 10 percent of the 70,000 rainbows that Urban Park Concessionaires stocks in the lake and South Pond from late October through May 1 are 4 pounds or over. These trout are paid for with the $3.00 access fee that is collected at the gate, according to Chris Cantwell at the Lake Camanche Recreation Company. The DFG also stocks 4,000 pounds of catchable rainbows annually.
When Hamby saw me at the CIFFI Pardee Family Fun Derby on May 17, he invited me to fish for Camanche's big rainbows the following Saturday, May 24. I had taken a number of photos of Hamby catching fish at derbies over the past three years, but had never fished with him.
Ron Wilson, Modesto outdoor writer, and Hamby and I got on the water early to avoid the hordes of water skiers and jet skiers that we expected to arrive by mid-morning. "All of the campgrounds are filled and the water skiers will be out in force soon," said Hamby.
After meeting at the launch ramp, we went across the lake to the area bounded by Big Hat Island, Little Hat Island and Camanche Dam. Bruce didn't even get all four of the rods - Loomis kokanee rods outfitted with Abu Garcia Ambassadeur reels - before we had a fish on the line. In the next fifteen minutes, we experienced red hot action, hooking one scrappy trout after another on Excel spoons at 40 to 50 feet. However, none of these fish were the "monsters" that we were hoping for.
"The trout are all holding down at 40 to 50 feet, much deeper than last week," said Hamby, as he pointed at his electronic graph. "Last week we still caught some large trout on the surface. I don't see any big fish on the graph, so we're moving out into deeper water. We're searching for big fish."
After a lull of about 15 minutes, we began catching fish again. The fish were a mixture of holdovers and planters in the 12 to 16 inch class. I also landed a 14 inch kokanee off Little Hat Island. "The fish seem to hanging around the islands today," he noted.
We also lost several fish. All of these fish were very hard fighters for their size, making lots of runs, ripping off lots of line, and making frequent leaps out of the water. "A lot of the holdovers in Camanche think they're steelhead," said Wilson, who had spent an outstanding week of trout trolling at Camanche two weeks before.
The hordes of recreational boaters that Hamby had expected never became a problem, since the wind came up around noon, apparently keeping most of the personal watercraft and water skiing enthusiasts at home or in camp.
We had probably hooked around 30 fish by 2 p.m., releasing many of the fish, but we still hadn't landed a really large rainbow. I did a "long distance release" on a beautiful holdover that we estimated to be 2-1/2 to 3 pounds. The fish spit the lure out of its mouth as it made a leap near the boat.
Then at around 2:10 p.m., just before we were going to get off the lake, "rod number three" popped off the Cannon downrigger, bent over in a pronounced arc and the line began ripping off the reel. "That's our big fish," said Wilson.
The fish kept pulling off yards of line. I'd gain some line on it for a while, then it would sound towards the bottom. It fought more like a big mackinaw than a rainbow. I slowly worked it towards the surface. Hamby tried to net it once, but the big fish began to go crazy on the surface, and made another long run. However, it was starting to tire I finally got it beside the boat again.
"It looks like it may go 5 pounds, maybe bigger," said Hamby. The fish, exhausted, came up to the surface, and Hamby netted it.
We put it on his digital scale and it weighed 7.2 pounds, a fine rainbow for any lake or river. Although it had a frayed tail like many of the big fish planted in Camanche, it had very silvery sides and appeared to have been feeding in the lake for a while, as evidenced with its wide girth.
After one more troll, we decided to hang it up for the day. We had caught limits of quality fish, including one kokanee and a trophy-sized rainbow. We had a great time, catching one fish after another while using light tackle.
"I fish Camanche mainly in March, April and May," said Hamby, "although I'm available for trips on the lake all year. I like to fish Camanche because of the big rainbows the concessionaire stocks in the lake. It's one of the few lakes where I have confidence that I can hook a trout 3 pounds or over on every trip. However, after May, most of my clients request trips to New Melones for kokanee salmon."
For more information about fishing with Bruce Hamby, contact Sierra Sportfishing, (209) 599-2023, or email: bruce@sierrasportfishing.com.
For more information about Lake Camanche, call the North Shore Office, (209) 763-5121, South Shore Office, (209) 763-5178, www.camancherecreation.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lake Camanche Management Stocks Both Trout And Florida-Strain Bass
Published in The Fish Sniffer, April, 2005 issue
Dan Bacher
Many anglers have the impression that the daily fishing access fee required at Lake Camanche goes to just to trout plants, but the $3.50 per day fee also supports the enhancement of the bass fishery through the stocking of Florida-strain largemouth bass.
Since 1991, the lake concessionaire has planted a total of 150,000 fish, including fingerlings, adults and "super bass" in the 4 to 5 inch range, according to Chris Cantwell of the Lake Camanche Recreation Company. The company purchases $15,000 of bass each year - allowing them to stock 12,000 fingerlings last year.
Due to flourishing of the Florida strain in the forage-rich waters of this popular Mother Lode Lake, anglers can expect to see increasingly larger bass in coming years. Robert Kelly set a new lake largemouth record when he bagged a 14.33 lb. largemouth on April 19, 2003, eclipsing the previous record of 12.87 pounds. The Woodland angler fooled the lunker with a 7 inch Blue Culprit plastic worm in the Camanche Arm of the lake.
These Florida-strain fish supplement the lake's abundant population of northern-strain largemouth, smallmouth bass and Alabama spotted bass. The Florida-strain are now hybridizing with the northern-strain largemouth's, producing a larger strain of bass.
When approaching any of the bass species, fishing the lake's bountiful structure is the key. The lake is located at the low elevation of 236 feet at maximum pool in the gently rolling hills and bottomland in Amador County. When the EBMUD-owned lake filled in 1964, the waters inundated the old ruins of the historic gold rush town of Lancha Plana, creating some interesting structure for anglers to fish.
"Camanche is a classic structure lake," said Cantwell. "To fish for bass successfully at the lake year round, you need to be familiar with how to fish submerged islands, creek channels, breaks and humps."
Anglers use a variety of methods at Camanche, depending upon the time of year. Split shotting with plastics, drop shotting with worms, tossing out crankbaits. throwing rip baits and casting top water lures are all effective at times.
When fishing Camanche, whether for bass, trout or any other species, another key factor to success is adjusting to the lake's surprisingly clear water. Finesse fishing with light line on light gear becomes necessary here.
The clear water is the result of the large number of reservoirs, including lower and Upper Bear River reservoirs, Tiger Creek Forebay, Salt Springs and Pardee, that the water passes through on the way to Camanche. Most of the sediment settles in these lakes before the waters of the Mokelumne reach Camanche. The Mokelumne River, the drinking water source for the East Bay, is known for its cold, snow fed water.
When I visited the lake on March 12, the water had 30 feet of visibility, according to the Secchi disk that is lowered each at day at noon at the dam to record the clarity.
The spring bass bite was in full swing, with both bank anglers and boaters nailing bass. For example, eight-year-old John Kraynov of Sacramento tossed out a plastic worm to land a largemouth bass near the marina docks. Other anglers were sight fishing for bass off spawning beds in the coves.
Besides the bass stocking program, the $3.50 fishing access fee funds the planting of large numbers of rainbows in the recreation area. The total number of fish planted each year depends on the amount of fee money collected.
In 2004, the concessionaire planted 14,235 pounds of rainbows in the South Pond, 16,635 pounds in the South Shore Recreation Area and 16,635 pounds in the North Shore Recreation Area, a total of 53,670 pounds. Trout plants begin when the lake water becomes cool enough to stock in the fall to when it becomes too warm to plant in the spring.
Shore fishing can be good, but because of the clear water, it is necessary to fish early and late in the day for success. Power Bait, Crave Nitro Bait, nightcrawlers and Kastmasters will all work. The top areas are the north and south shore recreation areas and Camanche South Pond.
Trollers also need to adjust to the lake's clear water conditions. "Long lining and trolling with side planers makes a big difference at Camanche," said Cantwell.
I've experienced great fishing trolling on every trip that I've made to Camanche in the spring with Bruce Hamby of Sierra Sportfishing and Ron Wilson, outdoor writer. On one trip in 2003, I landed a 7 lb. rainbow as part of my five fish limit.
Hamby experiences his best success trolling with Excel spoons, R-Lures and Vance's spoons in the lake's main body in a triangle between Big Hat Island, Little hat Island and the Dam.
"Trout trolling at Camanche is best in the months of March, April, May and June," advised Hamby. "After that, the water heats up and water skiing takes over at the lake."
Because of Camanche's clear water, he long line trolls with 200 feet of line out from the boat or the downrigger. On his latest trolling adventure, two anglers fishing with him landed 10 rainbows in the 16 to 18 inch range, along with releasing other fish.
If you want to shatter the lake trout record, your work is cut out for you. Mark and Mike Seaters of Lodi caught the lake record rainbow of 19.42 lbs. while fishing a brown plastic worm near the dam on August 4, 1998. Ray Miles of Woodbridge set the South Pond record of 19.37 lbs. while fishing a Kastmaster in on March 28, 1998.
Kokanee salmon are a sleeper fishery, usually caught by anglers fishing for rainbows or other species. 2001 and 2004 were relatively good years for kokanee, but there isn't a huge population of these fish like is found at Pardee. Cantwell believes that most of the fish spill over from Pardee, since the DFG doesn't stock Camanche with kokanee.
Black crappie are another cyclical fish at Camanche. This has been a good year for crappie so far, with a lot of fish in the 1-1/2 to 2 pound range caught by anglers fishing mini jigs and minnows around docks and rock piles.
Greg Williams of Kingsburg caught the lake record crappie of 2.49 lbs. on August 8, 1991 while fishing a nightcrawler near the dam.
One fishery that Cantwell and many anglers would like to see the return of is king salmon. The fishing for kings was very good in 2000 and 2001, but the lake hasn't been planted recently. Hopefully, the concessionaire will be able to work out an agreement with the DFG and EBMUD to obtain king salmon from the Mokelumne River Fish Hatchery to be stocked in the lake.
For more information about fishing at Lake Camanche, call the North Shore Marina, (209) 763-5166, or the South Shore Marina, (209) 763-5915, www.camancherecreation.com. For guided trout trips, call Bruce Hamby of Sierra Sportfishing, (209) 599-2023.
Lake Camanche Facts
Location and size: Camanche is located at an elevation of in the low, rolling hills of the Mother Lode east of Lodi. The reservoir covers 12 square miles, is 150 feet deep, and has 53 miles of shoreline when full.
Management: The East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) oversees the operation and maintenance of facilities, determines recreation fees and establishes rules and regulations. The recreation facilities are operated by the Lake Camanche Recreation Company of Urban Park Concessionaires.
Recreation Areas: The North and South Shore Recreation Areas are open daily year round. There are electronic gates at North and South Shore. The gates open at 5 a.m. and close at 11:00 p.m. year round. The store and marinas on both shores are open weekends year round and daily from Easter through October 1. The coffee shop is open weekends year round on the North Shore and from Friday through Monday from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The South Shore Snack Bar is open on weekends during the summer.
Camping: Lake Camanche has tent and RV camping available year round. Campgrounds feature hot showers, restrooms and laundry facilities at both North and South Shores. RV campgrounds are self-contained at North Shore and full hook-ups are available at South Shore.
Cottage and motel rentals: Those who enjoy the outdoors but do not necessarily like to "rough it" can rent a cottage or motel unit at Lake Camanche. The quaintly decorated cottages, many with lake view, have kitchens, barbecues, A/C, TV and are available at both North and South shores. South Shore units are available as single rooms only, while North Shore units can be single or adjoining rooms. For more information, contact: www.camancherecreation.com.
Boat ramp: Six lane launch ramps are available on the North and South Shore. The boat launching fee at both ramps is $6.50 and the vehicle fee is $8.00.
Boat rentals: Motor boats, deluxe motor boats, eight passenger pontoon patio boats and 12-passenger pontoon boats are available. Reservations are recommended. A pre-payment will required for all weekend boat reservations year round. Rental rates start at $35.00 for a full day (5+ hours) on a motor boat.
Fishing fees: Permits are $3.50 each day for each individual 16 years and older. A valid California fishing license is also required for all persons fishing who are age 16 and older.
Guide and fishing information: For more information about fishing at Lake Camanche, call the North Shore Marina, (209) 763-5166, or the South Shore Marina, (209) 763-5915, www.camancherecreation.com. For guided trout trips, call Bruce Hamby of Sierra Sportfishing, (209) 599-2023.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ron Wilson
Outdoor writer
June 10, 2003.... For the past 3 months I have
been going to physical therapy at 1400 Florida Avenue. I've been
dealing with an old injury I received at work.
One of the first things I noticed was a mounted fish hanging on the wall. Advance Physical Therapy director Kelley Cornelsen, had caught that fish.
For the next 3 months Kelley and I talked about
fishing. She told me if she every got a break from her 7 day a week working
routine she would love to wet a line.
Last Saturday fishing guide Bruce Hamby, of Sierra Sportfishing, and I were
going to New Melones to locate kokanee for a guide trip he had the next day.
I called Kelly to see if she would be interested. At first she didn't think she
would be able to, but after a day of working on the books, she decided a break
would be great.
We arrived at Glory Hole Point right at daylight. The Wind was blowing and it
was chilly.
We headed out onto the main part of the lake toward the Tuttletown Boat ramp. As we headed that way the wind and waves just go worse. Bruce stopped the boat, turned around and we started fishing our way back towards Glory Hole Point against the 20 to 30 mile and hour wind.
This was weird weather, cold windy and as we
looked back on the hills over Angel Creek, there was a fog bank hanging there.
Fishing was slow as Kelley caught a fish then lost one. Bruce spent some time
instructing Kelly on how play the soft mouthed silver bullets we were after.
Bruce said, "the light action G Loomis kokanee
rods help prevent the loss of fish, but when the fish gets hot and starts
jumping and thrashing around the angler has to do his part in order to keep the
fish from tearing free"!
Kelley soon had the hang of it and was reeling in fish after fish for Bruce to
release. However, the kokes were small and not what we were after.
We had one that was flopping on top of the water
behind the boat, when out of nowhere came an Osprey that plucked the fish right
off the water. It happened no more then 20 feet away, I never saw one take a
fish that close to the boat before, it sure was pretty to watch. The Osprey soon
returned overhead but all the rest of the released fish, quickly sped back to
the 40-60 foot depth they came from.
Bruce finally found the fish he was after and Kelley boated a beauty! The scales
registered 2.2 pounds, this was one of the largest kokes I have seen.
The wind finally began to die down and Kelley soon had a limit in the boat. We
continued fishing and looking over different area's for the guide trip the next
day. By 10:00 am the wind dropped to zero and by 10:30 we were peeling clothes
to escape the heat!
Thankfully by 11 a.m. the wind had done a 180 degree turn and was coming from
the south which made a good
fishing chop on the water. The fish responded as the bite turned on again.
Bruce reeled in a fish or two and I reeled in the last fish of the day to finish
off our 15 fish limit just before 2 pm.
On the last fish of the day we came over an island top and I got things all
messed up by not hitting the automatic up button on the downrigger once I
started fighting the fish. The ball got hung in the rocks and Bruce had a real
mess on his hands to clean up.
Not sure but I think I
might have gotten fired as deckhand on Bruce's boat. He said "Kelly was much
more helpful, better at landing fish and a heck of as lot prettier than I was".
I couldn't argue with that, but I told him, "she works 6 to 7 days a week, so
I'm not afraid of losing my part time deckhand job"!
Other than the last few minutes of the day it was
a great one. The only time I have seen a better stringer of kokes was at
Stampede.
To say Kelly was happy to be along would be an understatement. I enjoyed
watching her have fun catching fish and she is a real trooper who is not afraid
of blood and guts and is a pretty good angler in her own rights.
The lure of choice seemed to be Uncle Larry's Spinners with ball trolls and
flashers to intice the big ones into hitting. Bruce's specially treated shoepeg
corn is another part of the secret that helped us get the better fish to strike
the baits.
If your interested in catching trout, salmon or kokanee give Bruce a call at
(209) 599-2023 or visit Sierra Sportfishing. Bruce will soon be heading to
Shasta for salmon and rainbows in the 5 pound class.
Shasta is an awesome fishery and when you get into them your in for some great fishing! Out of 4 trips I have only had one trip that was just so-so. The rest I had salmon and trout from 4 to 7 plus pounds.
Home Packages Pictures Season About Us
Back
