Camanche is wide open for shore anglers who know how to reach deep water. The holdover rainbows have pushed out with the warming surface temps and are holding in cooler pockets near the main channel and the dam. Long rods paired with long leaders... stretching 6 to 10 feet... are key to getting baits into those deeper zones. Rainbow and glitter PowerBait are still the top producers. The North Shore remains a productive stretch for this setup.

On the bass side, largemouth and spots are working the shallows early but shift off the banks by mid-morning. Topwater lures can pull fish in the first and last light windows, but after that, they’re sliding deeper and getting tougher to reach from shore.

While Camanche anglers are still frustrated with limited water access, shore fishing has been excellent lately, especially with multiple 2,000+ pound stocks of rainbows and lightnings in back-to-back weeks this March. Folks are finding quality fish in the 4-7 pound range hitting shallow near the edges of tules or by casting out deep and working a slow retrieve.

A mix of jigs and small soft plastics (Senkos, Flex Bugs) are getting the most attention. Light line (2-4 pound) has been the move for drawing more bites, but there’s a bigger risk of losing fish, especially near cover.

No reports of bass action yet, but with water temps in the mid to high 50s, the prespawn bite should unlock anytime.