The fifth tournament of the Mother Lode Pro Team Circuit was held on March 26 at Barretts Marina at Lake McClure. The weather was wet earlier in the week, but it had cleared the last couple days, leaving the day to start clouding up again for the next storm system. There was no rain, but wind started picking up as the day progressed for the 34 teams that competed.

The bite had slowed and weights proved small for all but the top finishing teams. There were 24 limits brought in and only three teams did not weigh in. Top weight was 17.17 pounds brought in by perennial top finishers Kyle Rasmussen and Joe Menzes of Angels Camp. Anchored by a huge big fish kicker going 10.88 pounds that smacked a spinnerbait, Kyle and Joe took home a $2,185 paycheck. Alex Napias of Altaville and his partner Jerry Harvey of Valley Springs weighed in with the second place bag of 13.21 pounds and the tournament's second big fish of 4.96 pounds. They took home a check worth $976.

Richard Neal of Clovis and Wes Neal of Bakersfield took third place with 12.79 pounds for a check totaling $784. Fourth place went to the team of Greg Bockman of Valley Springs and Jeff Bockman of Linden with a total weight of 12.24 pounds. Greg and Jeff took home $477 for their finish.

Fifth place went to the leading Angler of the Year team of Randy Pierson and Glenn Pierson of Oakdale. Randy and Glenn had a limit of 10.67 pounds and received a $395 payday. Sixth place and last in the money went to the Oakdale team of Robbie Gaither and Rich Ingram with an 8.67-pound sack. They took home $310 for their finish. The teams reported using reaction baits (spinnerbaits, ripbaits), swim baits, shaking plastics, and even top water spooks to get their fish to go.

The next Mother Lode Pro Team event is April 16 out of Fleming Meadows at Don Pedro where we can expect huge sacks, as we should see some "Big Girls" coming off the beds.

New Melones Lake

By Melanie Lewis

Glory Hole Sports

Trout: There is another trout plant scheduled for the week of April 10. Trout are moving out to deeper water, but are still relatively shallow. Trollers continue to pick up limits of 14- to 16-inch trout and kokanee, when the weather cooperates, in the main lake and under the Highway 49 Stevenot Bridge. Most fish were caught 15 to 25 feet deep n shallower during overcast and rainy weather, and deeper on the rare occasion that the sun came out. Many anglers are reporting luck trolling with small or medium minnows, either behind a lure such as a Needlefish, Vance's Sockeye Slammer, Excel, or alone. Minnows under a bobber are a good way to target trout from the bank this time of year. Brown trout continue to make a few lucky anglers happy.

Kokanee: We are seeing kokanee show up more. Most are in the 13- to 14-inch range. Small Sockeye Slammers, Uncle Larry Spinners, or Murphy's Bugs are all a good choice. Tipping your lure with a small piece of nightcrawler instead of corn seems to work better in early spring.

Bass: Big fish continue to show up in the main lake as well as major coves such as Glory Hole and Angels Coves. Fluctuating water temperatures and weather conditions have bass on the move. Cooling weather and water temps have caused them to move out into slightly deeper water, although many anglers still report catching big bass in 5 feet of water. Steve Collins used a brown jig to land an 8.9-pound largemouth in Bear Creek. The spinnerbait bite has been hot when thrown into very shallow water, while the bait is bounced into deeper water.

Catfish: Try Tuttletown, or under the Highway 49 Stevenot Bridge. Use chicken livers or crawlers, a sliding sinker and leave your bail open and be sure your hooks are sharp.

Crappie and bluegill: Crappie should be thinking about spawning, and moving into shallow areas with gravelly bottoms.

Lake Don Pedro

By Danny Layne

Fish'n Dan's Guide Service

After last week's cold front passed through the Mother Lode, the bite on kings, kokes and rainbows has somewhat returned on Don Pedro. As of Friday the surface temp had gone from the 63-degree range before the front to temps in the mid-50s. This drop in temperature made the surface bite a little lethargic from what it was last week. Clients on Friday caught a mixed bag of rainbows and kings, keeping several n including a king salmon that weighed in at 4.4 pound and 22 inches long.

Clients on Saturday boated 18 rainbows, all in the 12- to 16-inch range, keeping seven. Areas that are producing for king salmon are the dam, the buoy line, and Big Oak Island. The fish are down 40 to 50 feet. Lures to try include blue/gold Excel, green shad Excel and slow-rolled frozen shad. For rainbows, try Mexican Gulch, Jenkins Hill and the mouth of Hatch Creek. Lures that are producing include PowerBait Black Marble grubs, Uncle Larry's gold perch, and an Excel pearl with red dots trolled behind a silver 4/0 dodger, either off a side-planer or long-lined.

Lake Camanche

By Chris Cantwell

Camanche Recreation Company

Trout: Trollers getting on-water at safe light are taking limits of 1 to 8 pound rainbows. Last week's five days of rain slowed the action briefly, but Thursday and Friday were fantastic for trollers whereas bait anglers are having "hit and miss" luck. When the skies are cloudy or overcast, the fish are near the surface.

Bank angling is really good from safe light until 7 a.m. or late in the afternoon. Use Pautzke's new-fangled salmon eggs or chartreuse PowerBait near the North ramp or South Chevron Point.

The pond action is good early in the day and will be important at the pond next week. Float-tubers are doing the best as the water is clear and the trout are out in the middle of the pond. Use Krillows or PowerBait in the bright colors. The South Pond and launch ramp will split a 1,200-pound load of a pound or better rainbow trout this week.

Bass: A good bite all along the shoreline early and late in the day. Use Camanche Jack's leeches in purple or green, and always try smoke if the other colors don't work right away. As the pre-spawn activity has started, please practice "catch and release" and remember that many females will not spawn successfully if hooked before laying their eggs.

Crappie: It's best it has been for quite a while for the anglers that anchor-up for the night in the Causeway Cove, Camanche Arm or Oregon Gulch. Fish being caught are truly "slabsides" with the average fish way over a pound and up to three pounds each. Use minnows and/or Mini-Jigs; after dark is much better than daytime.

Lake Pardee

By Fred Dorman

Lake Pardee Marina

Very little to report on, other than some trollers that stopped by the Marina to report two mixed limits were taken in Columbia Gulch. Haven't heard any reason to change areas, depth or equipment. Keep working the Mouth, the south side of the River Arm, the Rock Wall, Twin Coves, and Columbia all the way to Indian Rock. There are still lots of nice rainbows and kokanee showing up in all of these locations.

The improving weather and aggressive planting schedule should make for a great weekend for bank anglers. Dress in layers, it is still cold in the early morning. Usually the area behind the EBMUD boathouse is very productive after multiple plants. Large schools of fish circle the coves around the Marina before they become acclimated and head out to the main body of the lake. Early bite the best at these locations also. Sliding sinker rig cast out 30 feet from shore with processed bait in rainbow and chartreuse with sparkles is still working well.