Fishing
Report
Current Camanche Dam Release
October 2024
EBMUD is alternating pulse flows to attract more salmon and hopefully some Steelhead.
For current releases, please use
https://www.ebmud.com/water
The Mokelumne is closed to fishing from Camanche Dam to the Hwy 99 bridge fron Oct. 15 to Jan.1.
June 21, 2024
II had the pleasure of hosting Greg & his daughter Lacey for our second trip. We fished together in March and Lacey had a great day with over 18 fish and few of those in the 18"+ range. I was afraid we couldn't live up to those stats! Well, we set a new personal record for her. I netted over 35 fish for her today!
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June 19, 2024
My first day back on the river since Alaska with Kevin from San Jose. In spite of the pool-toy rescues we assisted several people with became a distraction from fishing. We managed to put a few fish in my net including Kevin's first Steelhead.
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June 10, 2024
I'm back from an incredible two-week cruise of Alaska and British Columbia. Although my only wilderness fishing excursion was cancelled, I made the most of every day.
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Springs Pulse Flows on the Moke appear to be decreasing down to more fishable flows. I've set a threshold of 1,200-1,300cfs before I'll take clients fishing. Anything above these flows are non-conducive to fishing, especially fly fishing. Enjoy the our beautiful gem, The Mokelumne River. Please do it with a personal floatation device. The water is in the 50 degree area and almost instantly will take away your ability to swim.
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March 29, 2024
Today was my last day on the river before it closes to fishing on March 31st. Although it got pretty wet and windy, my old buddies Paul and Colton from Bickford Construction fished hard and managed to tally the highest catch & release count so far in 2024. I netted over 30 fish & witnessed at least 12-15 more that came unbuttoned. I can't think of a better way to end out the first part of 2024. I hope to see many of you when I return from Alaska in June.
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March 20, 2024
Today was a teaching day. Greg Estrada booked an Introduction to Fishing" day for his daughter Lucy. She had some fishing experience including big game fishing for Marlin but never wanted to learn how to fish the Mokelumne. This lady had skills and it didn't take long to get her in a rhythm of catching and releasing 18 fish up to 18".
March 19, 2024
Chris and I took a party of four down in two boats today. My old friend and client Pat Romani brought John, Mike, and Chuck from the Bay Area to fish with Chris and I. We had a spectacular day with perfect weather and lots of really nice fish. Chris and I had a great time introducing Pat's friends to the Mokelumne River. We ended our day at the Mokelumne River Resort with Wine, food, and lots of laughs.
March 18, 2024
I invited Chris Gearhart from Bent Rod Fly Fishing in Redding to guide with me on the Moke so we pre-fished today. Lots of fun for a couple of guides to actually get to fish!
March 17, 2024
Joe and Ryan from the Sonora area fished with me today. Beautiful weather and great water gave us some awesome fish! These guys came up with the "Moke Tri-fecta". THey caught fish on flies, bait, and spinners. Ryan put one of the largest Steelhead I've seen this year into my net.
March 5, 2024
I had Jason and JP in my boat today. Although they live on the river, they had not floated the upper section in a long time. JP put the first fish in the net and soon both father and son were keeping my net on wet side. Although it appears the fish are still feeding on eggs, we are throwing some bugs into the mix with success. Flows went to 1,000cfs today and will bump up to 1,300cfs on 3-6-24. This is very pushy water and for safety concerns, I would discourage wading. Only floaters with advanced skill sets should consider launching a watercraft.
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February 28, 2024
I had the pleasure of fishing with Jon & Dawn today on their first float down the Moke. We couldn't have picked a better day as we peeled off layers of clothing, smeared on the sunscreen, and caught fish all day. It would appear that the Steelhead spawn is coming to an end as we are releasing spawned-out fish. Today was the highest amount of insect hatches I have seen on the river this season. Caddis, Mayfly, and Midges. We saw some surface splashes but they were fish chasing the emerging bugs.
February 19, 2024
I did some recon on the river this morning. Although CDEC lists flows out of Camanche at 800cfs, my info leans more towards 1,000cfs based on indicators I use. EBMUD posted an Advisory Notice at the MRDUA.
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February 12, 2024
I fished with Larry and Adam today. We managed to net several large fish on Larry's Birthday. It was a good day as flows will increase to 800cfs on 2-13-24. February is proving that my many years of logbooks reflect . . . we're catching bigger fish than in January!
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February 8, 2024
I fished with Chuck from Fiddletown yesterday. We connected with our first fish around 8:30AM and it jumped completely out of the water six times before we got her to the net and released her. These Steelhead are actively feeding on terrestrials and eggs along with the Caddis and Mayfly hatch.
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January 31, 2024
Well, I've survived January with 12 days on the Moke. I believe the fish are transitioning from eating salmon eggs back to eating some eating bugs. I am seeing Steelhead redds appearing so the fish may stay on the egg bite. I'm seeing small schools of suckers also which could mean they are starting to spawn also. I'm looking forward to a great February and March. I still have a couple of open date on my calendar.
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January 20, 2024
I had the pleasure of spending a day with my nephew Matt and his son Frank on the water today. We put 16 fish into the net and had several fish come unbuttoned during the day. We had five fish over 16" and two in the 18'' to 19" range.
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January 16, 2024
I fished two days this week and shared the water with Mike on Wednesday. Numbers of fish and size of fish went down from last two weeks. The agreed theory is the fish are transitioning from eating eggs to bugs.
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January 11, 2024
I fished two days this week and shared the river with Capt. Mike Costello and his client on Wednesday. We're catching all wild fish in the 12'' to 19" ranges. All bright, fat, and very aerial acrobatic. It should sustain through the rest of January, February, and March.
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January 3, 2024
I fished with Sid and Mike today. We had a stellar day in spite of bouts with rain. We netted and released several fish in the 17" to 18" range. Very bright, fat fish that all jumped and fought hard.
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January 1, 2024
I attended opening day on the Moke. Thanks to the Delta Fly Fishers Club for coffee, donuts, hot dogs, and chili. It would appear that there were equal counts for recreational floaters (Lodi Paddle Club) and fisherman with water craft. It was hard to keep my lip zipped as many people waded the river and presumably walked through a lot of salmon redds. If you plan to fish the Moke, please don't wade until after February 15th when most of the eggs will have been hatched.
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December 13, 2023
My most recent report shows over 26K Salmon have returned to the Mokelumne River Hatchery as of this week. Many fish spawn in the river thanks to the on-going gravel mitigation project managed by the EBMUD biologists. I paid a visit to their Lodi office this morning. Its all hands on deck all week to complete a successful salmon carcass count for scientific data.
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Please note that due to the hundreds of salmon redds (nests) in the river this year, anglers should refrain from wading the river until after February 15th. This will complete the egg cycle and there will be lots of hungry Trout and Steelhead foraging those nests!
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The Steelhead count is up with a mix of wild and fin clipped fish. It should be a banner year for anglers
October 24, 2023
EBMUD just notified me of the flow schedule through October. Please know that the river is closed to all fishing from Camanche Dam to the Hwy 99 Bridge in Lodi from October 15th through December 31st.
October Flow Schedule
Tuesday, October 24 - 500cfs
Wednesday, October 25 - 1,100cfs
Thursday, October 26 - 1,700cfs
Friday, October 27 - Reduce by 300cfs per day with a target of 500cfs.
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All of this water is attracting a lot of Salmon and Steelhead as counts at the Woodbridge Dam Fish Ladder are very good!
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October 20, 2023
The lapse in reports were due to high-flows and no access or fishing from February 8 through July 31. August, September, and October fished well between water releases from Camanche Dam. We had several days with double-digit fish brought to the net and released. With the Winter forecasts predicting another wet year and the 2023 water releases bringing in an increase over past years of Steelhead, 2024 should be a banner year!
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March 16, 2023
Releases from Camanche Dam will be increased from 3,500cfs to 4,000cfs on Friday, March 17th.
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March 9, 2023
EBMUD will increase flows from Camanche Dam to 2,500cfs at 12noon today.
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March 8, 2023
Flows increased to 2,100 today. With two Atmospheric River Storms forecast in the next 7 days, i expect flows from 3,800cfs to 4,000cfs in the next two weeks. I don't think we'll see fishable flows until well into June or July.
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March 7, 2023
Apparently, flows increased to 900cfs on 3/4/23 without public notice. Flows increased to 1,700 on 3-7-23.
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February 28, 2023
Captain Mike Costello guided the Mokelumne on Sunday. (see his client's fish below) He noticed a reduction in flows and we confirmed that EBMUD decreased flows below Camanche Reservoir from 800cfs to 600cfs on Sunday.
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February 16, 2023
EBMUD will decrease flows from Camanche Reservoir from 1,000cfs to 800cfs today.
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February 9, 2023
Flows from Camanche Reservoir will decrease from 1,400cfs to 1,200cfs today and on Friday, February 10th, it will decrease again down to 1,000cfs.
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January 30, 2023
Flows from Camanche Reservoir will decrease from 1,800cfs to 1,600cfs today. On Tuesday, January 31st, it will decrease again down to 1,400cfs.
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January 27, 2023
Flows from Camanche Reservoir will decrease from 2,500cfs to 1,800cfs. today.
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January 25, 2023
Flows from Camanche Reservoir will decrease from 3,000cfs to 2,500cfs today. On Thursday, January 26th, it will decrease again down to 2,000cfs. It's going to be time to fish soon!
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January 24, 2023
Flows from Camanche Reservoir will decrease from 3,500cfs to 3,000cfs today. When it gets down to around 1,000cfs, it's time to fish!
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January 19, 2023
Flows from Camanche Reservoir remain at 3,500cfs with Pardee 100% full and Camanche at 75% full. I would not be surprised to see flows increase again due to the runoff from saturated ground. Once the flows get below 800cfs, it will be time to fish!
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January 7, 2023
Increases from Camanche Dam increases today from 3.000cfs to 3,500cfs.
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January 6, 2023
Increases from Camanche Dam will increase from 2,500cfs to 3,000cfs today. To the left are some pics of the river along the pathway from the third parking lot at the MRDUA up to the fish ladder.
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Although flows and the residual trees down along the river will present challenges after flows return to safe levels, these large flows will scrub the river clean of silt and non-indigenous plant life due to low water and photo-synthesis over the past four years.
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January 6, 2023
Increases from Camanche Dam will increase from 2,000cfs to 2,500cfs today.
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January 3, 2023
EBMUD increased flows today from 900cfs to 2,000cfs. The gates to the boat ramp are closed at the Mokelumne River Day Use Area (MRDUA). Based on the forthcoming storms, I wouldn't be shocked to see flows in the 4,000 to 5,000cfs range.
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January 2, 2023
EBMUD just notified me that releases from Camanche Dam will increase today from 225cfs to 900cfs. That's pushy water and is fishable with conventional gear but I'm afraid not to conducive to fly fishing.
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January 1, 2023
Happy New Year! May the New Year bring us all health & happiness! I already got some of my "More Water Wish". Today was the lowest attendance to Opening Day that I've have seen in the past 40 years. The Delta Fly Fishing Club were onsite sharing hot coffee, food, and fishing tales. I only saw three watercraft launch which is down from the usual 25 to 30 launches in past years. Water color and flows were good at the top end. The water was very brown at the bottom end near Stillman Magee Park.