NorCal Camping/Fishing Spot?

[CABilly]

Wife wants to go camping Easter weekend. I can't screw this up, as she just got into fishing and now wants to make a weekend out of it.

I was thinking Pardee, but thought I'd ask if anyone knows any other spots. I'd prefer somewhere a bit higher up with good trees around the camp sites. Boat rentals would be a plus. National Forest land would be sweet so we could also shoot.

I imagine there will be stupid crowds anywhere we go, but we can live with that.

Thanks in advance.

[p7m8jg]

Wife wants to go camping Easter weekend. I can't screw this up, as she just got into fishing and now wants to make a weekend out of it.

I was thinking Pardee, but thought I'd ask if anyone knows any other spots. I'd prefer somewhere a bit higher up with good trees around the camp sites. Boat rentals would be a plus. National Forest land would be sweet so we could also shoot.

I imagine there will be stupid crowds anywhere we go, but we can live with that.

Thanks in advance.

Close to Pardee is Lake Camanche - they plant trout and bass, have boat rentals, a trout pond. It's not in National Forest nor high up but with this weekend's weather, snow is coming to 4000 feet, no.

[luckylogger6]

How about a drift boat trip? The Lower Sac is starting to fish well. Lots of great camping options and a few places to shoot withing a 20 min drive on BLM.

[CABilly]

Close to Pardee is Lake Camanche - they plant trout and bass, have boat rentals, a trout pond. It's not in National Forest nor high up but with this weekend's weather, snow is coming to 4000 feet, no.

Camanche would be cool since we could swing by the bird club and do some sporting clays.

I started looking into Donner Lake, then remembered Bass Lake. I think Bass would be the best. Has anyone been since the fires? Is it all burnt out?

[diveRN]

It's still a little early to go above the foothills. Many rivers don't open to fishing until late April or early May, so staying on a lake is wise. Unless you're well-equipped for and enjoy cold weather camping, avoid mountain lakes until May/June. We had a place in Arnold at 4,500 feet for years and saw many April and May nights get down into the 30s and occasionally lower.

Weather permitting, an option could be Bass Lake. IIRC, they stock that pond with trout from November to April. On the date(s) you're going, if snow is forecast to 4,000 as indicated above, you may want to avoid it since it's at 3,500ft. Gonna be chilly.

[FatCity67]

Fishsniffer.com

Cal Kellogg does some great reports, think he used to post here awhile back, or maybe that was Jesse's. Anyway I believe Pardeeand Melones are fairly active right now depending on weather. I heard Almanor is doing well also.

Bob Simms has a great Fishing Hunting Outdoor show on Sat 5am-8am with lots of current fishing reports. 1530 KFBK. Been listening to him for years.

[jeffrice6]

Icehouse, don't know what all is open yet.....

[Rockit]

What type of camping? Tent/trailer/cabin?
Fly fish or conventional tackle?
Target game? Trout/bass/stripers/crapie/ or?
How far do you want to travel?

And there's a ton of resources on the fishsniffer site... their maps are great

http://fishsniffer.com/index.php/maps/

And there's plenty of fishing spots to choose from...

http://www.sportfishingreport.com/lakes/CA/norcal.php