Lake Comanche

[tamalewagon]

Have any of you recently been to Lake Comanche near Jackson, Ca? I've heard the water levels have dwindled a lot in recent years. "Little Hat" and "Big Hat" used to be the only islands their and now evidently there are too many to count. Any information would be appreciated. Also, does anyone know information on the campground on the North Shore? Thanks in advance.

[tamalewagon]

My parents used to own a little mobile home just east of the General store. I can't remember the name of that specific area as I would love to rent one of the homes or possibly even buy one. If that doesn't work out, I would still love to get back to the lake and camp in the North Shore campground. I don't have any info on the campground or the old neighborhood. Any thoughts?

[MOBrien]

From what I've known this year, Camanche has been pretty low....as have most of the NorCal lakes with exception to Berryessa. And it gets very choppy throughout the day due to so much traffic....both PWC and boats, and wind. We used to go there quite often up until a couple of years ago...then we switched to New Hogan just about 15-20 more minutes up the road from South Shore Camanche. The campground crowd at Camanche South became what we felt was "less than desirable" for family relaxation weekends and that was after frequenting this lake for about 10 years. We found that Hogan had very good facilities, a more mello user population, and the lake stayed smooth most of the time. If you haven't been there, you may want to check it out. Anyhow, that's my $.02
Have a good one,
MOB

[Desert Rat]

Shuuuuush on the Hogan thing. We don't wan't the others to find our paradise

[MOBrien]

Shuuuuush on the Hogan thing. We don't wan't the others to find our paradise
yea, I hear you.
But it's not like those "less desirable" folks are lurking around in here. :D ***boat peeps = good peeps from my experience. Did any of you notice the "Nor-Cal Hooky Day on the Delta" thread earlier in October? What a great bunch of people and huge turnout. We had like 30+ rigs ranging from small outboard tunnels, to big 30'+ V's & cats on the water that Friday, yes a Friday. And I have to say .... everyone I met that day were people I'd hang out with again and again. This is a great place to meet new folks that love boating as much as we do. Of course there's always a small % that can beat it, but great people in here for the most part that I'd love to meet & run with.
Now you've got $.04 from me. :rollside:
-MOB

[tamalewagon]

Secrets out boys, but I'll keep it down about Hogan. Breaks my heart a little about Camache, used to be my favorite place. Do you guys frequent Hogan quite a bit? Being that I am new to the "forums", I'm trying to up my community involvement.

[Her454]

Comanche is dangerously low right now. I drive over it every day and I wouldnt trust taking my boat out there for fear of hitting something. The lake is NOT marked with hazard bouys this year (not sure why) so its difficult to tell the danger areas but when it gets this low there are alot of old structures (from the old town), especially toward the back of the lake that are showing now and havent been visible since the 70's drought.
As far as camping....I would have to agree with the "undesirables" as every weekend in the summer I read about theft inside the campgrounds, along with fights.
I have a MotherLode***boat Cliff Run every year at Hogan in August except this year the lake was too low for it. Thats usually the 3rd weekend in August and also we now have an October Run....."The Hallo-Roost". They will be posted on the ***boat event calendar for next year if your interested.

[Desert Rat]

Hogan is WAY down. This was taken Sept 4th
A pic of the OLD dam now out of water.
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/520/881Sept_04_028.jpg

[Her454]

Its much lower now. We had about 25-30 boats out there the weekend of October 9th (Hallo-Roost) and it was low. I was out there last weekend also and they are getting ready to mark the danger zones. Pretty bad, but still not as bad as in the 70's. You cant get to the rear of the lake anymore tho, the Cliffs disappeared early in the summer. :( As much as I hate it, we need rain, rain rain.

[tamalewagon]

With most of the Central California reservoirs low, where are some decent spots to get the boat wet without scraping the bottom of the boat off? Isabel, Nacamiento, Lake San Antonio? I would like to expand our choices from the river to a few good lakes and meet some more boat enthusiast's.

[tamalewagon]

Much appreciated! :cool:

[T-Bag]

I live at Camanche North shore. The water level is low but I was out trying props 2 weeks ago. I've been out here for about 6-7 yrs and have seen the water lower at the end of the season. It's usually full at the beginning of the season. The camp grounds at south shore suck. The north shore camps are a little better. If you plan on coming up I STRONGLY recommend the peninsula camp sites. They are spread out and all water front so you can see the boat. The people are'nt as bad over their either. If you want p/m me a # and I'll get in touch with ya!

[MOBrien]

With most of the Central California reservoirs low, where are some decent spots to get the boat wet without scraping the bottom of the boat off? Isabel, Nacamiento, Lake San Antonio? I would like to expand our choices from the river to a few good lakes and meet some more boat enthusiast's.
One place is almost always a sure bet for good boating......THE DELTA! Otherwise, make the trek from Diego to Don Pedro or Berryessa. Or go big and head all the way up to Shasta. Berryessa is about 15-18 miles across, Don Pedro is pretty large, Shasta is fuggin awesome, and I hear New Malones is pretty damn big as well. There are great alternatives to going to the lakes that seem to take a beating when we don't have rain and those are some of them that you should consider IMO.
-MOB

[tamalewagon]

What about Lake Isabel and Lake San Antonio? I've heard great things about San Antonio and saw that the v-drive party was held there in the September issue of HB. Pray, beg, grovel for rain!