Water Conditions

New Melones Lake is currently holding 636,087 acre-feet of water. The lake level came up four feet this past week and will continue to rise with the recent and upcoming rainfall. It is currently at 884 ft. above sea level and 199 ft. from full. The water clarity is clear in most of the lake with a slight stain in some areas. There is some debris floating on the surface. The water temperature is cooling, with the average being 52-55 degrees. THE CONCRETE RAMP ON GLORY HOLE POINT IS OPEN!!

William and Luke Lum caught a couple from the bank. Including a very nice 2-pound, 13-ounce holdover rainbow. They used garlic Power Bait to coax them into biting.

Trout

The lake has turned over and the trout can be found near the surface in many areas of the lake. Look for wind protected pockets, coves and creek channels to find fish feeding on the surface. Do some scouting before settling on a location to fish. Look in these calm areas for dimples on top. Fish will school up and a few active fish can lead you to an entire school. Trolling anglers have been primarily top-lining and using leadcore to drop a little deeper. Most anglers are finding limits of both planted and holdover trout. The key has been to let out plenty of line and troll at a faster speed. Rapala Floating Minnows and Shad Raps are a great choice for top-lining. The small lip of a floating minnow will pull the bait just under the surface and the larger lipped Shad Rap will pull the bait down 10' to 15'. It is best to alternate between bright and natural colors. Spoons have also been producing and brightly painted Tasmanian Devils work well for both trolling and casting. Bank anglers are finding success fishing off of Glory Hole Point and near the 49-bridge. We saw some really nice holdover trout come in that were caught from the bank. Most anglers are using nightcrawlers and Power Bait to coax these beauties into biting. Some anglers have found luck casting and retrieving lures near the surface. Kastmasters, Tasmanian Devils, and Krocodiles are all good choices.

Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week goes to Hazel Herzog. She caught a beautiful 3-pound, 6-ounce rainbow trout while bank fishing near Glory Hole Point.

We do encourage catch and release of brown trout, as there does not seem to be a large population of them in the lake. Carefully measure, weigh and photograph trophy fish and send us pictures and information.

7-year old Iris Bender caught a limit of rainbows while top-lining a Triple Teazer upriver.

Jay Winchester and Marty Morfey caught two limits trolling orange Apex's near the bridge.

Kaelyn and Landon Conley caught a couple from the shore. Their biggest weighed 3-pounds, 3-ounces.

Antonio Valadez caught a limit while trolling a pink Excel Spoon near the surface.

Glen Smith caught a beautiful 2-pound, 10-ounce holdover while bank fishing with Power Bait.

JW Fredrick brought in a limit of rainbows caught top-lining upriver.

Dan and Melanie Lewis spent a few days on the water and found luck top-lining Rapalas.

Kokanee

The season has come to an end and the kokanee most likely are done spawning. April is a good month to start targeting the kokanee again.

Bass

The winter bite is in full swing and most anglers are catching some really nice spotted bass and largemouth. The water temperature continues to cool, but is not extremely cold yet. The fish are relatively active and willing to bite. Many fish are going to be holding in 30' to 50' of water. Some fish will move shallow periodically to feed and can be caught near the shoreline. The shad and trout have moved into creek channels and pockets off of the main lake. The bass will follow the bait. A great deep water technique that will work during the cold winter months is a vertical jigging spoon. Try locating large balls of bait and fishing a spoon near the edges, under and above. Sometimes the bass will hold in large standing timber near the edges of creek channels. They will wait for the bait to push into them and use the tree to coral an ambush. Try using a weedless worm fish in and around standing timber. A Texas Rig with a shad patterned worm or a Senko is a good choice for catching fish in heavy cover. Small swimbaits fished at various depths will also coax these fish into biting. Many fish will scour the bottom and feed on crawdads and other bottom dwelling creatures. A football head jig will work great fished slowly across the bottom. Light jigs work great when the fish are biting on the fall. Use heavier jigs for bumping into structure and grinding the bottom. Some anglers are catching big largemouth on trout patterned swimbaits. PLEASE PRACTICE CATCH AND RELEASE. Take photos and carefully release the fish back into to the lake to maintain a healthy fish population for generations to come.

Catfish

Fishing for catfish during the winter months is usually pretty slow. Large fish can be caught at this time each year, but not many. It is best to use a ball of Power Bait or Float a crawler. This way you will have a chance to catch both trout and catfish. For specially targeting giant cats, try using a whole mackerel with a double hook rig. These fish tend to hibernate during the cold months and will only move to eat a substantial meal.

Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week goes to Bob James of Murphys. He caught a 6-pound, 3-ounce catfish while soaking Power Bait.

Crappie

Very few anglers have been targeting the crappie. The winter months can be good and the crappie will move into creek arms.