Water clarity: 3-12 feet
Air temperature: 30-60 degrees
Wind direction/speed: 0-10 mph S-SW
Moon phase: waning gibbous illumination 98%

On January 22, 2019 at approximately 0700 hours, my good friends and I decided to go fishing at New Melonies  reservoir located at  6503 Glory Hole Road, Angels Camp, California.

After launching we made a cold run to South end of the lake. We started graphing main lake points which were topped with timber and boulder rock. We located several large schools of fish in these types of areas.

Half the fish seemed to pinned to the bottom of the lake, and in an inactive negative feeding state. The other half of the fish seemed to be suspended on bait fish, actively feeding, in a positive feeding state.


The suspended fish wanted a slow falling bait such as a neko rig or darter head. The fish pinned to the bottom preferred the slow methodical movement of the jig. We also influenced a few bottom feeders to eat an A rig, slow rolled right over the top of their position.

After catching our fair share of fish in the south, we decided to run up river to try our luck near some moving water. We caught several fish suspended in the 30’ range but the majority of the fish were feeding on bait in 50’ of water.

Overall we caught nearly thirty bass with our best five weighing about fifteen pounds. Overall It was a great day with good friends and lots of laughs.