Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,621,957 acre-feet of water. The lake level rose one foot this week, and is currently at 1016 ft. above sea level and 72 ft. from full. Water temperature has cooled and is 48-52 degrees. The lake is clear, to slightly stained. The lake has turned over.

Trout: Fair. Department of Fish and Game is now planting rainbow trout weekly at New Melones. The lake has turned over, and school of trout are cruising the surface/shore line in search of bait. Trolling anglers should target major coves and creek arms, with baits trolled near the surface. While top-lining 150-200' behind the boat, try using plugs that dive to different depths to locate the fish. A Rapala Shad Rap and a Rapala Jointed Minnow are to great bait to use. The Shad Rap has a larger bill and will dive deeper than the Jointed Minnow. Also, a large bait will draw strikes from a long distance, and even smaller planted fish will strike these large lures. Another technique that has been producing limits is a crawler fished behind a teardrop shaped flasher. Bank fishing and still-fishing from a boat has produced the most fish. Walking the bank as you cast will help you find the fish. A 1/4-3/8 ounce Kastmaster seem to be the most productive "chuck and wind" lure. The key to fishing a casting spoon is mixing up the speed and presentation. Sometimes the fish will take a slow, steady retrieve, and other times they prefer a faster, more erratic presentation. For bait fishing, try using garlic scented Power Bait (rainbow or chartreuse), or put on a Gulp Egg or a marshmallow/nightcrawler. Or, use Pro Cure garlic scent on colors of Power Bait that don't come pre-scented. If you fish an area for an hour or so without having any luck, pick up and move down the bank. Sometimes you might be just a few yards away from a quality limit, or a productive feeding route.

Kokanee: Done for the season.

Bass: Fairly tough. Most anglers are having trouble locating quality fish. The water temperature drastically dropped over the last few weeks. The fish seemed to have moved into deep water for the winter. They are feeding on main lake points throughout the day. But, with such cold water they will feed a lot less than normal due to a slower metabolism. Now is a good time to fish finesse style presentations, such as a drop-shot rig. Small, slow moving baits will trigger more bites. Anglers should try using 3-4" hand poured worms in natural shad and crawfish hues. Another way to catch them is by "dead-sticking" your bait. Try using a 5" Senko on the bottom, motionless, and moving it a little at a time every 2-3 minutes. Bass will feed heavily on crawfish at this time of the year. Try using a heavy 1/2oz. or 3/4oz. football head jig with a trailer around wood and rock on main lake points and secondary points. California Reservoir Lures' jigs are designed for Mother Lode lakes. The swim bait bite is getting better. Try using smaller swim baits to catch spots and nice largemouth. If you want to catch a huge fish throw an 8" rainbow trout swim bait. Remember to practice catch and release! If you do keep a bass, please keep the spotted bass and release the big female (largemouth) black bass. Glory Hole Sports can teach you the difference, so you can practice good conservation of the species.

Catfish: Haven't seen any this week, but they are out there. Melones catfish tend to be fish-eaters rather than bottom foragers, so use live minnows, frozen shad, mackerel, or anchovies for best success. Move/drag your bait slowly across the bottom to cover more water and target fish that are aggressively feeding. Generally cats will feed in shallow flats or areas with large chunk rock near deep water.

Crappie: Slow. There are fish in 15-40 foot of water, in the backs of creek channels near submerged timber. Live minnows or redworms fished under a slip-float, with a bobber stop is a good way to target these fish.

Photos
Above Photo: Steve Berg caught this beautiful 4-pound, 3-ounce rainbow while bank fishing with rainbow/garlic Power bait.


Photo #1: Winner of the Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week Contest goes to Heath Biszmaier of Sonora, who fished from the bank on Glory Hole Point to catch a 4-pound, 7-ounce rainbow. He caught this hefty rainbow with a garlic soaked nightcrawler.

Photo #2: Don Myshrall caught a limit while trolling a Wee Tad in the main lake.