Water Conditions:
New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,573,753 acre-feet of water. The lake level dropped close to one foot this week, and is currently at 1010 ft. above sea level and 77 ft. from full. Water temperature is warming daily with the average being 54-56 degrees and some parts of the lake 58-60 degrees in the afternoon. The lake is clear, to slightly stained with some debris floating on the surface.

Trout:
Fair.The bite has been good for some anglers, and fair for most. The trout are scattered throughout the water column from the surface to 30 feet. Trolling anglers: try fishing the main lake near the dam/spillway and Rose Island. Uncle Larry's Spinners and Wedding Rings tipped with a chunk of crawler is a good presentation to start with. Try using various colors at various depths until you find what the fish want. Green and chartreuse are good springtime colors for trout. Bank anglers struggled a bit with very few limits being caught. Most of the fish that are being caught are planters, with an occasional larger holdover in the mix. There are fish rising to the surface in the mornings and evenings. Try using a bubble and a fly rig with a wooly bugger or a trolling fly to target these fish. Also try using Power Bait, Power Eggs, or a mallow/crawler combo. Another great way to catch them is with a live minnow fished under a slip-float. This rig is easy to use, and you can target many different depths. All you need is a bobber stop, slip-float, swivel, spit shot, and a mosquito hook. This is a great rig for kids because trout, bass, crappie, bluegill, and catfish will eat live minnows.

Kokanee:
Good. The fish are scattered from 20-50 feet. The fish are a good size for this time of the year- 12-14" and very chunky. Try fishing the main lake with a finesse trolling setup. A Glitterbugs pink Micro Hoochie or an Anglers Market Kokanee Bites trolled behind a small tear drop dodger is great way to get a limit. Watermelon and silver are two good colored dodgers to start with. Another lure that produces a lot of kok's and some large trout every year is an Apex. Don't forget to tip your lure with shoe peg corn that has been soaked in garlic, anise, carp spit, or kokanee special Pro Cure scent.

Bass:
Good. The big ones are still showing up and more of the smaller easy to catch fish too. The giant fish are being caught on mainly jigs, worms, and swim baits. Try fishing main lake points leading into spawning areas. These are staging areas where the fish will stacked up before they spawn. Also it is a good time to use soft plastics such as Senkos, Brush Hogs, and lizards. These bait will catch their fair share of fish and will also produce an occasional lunker fish.

We have been seeing a lot of big spotted bass being caught and we possibly have a world record swimming around out there. The current state record and world record was caught May 3, 2001 out of Pine Flat Lake. It weighed 10-pounds, 4-ounces. If you catch a fish that is larger, and want it to be recognized as a state record, it must be weighed on a certified scale. The post office or the grocery store meat department has a certified scale. It is very important to practice catch and release during the spring months! 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:
Melones catfish tend to be fish-eaters rather than bottom foragers, so use live minnows, frozen shad, mackerel, or anchovies for best success. The water is warming and the bite will pick up.

Crappie:
Good. Spring is here and the crappie bite is starting. The fish we are seeing are chunky slabs up to two pounds. There are fish in 15-40 foot of water, in the backs of creek channels near submerged timber. Live minnows or red worms fished under a slip-float, with a bobber stop is a good way to target these fish. Also, try using Beetle Spins and mini jigs on light spinning tackle.

Photos: Pictured Above: This week local angler Alex Niapas caught and released a huge double -fish and almost a new lake record. His fish massive fish weighed 17-pounds, 13-ounces. He reported catching it in the morning on a California Reservoir Lures Bed-Wetter jig with a Slim Thrasher trailer.
Photo #1: Jimmy Fields of Manteca caught half a dozen very fat crappie in the back of a creek channel.