New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,049,506 acre-feet of water. The lake level dropped very little this week and is currently at 949 ft. above sea level and 137 ft. from full. The water is very clear in some areas and slightly stained in others, with a little bit of debris on the surface. The water temperature is 52-55 degrees. The lake has turned over. The docks have been moved to the middle ramp on Glory Hole Point.

The trout are still biting and should continue to for the next couple months. Most anglers are catching some nice holdover rainbows along with a handful of planted trout. The fish are feeding near the surface in shallow bays, and creek channels. The Department of Fish and Game has had multiple plants so far for the month of December and will continue planting fish in January as well.

Bank anglers are catching limits off of Glory Hole Point and near the Tuttletown boat launch. Try floating Power Bait or Gulp Eggs off of the bottom. Many different colored dough baits and eggs seem to work with rainbow, chartreuse, salmon egg, and pink being favorites. Also, the fish seem drawn to the garlic scented bait. If you are fishing with a color that is not scented try adding some garlic scented oil to entice more bites. For anglers who prefer using artificial presentations, try fan casting Kastmasters and Krocodiles. Also there are fish feeding on the surface in the morning and evening. To target these fish try using a bubble/fly or fly fishing. Trolling anglers should try fishing from 15' to the surface. With a large majority of fish moving to shallow water, it's a good idea to troll near the shoreline or use a side planer. Trolling spoons have been working well. Speedy Shiners, Needlefish, and Excel Spoons are all good choices. Be sure to let out plenty of line, 150-200'. Trout will often react to a faster speed troll from 3-5 mph. This is a great time of year to catch some large brown trout. When trolling with multiple rods it's a good idea to have one setup for browns. Try using large jointed plugs or rolling shad. When that rod hits it could be a fish of a lifetime.

Anglers are starting to catch more fish with most of them being chunks that weigh from 2-4 pounds. There is a large population of fish that are schooling in deep water from 30-50' and some fish moving up fairly shallow throughout the day to feed. It is very important to use your electronics to locate fish and bait. Try using vertical jigging spoons near the balls of bait. Also drop shotting is a great cold water tactic that will produce numbers and some quality fish as well. Try using small shad patterned bait and light fluorocarbon line to get these finicky fish to bite. Try slowing down a bit and using baits that crawl across the bottom. A Carolina Rigged Brush Hog or Senko will work well as a slow dragging presentation. There has been a decent jig bite and should get better with fish moving up for pre-spawn. ??- ?? oz. football jigs are good and are easy to fish at various depths. Try using a crawdad colored twin tail grub, Brush Hog, or Beaver as a trailer. California Reservoir Lures makes very durable jigs that are designed specifically for our Motherlode lakes. Also, use plenty of scent and reapply multiple times throughout the day to help the fish locate your bait. With the Department of Fish and Game planting rainbows now is a good time to target giant fish with trout patterned swim baits.

The catfish will be moving to deep water near rock piles and ledges. Most anglers don't target catfish at this time of the year. But, the ones that do will hook into some lunkers. Melones cats tend to be fish eaters. Frozen shad, anchovies, sardines, and mackerel work well for bait. The water temperature is warming faster than most years due to lack of rain and extremely warm weather. Look for extra large cats moving shallow in the next couple of weeks if the weather pattern remains the same.