Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding 563,588 acre-feet of water. The lake level came up just a little this last week. It is currently at 870 ft. above sea level and 206 ft. from full. The water clarity is clear in most of the lake with a few areas being a little stained. The water temperature continues to cool with the average being 52-55 degrees. Tuttletown launch is closed. Glory Hole Point boat launch is open with a two lane concrete ramp and a dock. 4wd is no longer needed to launch.

Trout: Good. The Department of Fish and Wildlife has been planting trout and has future fish plants scheduled for New Melones. Trout anglers continue to catch some nice rainbows. Fishing has been good, but we are hoping it gets even better in the next couple of weeks. The trout bite is usually on fire during these winter months, due to warmer weather and lack of rain we have not seen the bite bust wide open. The forecast is predicting some much needed rainfall. This could put the bite into full swing. Bank anglers have been using a few methods to catch fish from the shore. Some have been using a standard bait rig to float the bait off of the bottom. Others have been having luck with a slip-float, fishing from the top down. For either rig try using Power Bait or crawlers for bait. Garlic scent has been working well. Be sure to add additional scent to your bait and lures. Trolling anglers are doing well fishing the main lake and near the 49-bridge. The fish are near the surface from 0-20'. Top-lining with 150-200 yards of line has been a good way to bring limits to the boat. To reach down a little deeper, just add some weight to your presentation. Some anglers are reporting the bigger fish coming from the deeper water. Bright colored baits tipped with a chunk of crawler are working well.

Kokanee: Done. Kokanee fishing generally is good from April to September.

Bass: Good. The bass bite has been really good throughout the winter. The water has been holding steady at 52-55 degrees for the last couple months. This is a bit warmer than normal, and has kept them actively feeding, especially the spotted bass. The lake is full of 1 to 3-pound spotted bass that are extremely fun to catch. The fish in Melones can be caught near the bank, but they will also pull off shore and often get caught by anglers that are trolling for trout. Fishing for suspended fish can be tricky and most anglers find luck using shad patterned worms fished on a drop-shot rig. This is a very versatile rig and can be fished in both deep and shallow water. Be sure to use light fluorocarbon line to get more bites. The fish will follow balls of shad from deep to shallow and back out deep. Try using a vertical jigging spoon to entice these fish that are targeting balls of shad. The shad are fairly small so the smaller spoons have been working best. Another great way to catch some fish is with a football head jig. California Reservoir Lures makes a variety of jigs that are tied specifically for our Mother Lode lakes. The big bait bite has been few and far between, but when you do hook into one it could be a fish of a lifetime. New Melones has already produced multiple double-digit fish this year and we are in constant pursuit of another World Record Fish.

Catfish: Fair. We have had reports of quite a few anglers hooking into some quality catfish. The catfish generally move to deep water near rock piles and ledges, but many have been caught roaming in shallow flats. Most anglers don't target catfish at this time of the year. But, the ones that do will hook into some lunkers. Try fishing near large rocks and boulders. A large ball of crawlers is hard to beat. At this time of the year you will have to be very patient for the bites are few and far between. Be sure to use plenty of scent on you baits.