Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,968,084 acre-feet of water. The lake level has been steady for the last few weeks, and is currently at 1049 ft. above sea level and 39 ft. from full. Water temperature is really dropping now, and is currently 56 degrees. The lake seems to have turned over, by the great trout fishing we have seen this week.
Trout: Still some great action! We had a lot of fish brought in this week. Most anglers are catching easy limits and releasing a number of fish throughout the day. The Department of Fish and Game is planting Melones every week now, plus we are seeing some beautiful 2-to-3-pound holdovers. Trout are feeding heavily on schools of small shad. Most the fish are being caught in the top 10 ft of the water column. Bank anglers have been bringing limits of planters, as well as some 2-3-pound holdovers. Glory Hole Point, Angels Cove, and Glory Hole Cove have been the most productive areas. Berkley Power bait has really been working. Try using rainbow glitter, green, or orange. The key to catching fish with Power bait is using enough dough to make the bait float off of the bottom. Also using a small size 14 or 16 treble hook will help accomplish this presentation. When you are fishing with multiple rods try experimenting with the length of your leader. The fish will feed anywhere from 2 to 6 feet of off the bottom. For anglers who want to fish lures from shore, a Kastmaster is hard to beat. Bank anglers who brought in trout this week include: Steve Olley, Charlie Catario, David Carr, Bill Martin, Linda Taguinod, Sean Moore, Bob, and Bill and Elaine Auberg.
Winner of the Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week contest goes to Dan Gomez. He was fishing from the shore and caught a 5-pound brown trout using a marsh mellow/crawler combo. Trollers should target coves and creek arms close to shore. A great lure to use is a Rapala CD5, CD7, SR5, and SR7. With clear weather and clear water, more natural color will work better. Needlefish and Excel spoons are also catching a lot of fish. Add a piece of crawler or a trolling grub for a trailer. The use of scent will get you a few more bites. Pro Cure Threadfin shad, Shad and Garlic Plus are tried and true scents. Anglers who caught rainbows while trolling this week include: Michi Watanabe, Kyle Wise, Austin Kane, and David Walsh.
Kokanee: Done for the season.
Bass: Pretty good. We had some good reports this week of anglers catching a lot of fish. The spotted bass are very healthy and actively feeding on shad. There are many 2-pound fish being caught. Most of the fish are being caught on soft plastics. A drop shot rig fished from 25-50 feet with a 4" shad patterned worm is your best bet for catching the numbers. Target main lake points, humps, and islands. Swim baits and jigs are working too and will generally produce larger fish. A 4" or 5" hula grub on a ½ oz. jig head will usually catch fish and is a good bait to cover water. You can fish it in deep or shallow water. It is best to use natural crawdad colors such as green pumpkin (297), cinnamon w/black (176), and watermelon w/black (194). Remember to practice catch and release, especially largemouth bass as we are seeing fewer each year.
Catfish: We have had very few reports, but there are very few people targeting catfish.Some of the biggest fish on our wall of fame were caught in November, December, and January. Catfish are in deeper water on ledges and main lake points. They will feed at any time during the day you just have to be patient. It is best to use two rods with two different baits. This way if the fish don't go for one offering they might go for the other. A good choice of baits would be shad, liver, or crawlers. Soaking your bait in Pro Cure scent will make it even more appealing to those lunker cats. Leave your bail open so the cats can't feel the line if still-fishing. Another way to catch them is to fish a weightless rig. Put enough bait on your hook to where you can make a long cast. This rig will sink slowly and drift and roll along the bottom.
Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week Contest goes to Billy Heinle. He caught a 7-pound 2-ounce catfish on a chunk of liver soaked in garlic scent.
Crappie and bluegill: Slow. Try using small minnows, red worms, and meal worms on a slip-float rig fished 15-25 feet deep will work. Generally 4-6 pound test line will get you more bites and fishing light tackle can be a fun way to catch them.
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