Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,731,665 acre-feet
of water. The lake level has dropped two feet this week and is
currently at 1027 ft. above sea level and 61 ft. from full. Water temperature is in the mid-70'. Lake is stained, with strong mud lines forming around the shore on windy days.
Trout: The bite has slowed down a bit, and the fish have moved to deeper/cooler water. Trolling anglers are catching a few trout along with some kokanee. The trout that are being caught are nice 2 to 3-pound rainbows. Trolling
spoons and spinners seem to be producing quality fish. Tie on a
Needlefish, or a Rocky Mountain Serpent Spoon trolled behind flashers,
or a Mack's Wedding Ring tipped with a crawler. Trolling at 2.5 to 3.2
mph will trigger more trout bites and less kokanee bites. Bank anglers- Slow (head to the local creeks for better action). Bank-anglers
fishing Melones should target deeper water near the main lake and throw
shad or rainbow trout patterned Kastmasters or other casting lures with
enough weight to make long casts. Or use a worm threader
to thread a nightcrawler on the hook and fish it with a Berkley/Gulp
Power Egg or a marshmallow to float your bait off the bottom. Night Fishing under submersible lights has been very good. Drop
Power Bait, Gulp Minnows, or live minnows under a submersible light
near the spillway/dam, or under the Highway 49 Stevenot Bridge. Be
patient- it takes some time for the trout to start biting once you drop
your light in the water. Another trick that has worked well in the past
is to vertical jig a spoon under the light. Fly Fishing has been
very good on local streams. Try using a hopper-dropper setup to locate
fish. Tie a #6 yellow stimulator with a #14 copper john or pheasant tail
as a dropper fly. By doing this you can determine if the fish are
feeding on the surface, or sub-surface. Don't forget to always have a
wooly bugger in your arsenal, they catch fish everywhere.
Harold
Garibaldi of Acampo caught these kokanee on a pink hootchie behind a
green Vance's dodger, trolled 35-40' deep in the south side of the lake.
Kokanee: Good, with most anglers getting easy limits of fat 13-14" fish. Troll
40-65 feet deep in the spillway/dam area or near the 49 Bridge. Try
using the new Anglers Market Kokanee Bites with an additional spinner,
or to target larger fish, use baits that have a large profile and
produce a lot of action. Rocky Mountain Super Squid or an Apex will trigger these larger fish. Pink
is always a good color on this lake, but the fish are moving into
deeper, darker waters, and pink/purple, watermelon, and blue will be
more visible to these deeper fish. Be sure to add scent to your bait. Garlic, carp spit, kokanee special, and anise have been good choices. Don't forget your corn soaked in the same scents.
Bass: Good. Bass anglers are reporting catching fish all day long. Most fish are 12-15 inches with a few 3-pound plus fish caught. Bass
are have moved out to main lake structure. Try using topwater (poppers,
spooks, and buzz baits) in the mornings and switching to soft plastics
(Stick-baits, creatures, and hand pours) as the sun comes up. There is good drop shot bite on submerged island tops and main lake points at 25-45' deep. In clear water use natural colors, and in stained water spice up the same natural baits with a chartreuse dye pen. 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: Wide open. Melones
cats tend to be fish-eaters rather than bottom foragers, so use frozen
shad, mackerel, chicken liver, or anchovies for best success. Larger cats will also feed on natural bait like crawlers, so to target large cats try using a big ball of crawlers. Target shallow flats or areas with large chunk rock, these are prime locations for big cats to hang out. Larger fish are smarter, so use a fluorocarbon leader to entice more bites.
Jerry
Mason of Stockton wins Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week Contest.
He landed a 9-pound 11-ounce lunker on a cricket, which shows that
catfish feed on natural baits of all sizes.
Timmy Leary and Kyle Bennett used crawlers to land this 5.1-pounder while fishing off of Glory Hole Point.
Crappie: Good, especially for those fishing at night under a submersible light. This
is prime time to target the crappie. Use Beetle Spins, Mini Jigs, and
minnows in. Try a live minnow in tandem with a mini jig. The color of
the jig will draw fish to it, and the live minnow triggers the bite.
With the water warming up the fish will suspend in the middle of main
lake creek channels. Try to find trees and flooded timber in 25-40 feet
of water.
