Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,498,505 acre-feet
of water. The lake level dropped a foot this week, and is currently at
1003 ft. above sea level and 85ft. from full. Water temperature has
cooled a bit and is in the upper 60's to low 70's. The lake is clear,
to slightly stained. Good news, the middle ramp on Glory Hole Point is
open, which makes for an easy walk.
Jeanette
Williams and Sheila Rogers caught a very impressive limit of chunky
trout. They trolled shad patterned Excels in 65 foot of water near the
49 bridge.
Trout: Fair! Trolling anglers
are catching a few limits in the main lake and in the mouths of major
creek arms. We have had reports of fish being caught from 35-65 feet of
water. On cooler nights the fish are moving toward the surface, and on
hotter days they go deep, to the comfort of cool water. Try using shad
patterned trolling spoons such as, Needlefish, Excels, Slimfins, and
Speedy Shiners. The fish are feeding heavily on 3-5" shad. Large plug
baits like Countdown Rapalas, Rattle traps, and Speed traps are working
well too.
The
Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week Contest goes to Fred Saulsbury.
Fred caught a couple nice rainbows while trolling a natural shad
Needlefish. The largest one tipped the scales weighing 3-pounds
5-ounces.
On Saturday October 13th a handful of anglers took some kids fishing with the "C.A.S.T. for Kids" program. It was a success.
10 year-old Taylind Jolly of Jamestown landed this 3-pound 3-ounce rainbow.
9 year-old Amber Jore of Angels Camp caught a nice rainbow while trolling a nightcrawler.
Night fishing
under a submersible light has slowed down a bit. Try fishing toward
the backs of coves and creek channels. The light will attract plankton,
bait fish feed on plankton, and larger fish will feed on the bait fish.
Be patient, it can take a few hours for this feeding cycle to occur. Bank fishing has been slow, but should start to pick up as the water temperature cools down. River and stream season ends on November 15th.
Kokanee:
Slow. The schools are heading to the back of creek arms, and upriver
for their annual spawn and die. There are still some fish being caught
in the main lake. Most of the kokanee being caught are dark with hooked
mouths. Some clean silver fish are showing up in the dam/spillway area,
but are fairly small. They are taking standard kokanee setups, sling
blades and hoochies in pink, orange, and green. Be sure to add plenty of
Pro Cure Scent to your dodger and your bait. Garlic, anise, carp spit,
and kokanee special have all been producing. Don't forget to bring corn
soaked in these same scents.
Bass: Good. Spotted bass
are ambushing balls of shad on main lake points, in main lake pockets
and on submerged island tops. Try using top water baits, like spooks,
Gunfish, and poppers in the morning. Then as the sun comes up, switch to
finesse baits. Use shad patterned worms on a drop shot rig, or drag a
Carolina rig with small crawdad colored bait. Largemouth
bass are in shallow water in the morning and move to 25-45 feet later
in the day. In the a.m. hours try using reaction baits like
spinnerbaits, and lipless crankbaits. Once the sun starts beating down
use a 3/8oz. or 1/2oz. football head jig with a matching Yamamoto
twin-tail grub. Brown/brown, brown/purple, and green pumpkin are all
good choices. While fishing down the bank keep an eye on your graph. If
you see fish below you try dropping a 1/2oz. spoon, to draw a reaction
strike. 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:
Fair. Melones cats tend to be fish-eaters rather than bottom
foragers, so use live minnows, frozen shad, mackerel, or anchovies for
best success. Move/drag your bait slowly across the bottom to cover
more water and target fish that are aggressively feeding. Use heavy
weights to stir up the bottom and cause more commotion. This will
attract fish from far away. Larger cats will also feed on natural bait
like crawlers, so to target large cats try using a big ball of crawlers-
many anglers use a weightless set-up. Generally cats will feed in
shallow flats or areas with large chunk rock near deep water.
Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week contest goes to Cody and Matt Wise. They caught a 9-pound 5-ounce lunker on beef liver.
Crappie:
Good. Anglers that are night fishing, using submersible lights in the
backs of coves are catching some nice crappie. The fish are in 15'-30'
of water near standing timber and brush. Live minnows are working well.
Also, try using red/white mini jigs under a slip-float rig. Crappie to
will gorge themselves on shad. Try to locate the bait in shallow areas
and the fish shouldn't be far.
