10-30-12
Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,479,725 acre-feet
of water. The lake level dropped a foot this week, and is currently at
1001 ft. above sea level and 87ft. from full. Water temperature has
cooled a bit and is in the 60's. The lake is clear, to slightly
stained. The lake will "turn over" when surface water cools to the same
temperature as the deeper water- around 53-54 degrees. This usually
happens around Thanksgiving, and then the trout bite really turns on for
bank-anglers and trollers alike. Good news, the middle ramp on Glory
Hole Point is open, which makes for an easy walk.
Trout: Fair! Trolling anglers
had very little luck this week fishing the main lake. The trout seem to
be in transition from deep to shallow water. We have had reports of
fish being caught from 5-65 feet of water. With the water temperature
dropping we should start seeing more fish being caught toward the
surface. 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 might coax a few fish into biting. At this time of the year
we will start to see more days of rain and cloud cover. These can be
great day for fishing. Try using bright colored baits, like fire tiger,
and hot steel Rapalas. Also, gold and copper blades seem to work better
than silver during low light conditions. Bank fishing
has been slow, but should start to pick up as the water temperature
cools down. We have had a few reports of fish being caught from the
shore. Also, try fishing small feeder creeks and inlets whenever we get
some rainfall. Cooler running water attracts fish, and also washes
nutrients and insects into the lake. 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. 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. The shad are staging in 15-30 feet of water on main lake points
and at the mouths of major creek arms. There are small little clusters
of shad, and there are huge schools. A lot of the fish are targeting
shad as their primary food source. Try using shad patterned deep diving
crank-baits and deep rip-baits to get to the depth they are feeding at. A
good trick to get a little more depth out of your baits is to add some
suspend dots or suspend strips. These adhesive pieces of lead are easy
to apply to any bait and you can make a suspending bait slowly sink, or
make a floating bait suspend. When you locate fish that are too deep to
target with plugs, try using a ½-ounce spoon or a drop-shot rig. 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.
4- year old Matthew Lee landed a pretty little spotted bass. He caught this fish on a chartreuse Speed Trap.
Catfish:
Good. The catfish seem to be moving shallow and feeding on
cloudy/rainy days. The weather forecast for the next couple weeks shows
we might be seeing some of these kinds of days. This would be a good
time to get out your umbrellas and rain gear. Hit the water and soak
some bait for a chance at a lunker cat. Melones catfish 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. 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 Matthew Repko of
Sonora. He caught a massive 18-pound, 12-ounce lunker using anchovies,
on a double-hook rig. 
Kao
and Maicoua Vang caught two hefty cats weighing 8-pounds, 6-ounces and
7-pounds. They fished near Tuttletown with anchovies, in 20-30 foot of
water.
Cliff Goddard of Sonora caught this chunky 11-pound cat using nightcrawlers.
Crappie:
Slow. There are fish in 15-40 foot of water, in the backs of creek
channels near submerged timber. Live minnows or red worms fished under a
slip-float, with a bobber stop is a good way to target these fish.
Also, try using red/white mini jigs, small grubs, and 4" soft plastic
worms. Crappie too, will gorge themselves on shad. Try to locate the
bait in shallow areas and the fish shouldn't be far.