12-24-12
Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,573,275 acre-feet
of water. The lake level rose a couple feet this week, and is currently
at 1011 ft. above sea level and 77 ft. from full. Water temperature
has cooled a bit and is 53-55 degrees. The lake is clear, to slightly
stained. There is debris floating on the surface, which is a good sign
the lake has turned over. Good news- the middle ramp on Glory Hole Point
is open, which makes for an easy walk.
Trout: Good. Department of Fish and Game is now planting rainbow trout weekly at New Melones. Trolling anglers should
try fishing near the surface with large shad patterned plugs.
Top-lining plugs is a great way to locate fish. Try using Rapalas, Speed
Traps, and Rattle Traps. Spoons are working well also. Try using
Needlefish (003 size), Excels, Kastmasters, and Speedy Shiners. Also
shad patterned (natural) colored baits work best on clear days, and fire
tiger (bright) colored baits work best on cloudy/rainy days. Bank fishing
should be great this next week. The water temperature has dropped and
the big bows will be moving in shallow and swimming the shore line.
There has been a lot of surface activity in the calm wind protected
coves. A great way to catch these fish that are feeding on the surface
is with a bubble and a fly. Fill the bubble half full of water, tie on a
swivel, a three foot leader, and a bugger or a wet fly. For bait
fishing, try using garlic scented Power Bait (rainbow or chartreuse). Or
put on a Gulp Egg or a Marshmallow and float a nightcrawler. A lot of
the holdover trout have been feeding on shad. A great way to catch these
larger holdover fish is by using shad patterned lure. Try fishing down
the shore line and making repeated cast with a Kastmaster. Then switch
to a Countdown Rapala and fish your way back. Sometimes while doing this
there will be certain area where you catch a few or get a few bites.
There is most likely a school of fish and once they stop biting your
lure. You can slow down a use bait to catch a few more. To get a few
more bites add some scent to your set-up. Garlic, shad, anise, and
garlic crawler are good flavors of Pro Cure gel.
Kokanee: Done for the season.
Bass:
Fair. For most anglers the bite slowed down a bit this last week. The
bait has been hard to locate making the bass seem to spread out more.
Focus on primary and secondary points leading to and from the back of
the major creek arms. Try using baits that cover water, and resemble
shad. Spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and lip-less cranks, should do the
trick. There is also a good drop-shot bite. Roboworm Alive Shad, Gulp
Minnows, and Zoom Tiny Flukes are all fish catchers on Melones. Also,
crawdads are a more consistent and predictable food source. Try using a
jig around wood and rock on main lake points and secondary points. We
carry a large selection of jigs made by California Reservoir Lures. The
nice thing about these jigs is they are designed for our Mother Lode
lakes. To cover more water use a heavy 1/2 oz. or 3/4 oz. football head
jig. The heavier jig sinks faster and you can keep contact with the
bottom while moving the bait fairly quickly. Try using a Zoom Baby Brush
Hog or a Yamamoto Fat Baby Craw as trailer. The swim bait bite should
be getting better. Try using smaller swim baits to catch spots and nice
largemouth. If you want to catch a huge fish throw a 8" rainbow trout. 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. The water is still fairly warm, and the catfish are very
active. This is usually the best time of the year to catch big cats.
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.
Winner
of the Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week Contest goes to Bill
Heinle of Arnold. Bill is known for catching huge catfish, even in the
colder months when most people stop fishing for them. He caught a
massive 16-pound, 7-ounce near the spillway on frozen shad.
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.