2-11-13
Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,629,867 acre-feet
of water. The lake level remained stable, and actually dropped a little
this week, and is currently at 1017 ft. above sea level and 72 ft. from
full. Water temperature has cooled and is 48-52 degrees. The lake is
clear, to slightly stained with some debris floating on the surface. The
lake has turned over.
Trout: Slow.
Department of Fish and Game is now planting rainbow trout weekly at New
Melones. The lake has turned over. The trout are still scatter
throughout the lake from 0-30' deep. Trolling anglers
have been catching a few limits of 13-16" fish. Try fishing major coves
and creek arms, with baits trolled near the surface. We have had
reports of angler catching and releasing some large brown trout. While
trolling for rainbows it would be a good idea to troll a larger size
bait to target the browns. Such as, a S-Waver, Magic Swimmer, or a F18
Rapala. Also, the fish are feeding on large shad. This would be a good
time to try rolling frozen shad. Try using Pautzke Fire Brine to add
to the presentation of your shad. Often times when trolling through a
ball of shad the fish will target the one shad that looks a little
different. Another technique that has been producing limits is a crawler
fished behind a teardrop shaped flasher, or a sling blade. Remember
that prism tape reflects light, so on sunny days use blades that will
reflect light and attract fish from a distance. Bank fishing
was a little slow this week with only a few fish being caught per
angler. The standard bait rig with a long leader seems to be your best
bet. Use a sliding sinker with a 3-4' leader and a light wire hook. A
crawler/mallow combo is a proven fish catcher. Another good setup is a
Berkley Pinched Crawler with a pink or white Gulp, or Power Egg. Also,
try using a shad patterned casting spoon on main lake points.
Kastmasters and Krocodiles are great baits because you can cast them a
long distance. Fan cast from deep to shallow to locate were the fish are
feeding. Don't forget to add scent to your bait. Garlic, shad, and
anise are all good scents for trout.
Kokanee: Done for the season.
Bass:
Fairly tough. Most anglers are having trouble locating quality fish.
The water temperature drastically dropped over the last few weeks. The
fish seemed to have moved into deep water for the winter. They are
feeding on main lake points throughout the day. But, with such cold
water they will feed a lot less than normal due to a slower metabolism.
Now is a good time to fish finesse style presentations, such as a
drop-shot rig. Small, slow moving baits will trigger more bites.
Anglers should try using 3-4" hand poured worms in natural shad and
crawfish hues. Another way to catch them is by "dead-sticking" your
bait. Try using a 5" Senko on the bottom, motionless, and moving it a
little at a time every 2-3 minutes. Bass will feed heavily on crawfish
at this time of the year. Try using a heavy 1/2oz. or 3/4oz. football
head jig fished in deep water 40-60'. Try using darker colors in deep
water such as, black/blue, and brown/purple. California Reservoir Lures'
jigs are designed for Mother Lode lakes. A great color is "Cash Call."
It is green pumpkin, purple, with gold flake, and matches Yamamoto color
(331). The swim bait bite is getting better. Try using smaller swim
baits to catch spots and nice largemouth. If you want to catch a huge
fish throw an 8" rainbow trout swim bait. The New Lake Record Spotted
Bass was caught this week. Mike Sanders of Hughson caught a massive
8-pound, 3-ounce lunker on Thursday. He caught this record fish in the
early morning on a Huddleston R.O.F. 12, rainbow trout patterned swim
bait. This is the second spotted bass caught this month that weighed
over 8-pounds. The lake record fish that we keep track of are
unofficial weights because we do not have a certified scale. The
current state record was caught May 3, 2001 out of Pine Flat Lake. It
weighed 10-pounds, 4-ounces. If you catch a fish that is larger, and
want it to be recognized as a state record, it must be weighed on a
certified scale. The post office or the grocery store meat department
has a certified scale. 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:
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.
