Water Conditions:
New Melones Lake is
currently holding 1,573,753 acre-feet of water. The lake level dropped
close to one foot this week, and is currently at 1010 ft. above sea
level and 77 ft. from full. Water temperature is warming daily with the
average being 54-56 degrees and some parts of the lake 58-60 degrees in
the afternoon. The lake is clear, to slightly stained with some debris
floating on the surface.
Trout:
Fair.The bite has been
good for some anglers, and fair for most. The trout are scattered
throughout the water column from the surface to 30 feet. Trolling
anglers: try fishing the main lake near the dam/spillway and Rose
Island. Uncle Larry's Spinners and Wedding Rings tipped with a chunk of
crawler is a good presentation to start with. Try using various colors
at various depths until you find what the fish want. Green and
chartreuse are good springtime colors for trout. Bank anglers struggled a
bit with very few limits being caught. Most of the fish that are being
caught are planters, with an occasional larger holdover in the mix.
There are fish rising to the surface in the mornings and evenings. Try
using a bubble and a fly rig with a wooly bugger or a trolling fly to
target these fish. Also try using Power Bait, Power Eggs, or a
mallow/crawler combo. Another great way to catch them is with a live
minnow fished under a slip-float. This rig is easy to use, and you can
target many different depths. All you need is a bobber stop, slip-float,
swivel, spit shot, and a mosquito hook. This is a great rig for kids
because trout, bass, crappie, bluegill, and catfish will eat live
minnows.
Kokanee:
Good. The fish are
scattered from 20-50 feet. The fish are a good size for this time of the
year- 12-14" and very chunky. Try fishing the main lake with a finesse
trolling setup. A Glitterbugs pink Micro Hoochie or an Anglers Market
Kokanee Bites trolled behind a small tear drop dodger is great way to
get a limit. Watermelon and silver are two good colored dodgers to start
with. Another lure that produces a lot of kok's and some large trout
every year is an Apex. Don't forget to tip your lure with shoe peg corn
that has been soaked in garlic, anise, carp spit, or kokanee special
Pro Cure scent.
Bass:
Good. The big ones are
still showing up and more of the smaller easy to catch fish too. The
giant fish are being caught on mainly jigs, worms, and swim baits. Try
fishing main lake points leading into spawning areas. These are staging
areas where the fish will stacked up before they spawn. Also it is a
good time to use soft plastics such as Senkos, Brush Hogs, and lizards.
These bait will catch their fair share of fish and will also produce an
occasional lunker fish.
This week local angler
Alex Niapas caught and released a huge double -fish and almost a new
lake record. His fish massive fish weighed 17-pounds, 13-ounces. He
reported catching it in the morning on a California Reservoir Lures
Bed-Wetter jig with a Slim Thrasher trailer.
We have been seeing a
lot of big spotted bass being caught and we possibly have a world record
swimming around out there. The current state record and world 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. It is very important to practice catch and release during the
spring months! 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. The water is warming and
the bite will pick up.
Crappie:
Good.
Spring is here and the crappie bite is starting. The fish we are seeing
are chunky slabs up to two pounds. 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 Beetle Spins and mini
jigs on light spinning tackle.
Jimmy Fields of Manteca caught half a dozen very fat crappie in the back of a creek channel.
