12-23-13 Fishing Report
Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding
1,047,425
acre-feet of water. The lake level rose very little this week and is
currently at 949 ft. above sea level and 137 ft. from full. The water
is fairly clear in some areas and slightly stained in others. The water
temperature dropped quite a bit due to freezing weather and snow fall
and should be in the mid to low 50's. This cold snap is enough to
complete the annual turn over of the lake. The docks have been moved
back to the middle ramp on Glory Hole Point.
Sean Gast and Joe Jackson of Twain Harte caught some nice rainbows throwing Kastmasters near Carson Cove.
Trout:
Very Good. Anglers are catching bunches of fish with limits coming
fairly easy. The weather forecast is predicting another clear and sunny
weekend. With the recent cold weather and cooling surface temperatures
the trout has been really good. The cold surface temperature has moved
a large amount of fish to the surface making them easier to catch for
both trolling anglers and bank anglers. The Department of Fish and Game
has had multiple plants so far for the month of December.
Jerry Brown of Angels Camp went fishing a few times this week. He caught a limit on each outing.
Bank anglers
have been catching many limits of planted and holdover rainbow trout.
Most anglers have reported having a majority their success floating
Power Bait on a standard bait rig. Many different color dough baits
seem to work with rainbow, chartreuse, salmon egg, and pink being
favorites. Also, the fish seem drawn to the garlic scented bait. If
you are fishing with a color that is not scented try adding some garlic
scented oil to entice more bites. For anglers who prefer using
artificial presentations, try fan casting Kastmasters and Krocodiles.
Another way to catch them is with a mini jig under a slip float or
behind a bubble.
Glory
Hole Sports Big Fish Week goes to Stone Schummer of Copperopolis. He
landed a nice limit of rainbows while trolling a Needlefish on the main
lake. His biggest fish weighed 2-pounds even.
Trolling anglers
should try fishing from 30' to the surface. With a large majority of
fish moving to shallow water, it's a good idea to troll near the
shoreline or use a side planner. Trolling spoons have been working
well. Speedy Shiners, Needlefish, and Excel Spoons are all good
choices. Another setup that catches them is a nightcrawler threaded
onto a straight shank hook or a trolling fly tipped with a chunk of
crawler. Be sure to let out plenty of line. This is a great time of
year to catch some large brown trout. When trolling with multiple rods
it's a good idea to have one setup for browns. Try using large jointed
plugs or rolling shad. When that rod hits it could be a fish of a
lifetime. We do encourage catch and release for the brown trout
as The Department of Fish and Game will no longer be planting them.
Carefully measure, weigh and photograph trophy fish and send us pictures
and information.
3-year old Madilyn Nasont of Columbia with her first fish.
4-year old Rebecca and 7-year old Hannah Wampler of Escalon landed a handful rainbows while fishing off of Glory Hole Point.
9-year old Madison and her brother 7-year old Justin Bain of Altaville brought in some nice rainbows.
Caden Spurr, Jonathan Peña, and Jordan Peña from Valley Springs landed a few nice ones.
Kokanee: Done for the season and done spawning upriver. The fish generally start biting again in the spring mid-April into May.
Bass:Slow.
The bite seems to very hit and miss for most anglers. Most fish are
schooling in deep water from 40-70'. It is very important to use your
electronics to locate fish and bait. Try using vertical jigging spoons
near the balls of bait. A great cold water tactic is drop shot rig.
Try using small shad patterned bait a light fluorocarbon line to get
these finicky fish to bite. Another good thing to keep in mind is with
cooling water their metabolism will slow also. Try slowing down a bit
and using baits that crawl across the bottom. A ¾ oz. football jig is
hard to beat for this style of fishing. Try using a crawdad colored
twin tail grub, Brush Hog, or Beaver as a trailer. Also, use plenty of
scent and reapply multiple times throughout the day to help the fish
locate your bait. The bite should pick up once we get some winter
weather. If you do keep a bass, please keep the small 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:
Slow. The catfish will be moving to deep water near rock piles and
ledges. Most anglers don't target catfish at this time of the year.
But, the ones that do will hook into some lunkers. Try fishing near
large rocks and boulders. A large ball of crawlers is hard to beat.
But anchovies, sardines, and shad work well too.