1-27-14 Fishing Report
Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding
1,046,907
acre-feet of water. The lake level dropped very little this week and is
currently at 949 ft. above sea level and 137 ft. from full. The water
is very clear in some areas and slightly stained in others, with a
little bit of debris on the surface. The average water temperature is
52-55 degrees with some areas reaching 57-58 degrees on warm sunny
days. The lake has turned over. The docks have been moved to the
middle ramp on Glory Hole Point.
Donovan Deck caught a nice rainbow while bank fishinh near the 49 Bridge.
Trout:
Good. The trout bite this winter has been very good with bank anglers
and trolling anglers catching plenty of planted and holdover rainbow
trout. There have also been a handful of nice brown trout being
caught. The Department of Fish and Game has had multiple plants of
rainbow trout so far and has more scheduled. The fish have moved up and
can be found feeding on the surface throughout the day. Bank anglers
are catching limits off of Glory Hole Point and near the Tuttletown
boat launch. Try fishing wind protected pockets and coves just off of
the main lake. Power Bait, Gulp Eggs, or a crawler/mallow combo fished
off of the bottom works well. It is also a good idea to add extra scent
to your presentation. Garlic seems to be the most popular scent. For
anglers who prefer using artificial presentations, try fan casting
Kastmasters and Krocodiles. With a large population of fish feeding on,
or near the surface, try using a bubble and fly to target these fish.
It is best to use wet flies, buggers, and streamers with this
presentation.
The Yiannikos kids brought in couple rainbow trout they caught using Power Bait.
4-year old Antonelle Aguilar caught some nice rainbows.
Trolling anglers
should try fishing from 15' to the surface. A good way to catch them
when they are on the surface is by long-lining a floating Rapala. The
small F5 and F7 sizes work great and sometimes the F-11 and F-13 sizes
will attract fish from a distance. Be sure to let out plenty of line
150-200". 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.
Glory
Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week goes to Donald W. Noble of Modesto.
He brought in a nice 2.46-pound rainbow that was caught on Garlic Power
Bait near Tuttletown. 
Pete
Savarese caught a beautiful 3.59-pound brown trout while trolling a
Cripplure near the dam. He wanted to release the fish but it was
fatally hooked.
Jerry
Avica of Madera landed a giant 8.37-pound chrome colored brown trout.
He reported catching it in 75' of water near the dam.
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.
Kokanee: Done for the season and done spawning upriver. The fish generally start biting again in the spring mid-April into May.
Chris and Curly Devincenzi of Stockton found a school of small kokanee. They reported catching them near the surface.
Bass: Fair.
The bass bite has been hit and miss. When you find the fish you can
catch a bunch of fat 2-4 pound spotted bass. The hard part is spotted
bass tend to roam, they will be there one day and gone the next. The
key use your electronics to locate fish and bait. Once the fish have
been located try using a drop shot rig fished vertically over the top of
them. Small shad patterned baits and light fluorocarbon line is the
best way to get them to bite. Another way to search for fish is by
slowing down a bit and using baits that crawl across the bottom. A
Carolina Rigged Brush Hog or Senko will work well as a slow dragging
presentation. Or a ¼ oz darthead tube or grub fished on the fall and
twitched back to the boat will work. There has been a decent jig bite
and should get better with fish moving up for pre-spawn. ½- ¾ oz.
football jigs are good sizes that are easy to fish at various depths.
Try using a crawdad colored twin tail grub, Brush Hog, or Beaver as a
trailer. California Reservoir Lures makes very durable jigs that are
designed specifically for our Motherlode lakes. Also, use plenty of
scent and reapply multiple times throughout the day to help the fish
locate your bait. With the Department of Fish and Game planting
rainbows now is a good time to target giant fish with trout patterned
swim baits.
Sonora
Bass Anglers had a tournament on January 11, 2014. First place went
to Larry and Mike Freeman who brought in a five fish limit that weight
14.40-pounds. 
Big fish of the tournament was a chunky 4.79-pound spot caught by Dave & Carol Krawchuk.
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. Melones cats tend to
be fish eaters. Frozen shad, anchovies, sardines, and mackerel work
well for bait. The water temperature is warming faster than most years
due to lack of rain and extremely warm weather. Look for extra large
cats moving shallow in the next couple of weeks if the weather pattern
remains the same.