7-19-14 Fishing Report
Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding
580,434
acre-feet of water. The lake level dropped four feet this week and is
currently at 874 ft. above sea level and 207 ft. from full. The lake is
84' lower than it was at this time last year. The main body is well
over 200-260' deep, under the 49-Bridge is aprox.160-180' deep and under
Parrot's Ferry Bridge there is 70-90' of water. The water is stained
in most of the lake. There are mud lines forming near the shore
throughout the day, especially on windy days and days with a lot of
boating traffic. The average water temperature is 76-82 degrees. Tuttletown
launch is closed. Glory Hole Point boat launch is open, and there are
no plans to close it. There will be some transition periods between
launches where launching will be limited to one or two lanes.
8-year old Justin Bain and his dad Ryan caught a nice rainbow while trolling for kokanee.
Trout: Fair. The best bite has been for the night fishing anglers.
They have been catching some nice rainbows while fishing under a
submersible light. Try fishing near deeper/cooler water in the main
lake. Most anglers have their best luck dropping nightcrawlers, Power
Bait or live minnows below the light. If there is no sign of bait
within a couple hours, pull anchor and relocate. You might have to try
fishing a few areas to find a school of feeding fish.
Robert Berlino of Modesto caught a limit of rainbows while trolling Needlefish Spoons near Rose Island.
Trolling anglers
have been catching a few fish trolling from 40-60' over deep water. We
expect the late summer trout bite to really start picking up in the
next few weeks. Shad patterned spoons are a good choice. Needlefish,
Excel Spoons, Slim Fins and Speedy Shiners work extremely well when the
fish are keyed in on shad. Another setup that works is a
flasher/crawler combo. Thread a crawler onto a straight shank hook and
troll it behind a string of flashers.
Glory
Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week goes to Brian Basacker of Sonora. He
caught some nice rainbows while night fishing under a submersible
light. His biggest fish weighed 2-pound, 5-ounces.
Bank anglers are catching very few fish. It would be best to try your luck at other local lakes that are at a higher elevation. 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:
Okay. The fish have been a little harder to find, but the anglers that
are targeting them are still catching a few limits. The fish have moved
to deeper water. Try trolling in 70-100' of water to find the schools
of kokanee. The fish are schooling on the main lake near the dam, the
spillway, Glory Hole Point and Rose Island. It's a good idea to try
heading up the main river channel in hopes of intercepting the schools
that have started to migrate. The kokanee are getting more aggressive
each day, and are starting to lose their scales as they get ready to
spawn. Try using a bladed hoochie behind a sling blade or dodger. Some
anglers run two sling blades in tandem, or run a hoochie through and
directly behind an Apex to increase the overall size of the presentation
for these more aggressive pre-spawn fish. Darker colors work best in
deeper water and pink is always a good choice. Gold, copper and painted
blades have been working well. Try adding a slight bend to your blade
to give it more action. Don't forget to add scent to your presentation
and tip your hooks with dyed and scented shoepeg corn.
Bass: Fair. It's Official the New World Record spotted bass 10.48-pounds caught by Keith Bryan on February 22, 2014.
The bass are in a summer pattern where they will move shallow at night
and in the morning for a short period of time to feed. Then they will
head back to cool water for the hot hours of the day. First thing in
the morning try using reaction type baits. Flukes, spinnerbaits and
square billed crankbaits have been working. Once the sun comes up try
switching to slower moving baits. Try dragging a Carolina Rig near deep
water or, shaking a Texas Rig near some wood. The shad have been
schooled up and are in deep water. If you can locate the shad there
should be some bass nearby. Try using a jigging spoon to target fish
that are feeding on deep water baitfish. Please practice catch
and release. Take photos and carefully release the fish back into to the
lake to maintain a healthy fish population for generations to come.
Catfish:
Good. This is a good time of the year to target the catfish. The lake
is really nice in the evenings and through the night and this is when
the big cats come to the shoreline and search for food. Try using shad,
anchovies and nightcrawlers for bait. It is a good idea to use an
ample amount of scent to help the fish locate your bait.
12 year-old Joshua Flores, from
Sacramento, with his 1st catfish ever, weighing 9 pounds, 7 ounces on
the digital scale once it stopped wiggling. Josh caught this fish on
Saturday, August 9th midday. Also, Josh decided to let this fish go
back in the water because it was such a trophy and his first catfish. The houseboat weekend was a blast, nice boat and great time.
Crappie:
Slow. We have had a handful of reports of anglers catching some chunky
2-pound slabs while fishing at night under a submersible light. Try
using live minnows and crappie jigs.