8-25-14 Fishing Report
Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding
566,408
acre-feet of water. The lake level dropped three feet this week and is
currently at 871 ft. above sea level and 207 ft. from full. The lake is
85' 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.
Trout:
Fair. There have been a few reports of trout being caught in the main
lake by the Dam, spillway, and near the 49 bridge. The trout are
hanging around the old river channel in deeper/cooler water. The shad
are starting to school up near the mouths of major creek channels. The
intersection where a major creek channels meets the old river channel is
great area to target the trout. Night fishing anglers
are still catching a few limits of chunky 2-pound plus rainbows while
fishing under a submersible light. Try using night crawlers and Power
Bait to target these quality fish. Trolling anglers
try using shad patterned baits that have a large profile. Shad Raps,
Rattle Traps, Speed Traps, and Apexs are a few good choices. Trolling
in dingy/stained water it is a good time to use a large string of
flashers. Ford Fenders, Cow Bells, Lake Trolls, and Ball Trolls will
create a lot of commotion and draw fish from a distance.
Glory
Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week Contest goes to Larry Leatham of
Sonora. He caught a nice 1-pound, 13-ounce rainbow trout while trolling
Rapalas and spoons on the main lake.
Bank fishing has been very slow and usually is during the summer months. Best bet for shore anglers is to head to the high country lakes. Fly fishing anglers
the bite has been pretty good fishing local streams and rivers. Try
using a Parachute Adams, Elk Hair Caddis, or a Light Cahill for rising
fish. 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. 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 late
summer/early fall pattern. The shad are starting to school up in the
deep water and the bass are hunting them in wolf packs. Many trout
anglers that are trolling over deep water with shad patterned spoons are
catching chunky 2-pound spotted. This can be tricky to target these
fish with a traditional chunk and wind method. Crank baits and jerk
baits are both a good choice to use when targeting these fish. Also,
now is a good time to have a spoon tied on to fish vertically below the
boat when fish appear on the graph. Shad pattern worms fished on a drop
shot or on a shakey head will work too. Wright Bait WB101 is a great
soft pour and comes with various colored blood lines. Fish that are
keying on crawdads can be caught on jigs, brush hogs and beavers. CRL
Jigs has a great selection of colors that work extremely well on New
Melones and other Mother Lode lakes. 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.
Enrique G. Ruiz of Sonora hauled in a 10-pound, 3-ounce catfish. He caught this fish a 10:30am on a ball of crawlers.
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.
Glory
Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week goes to Floyd Crow of Tuolumne he
landed a massive 15-pound, 8-ounce catfish while fishing with frozen
shad near the dam.