Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding
1,552,310
acre-feet of water. The lake level dropped close to one foot this week,
and is currently at 1008 ft. above sea level and 79 ft. from full.
Water temperature is warming daily with the average being 54-56 degrees
and some parts of the lake 58-62 degrees in the afternoon. The lake is
clear, to slightly stained with some debris floating on the surface.
Trout: Good.Most anglers targeting trout are catching limits of rainbows along with some very nice brown trout. Trolling anglers
try fishing the main lake over the river channel or near the
dam/spillway. For rainbows use Uncle Larry's Spinners and Wedding Rings
tipped with a chunk of crawler. Or, thread a nightcrawler onto a
straight shank hook and troll it behind a string of flashers. The
weather has been fairly inconsistent try using various colors at various
depths until you find what the fish want. A good rule of thumb is
bright skies, bright lures, dark skies, dark lures. Rolling shad from
30-50' continues to be productive for some lunker browns.
Serene Scruggs landed and released a beautiful 6-pound, 13-ounce brown rolling shad in the main lake. 
Steve
Olson fished with guide Gary Burns (Take it to the Limit Guide Service)
and caught and released a hefty 7-pound, 5-ounce brown trout. He too
was rolling shad in the main lake.
Bank anglers
struggled a bit with very few limits being caught. A great way to catch
some nice fish 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.
Winner
of the Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week Contest goes to Kenny
Colwell. Kenny caught a nice 2-pound, 9-ounce rainbow near Angels Creek.
Kokanee:
Good. There have been a lot of limits showing up. The fish are schooled
up in 40-50 feet. Most of the fish are a good size for this time of the
year 13-14" 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. Pink, watermelon, and silver have been good color choices
for dodgers. Another lure that produces a lot of kok's and some large
trout every year is an Apex.
Randy Parrish, Randall Parrish, and Jack Sysk each caught a limit while trolling near the spillway.
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 creek channels, flats, coves, and
pockets where fish will be spawning. It is a good time to use soft
plastics such as Senkos, Brush Hogs, and lizards. These baits will catch
their fair share of fish and will also produce an occasional lunker
fish. Top water season is right around the corner. It wouldn't be a bad
idea to throw a Super Spook or a popper in the morning. 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.
John Martin caught a nice 7-pound, 1-ounce spot.
Catfish:
Good. The water is warming very fast and the larger catfish are moving
to shallow water. Melones catfish tend to be fish-eaters rather than
bottom foragers, so use live minnows, frozen shad, mackerel, or
anchovies for best success. Another rig that produces fish every year is
a ball of crawlers. Try using multiple large nightcrawlers on one hook
to attract the big ones.
The
winner of the Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week Contest goes to
Austin Kane. He caught a 13-pound lunker cat on chicken liver.
Crappie:
Good. Spring is here, and the crappie bite is on. There are fish in
15-40 foot of water, in the backs of creek channels near submerged
timber. Live minnows or 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.
