Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,425,154 acre-feet
of water. The lake level dropped five feet this week, and is currently
at 995 ft. above sea level and 92 ft. from full. Water temperature is
warming daily with the average being 62-64 degrees and some parts of the
lake 68-70 degrees in the afternoon. The lake is clear, to slightly
stained with some debris floating on the surface.
Bruce Oppenheim and Mike Marshall caught some kokanee and some rainbows while trolling near the spillway.
Trout:Fair.
The trout are starting to show up in main lake pockets and over the
river channel. The trout are targeting large balls of shad in deep and
shallow water. The trout will feed heavily on these bait balls during
the late spring and summer months. Watch for surface activity, once you
locate feeding fish try casting a shad patterned lure toward them. Trolling anglers
try using your electronics to find these large balls of shad. The
trout will be near them waiting for a few to stray away from the school.
Use shad patterned Needlefish, Excel spoons, and Rapalas, to target
these fish. The brown trout bite has been good for a few weeks now.
Dan Williams of Las Vegas landed a nice 7-pound brown trout trolling at 50' between the two bridges.
The
Department of Fish and Game is no longer going to plant brown trout in
New Melones, so catch and release is very important to sustain our
amazing fishery. Please practice catch and release on brown trout.
We do enjoy sharing great catches with everyone. If
you want a mount, take photos of both sides of the fish, measure length
and girth, and take measurements for a reproduction of your fish-
taxidermists can make a beautiful reproduction of your fish that will be much sturdier than a fragile skin mount.
Bank anglers
have been catching a few trout using a Power Egg/crawler combo. Try
using a few different color eggs and a chunk of crawler on a light wire
Kahle hook. Also, to locate feeding fish, try fan casting a shad
patterned Kastmaster.
Elijah Thomas caught two nice rainbows while bank fishing with nightcrawlers.
Kokanee:
Good. We are getting a lot of reports of anglers catching limits of
kokanee. They seem to be in many different areas all over the lake.
The dam, spillway, Glory Hole Point, Rose Island, and the 49 bridge are
a few places to go to get a limit. A very important thing to remember
is the kokanee feed on plankton. Pay close attention to the direction
of the wind, it will blow the plankton from one side of the lake to the
other. The fish will follow the food. Small baits will get more bites.
Try using Glitterbugs Micro Hoochies, Mag Tackle Mini Mags, or Anglers
Market Kokanee Bites. When choosing colors it is a good idea to use
multi-colored baits, because certain colors will be prominent in
different light conditions. Attach these fish producing lures to a
small tear drop dodger and your ready to catch fish. Don't forget to
tip your lures with scented shoe peg corn.
Bass:
Good. The fish are finishing up with the spawn and are in a post spawn
mode. There are a lot of fish being caught shallow in the early
morning and evening. The larger fish will be in deeper water,
recovering from the spawn. Early morning top water bite is on. Try
using a walk the dog type bait such as a Spook, Rover, or Sammy. Or,
twitch a popper near the shoreline. Add a feather tail to your bait to
improve the action and get a few more blow-ups. Once the top water bite
dies, switch to a soft plastic presentation. A Carolina rig with a brush
hog is a great way to cover water and fish at various depths. 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.
Dan
and Melanie's close friend Jin Hayashihira from Japan, spent a day
fishing with Glory Hole Sports employee John Liechty. They caught a
handful of fish, including this nice 4-pound largemouth.
Catfish:
Good. The larger catfish are moving to shallow water to spawn a feed.
Melones catfish tend to be fish-eaters rather than bottom foragers, so
use live minnows, frozen shad, mackerel, or anchovies for best success.
Also while bait fishing, it is a good idea to drag your bait across
the bottom every few minutes to attract nearby fish. Use a sliding
sinker with a bead to create a ticking noise as your bait is moving.
11-year old Mark McCall caught a chunky 7-pound, 3-ounce cat on a red crappie jig. 
Scott
Schlegel, Chris Limas and his daughter Brooke, and Anthony Limas caught
a few massive cats. The Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week Contest
goes to Scott Schegel. He landed the biggest fish, a hefty 10-pound,
2-ounce cat.
Crappie:
Good. Try using a crappie jig with live minnow, fished under a
slip-float. The crappie will suspend in standing timber and brush. Try
casting past the cover and fishing your presentation into it. The
night fishing bite has started to pick up. Anglers using a drop light
in the backs of coves have been catching some nice crappie, bass, and
trout.
