2-4-14 Fishing Report
Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding
1,045,129
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.
4-year old Iris Bender landed a nice rainbow while bank fishing with a crawler/mallow combo.
Trout:
Fair. The trout are in shallow water and feeding on and near the
surface throughout the day. With recent rain and cloud cover the fish
seem to be drawn close to the shore. The creek channels and feeder
creeks have some water flowing creating a food source and adding oxygen
to the area. The Department of Fish and Game has had multiple plants of
rainbow trout so far and has more scheduled. Bank anglers
are catching fish 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 and Gulp Eggs fished off of the bottom will work
well. Following a storm many fish will look for nightcrawlers and other
insects that might have been washed into the lake. Try using a worm
threader and worm blower to thread and float a crawler off of the
bottom. For anglers who prefer using artificial presentations, try fan
casting Kastmasters and Krocodiles. Remember to use gold, copper, and
bright painted spoons, blades, and flashers during overcast weather. Trolling anglers
should try fishing from 15' to the surface. A teardrop dodger with a
threaded crawler has been and is always a good fish catching
presentation. Also, top-lining a spinner or trolling fly will work for
fish that are feeding near the surface. Be sure to let out plenty of
line 150-200". Try putting a action disc in front of your crawler,
spinner, or fly to give the bait a more erratic action.
Glory
Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week goes to Brent Goucher of Angels Camp.
He brought in a nice limit of trout with the biggest weighing
1.78-pounds. He reported catching them in Angels Cove on Power Bait.
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.
Dean Spurr caught a beautiful holdover rainbow while bank fishing.
Kokanee:
Done for the season and done spawning upriver. The fish generally
start biting again in the spring mid-April into May. We have had
reports of some 10-13" fish here and there but not enough to
consistently target them.
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. 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. In past years some
giant cats have been caught in shallow water during and a few days after
a winter rain.
