Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding 431,534 acre-feet of water. The lake level dropped two feet this last week. It is currently at 842 ft. above sea level and 246 ft. from full. The water clarity is stained in many areas and will occasionally clear up. The water temperature will continue to warm, with the average being 72-78 degrees. Glory Hole Point boat launch is a two lane dirt road and gravel leading off of the end of the point. There is not a courtesy dock and it is best to launch with a 4-wheel drive vehicle.

Trout: Fair. The trout have been a little harder to locate, the last couple of weeks. Now that the summer heat is here, it is best to look to deep water to find trout and kokanee. In years past, these fish were caught out of waters as deep as 90'. Using a good topographical map, GPS and sonar you can find areas that can be successfully fished deep, without losing any gear. Trolling anglers should focus their efforts on the main lake where the water is deep and cool. The water has a little stain to it, making it a good time to use bright colored baits. Fire tiger, chartreuse and orange are all good choices. Also, try using copper and gold blades. A few big browns have been caught and released in the past couple of weeks. The big browns will feed on schools of large shad or kokanee. Try trolling big plugs or rolling frozen shad. Night fishing anglers are reporting much success catching all species of fish during the night. This is the perfect time to fish in the evening and night to avoid the scorching summer sun. Bank anglers should head to the high country and fish the local lakes and streams. The warm weather has been encouraging the insects to hatch, which makes for good fly fishing.

Neal Fouts of Livermore caught a 6-pound brown while trolling an Apex in 40' of water near Mormon Creek.

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 kokanee anglers have been reporting a hit and miss bite. For periods of time the action will be good and then it dies off and becomes nearly impossible to get a bite. The anglers that fish for most the day, are catching their limits. The kokanee are holding in deep water. With there being very little light penetration in deep water, it is best to use larger baits and dodgers that will disperse a large amount of water. Lures that have a Colorado spinner will attract many fish. Uncle Larry's Spinners, Glitterbug's Tube Bugs and Apex have been producing many fish. Another trick that will help give your presentation more action is bending your slingblade. Put a slight bend in the middle of the blade to increase the side-to-side swing. Use plenty of scent and add dyed and scented corn to each hook.

Bass: Good. The bass are biting and it has been fairly easy to catch a bunch of fish. The lake is full of 1 to 2-pound spotted bass and they are eager to bit many different presentations. Try using reaction baits is the mornings and evenings and switching to a slower soft plastic rig throughout the day. Topwater baits have been working well for a short period of time in the mornings and evenings. Small poppers and walk-the-dog type baits will trigger some heart stopping explosions. The fish have been really keyed in on shad, so try using shad patterned worms fished on a dropshot or shakey head rig. Another lure that seems to never fail is a Senko. A Senko is a soft plastic worm that can be fish many different ways. Fishing the Senko weightless rigged wacky is hard to beat. PLEASE PRACTICE CATCH AND RELEASE. The bigger fish are the future of our lake. Take photos and carefully release the fish back into to the lake to maintain a healthy fish population for generations to come.

Ed Castro of Murphys caught a hefty 7-pound, 9-ounce catfish on a nightcrawler.

Catfish: Good. The last few weeks we have weighed-in some large catfish and have been hearing of some monster cats being caught. The catfish are moved up in shallow water and feeding on smaller fish. Frozen shad, mackerel and sardines are all good choices. It is best to avoid using lead weight and just use the weight of the bait to cast. This will allow the bait to rest on the bottom in a very natural way. Also when the fish picks up the bait it will hold onto it longer if there is no weight for the fish to feel. Large bait equals larger fish. Try using a double hook rig and fishing with a whole frozen fish. Place one hook in the head and another toward the tail to increase hook up ratio. The smaller fish won't attempt to eat the entire chunk of bait, which will keep it in the water until a giant swim by and decides to feed.

Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week goes to 7-year old Logan Arize of Modesto. He caught a nice 7-pound, 14-ounce catfish on a nightcrawler.

Crappie: Fair. The crappie will be holding in the standing timber that lines the lake. The best way to catch crappie is with live minnows. Rig the minnow or crappie jig under a slip float. With this setup you will be able to adjust the depth by sliding the bobber stop up and down the line. 8-20' is a good depth to target suspended crappie. A few anglers are dropping submersible lights and catching a bunch of crappie doing so.