Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding 418,953 acre-feet of water. The lake level dropped three feet this last week. It is currently at 839 ft. above sea level and 249 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 74-79 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 surface temperature has warmed quite a bit in the last month and has pushed the trout down to deep/cool water. The main lake and the existing river channel will provide cool temperatures for the trout to hold in during the hot summer months. Trolling anglers have been fishing as deep as 90 feet to catch some nice 2-pound rainbows. Dark colors and solid colors are working best. Try trolling a bit faster to get the trout to react to your bait. Speedy Shiners work better than other spoons when trolled at a fast speed. Add scent or tip your spoons with a chunk of crawler to draw fish from a distance. Night fishing is really starting to pick up. The anglers that are fishing at night have been catching trout, bass, catfish and crappie under a submersible light. For bait, try using live minnows or nightcrawlers. Artificial minnows work well too. Tiny Flukes, Alive Shad and Gulp Minnows are all good choices. They can be rigged on a jig head, fished under a float or rigged on a drop-shot rig. Bank fishing for trout has been slow. Fly fishing in the high country has been good. The flows are down which makes most areas very accessible. Try using Stimulators and Parachute Adams to coax the fish to the surface. 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. Most anglers are finding some kokanee and a few limits are being caught each week. The kokanee are fat, healthy and growing. The water has a little stain to it and the fish are holding in fairly deep water. Bigger lures and baits that disperse water and create vibration are working best. Try using a dark colored Apex troll down to 60' of water. Another setup that has been producing is a full sized pink hoochie with a gold spinner in front. The spinner will add flash and vibration which will make it easier for the fish to locate. Larger slingblades and dodgers with a slight bend will also help draw fish. Be sure to add scent and corn to your setup.

Bob James of Murphys caught a limit of chunky kokanee. He reported catching them on an Apex fished from 42-60' on the main lake.

Bass: Good. The bass bite on New Melones has been consistent through the spring and now into the summer. The fish are holding in deep water and moving to shallow water throughout the day to feed. Timing the bite has been a crucial factor. In the morning there are schools of fat spotted bass ambushing shad that have been pushed into coves and pockets overnight. Try using topwater baits that resemble fleeing shad or baits that appear to be chasing shad. Once the bite tapers off try switching to slower moving baits. Jigs and soft plastic worms are both good choices. The bass have spawn and there are a bunch of small bass swimming around. This is a great time to use baby bass colored baits. Fish them in areas that have both deep and shallow water nearby. The night fishing bite has been really good and some lunkers are being caught and released at night. Try fishing a bulky, dark colored soft plastic on a Texas rig, with a bead. The ticking sound of the bead will attract fish and the bulk of the bait will move water. A little scent will help at night and in stained water. 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.

Kevin Dye of Arnold caught and released a nice 4-pound, 2-ounce largemouth. He reported hooking this fish on a spinnerbait.

Catfish: Great. New Melones continues to produce a bunch of fat catfish. We have had reports of several big catfish being caught. The bass, trout, kokanee, and crappie fisherman have been catching them by accident and the catfish anglers are pulling in multiple fish on each outing. There is a large population of catfish and they seem to be very active and feeding alongside the bass and trout. Catfish don't grow to be as big as they are by feeding on scraps. They get that big by eating other creatures, crawdads, shad, bluegill, kokanee and baby bass. Try using a large amount of bait to catch the larger fish in the lake. Frozen fish and nightcrawlers seem to be working well.

Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week goes to Parker Barrington, Payton Barrington and Big Cat Daddy. They hauled in a bunch of cats with the biggest weighing 15-pounds, 4-ounces. They reported using frozen shad to catch their fish.

Crappie: Good. The crappie have been feeding on schools of shad that are drawn to a submersible light. Try using live minnows or crappie jigs fished below the light. It is best to fish multiple areas throughout the night to find where the fish are holding.