Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding 610,979 acre-feet of water. The lake level came up over a foot this past week. It is currently at 880 ft. above sea level and 205 ft. from full. There is plenty of snow to melt in the high country, hopefully the runoff will help fill the lake and offset releases. The water clarity is clear in most of the lake. The water temperature is gradually rising, with the average being 66-74 degrees. The dam area is still buoyed off. Glory Hole Point boat launch is a two lane concrete ramp with a courtesy dock in place.

Trout: Fair. The trout bite this spring was pretty good. Now that the water temperature is warming the bite seems to be tapering off. The fish will be moving to deeper/cooler water and will continue to bite throughout the summer. In years past, anglers have caught trout during the dog days of summer by fishing extremely deep down to 100'. Boating anglers should try fishing in 45' foot of water and continue dropping to deeper water as the day progresses. There is very little visibility in deep water and it is best to use baits that create sound and vibration. Larger slingblades will disperse water and draw fish from a distance. Try using a spinner tipped with a chunk of crawler trailed behind the blade. Another great way to catch deep water trout is will a lipless crankbait. Try dropping down to the desired depth and trolling at a fairly fast pace. Bank anglers will have better luck targeting trout in the high country. Try using a Power Egg/crawler combo or fan casting a spoon for actively feeding fish. 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.

John Darroch and Howard caught four chunky kokanee. The biggest weighed close to 2-pounds and all their fish came on Glitterbug's lures and blades.

Kokanee: Good. The kokanee have been biting pretty good most days and have been a little tough to find on other days. The nice thing is when you do find them they are extremely fat and healthy and put up a great fight. The average kokanee being caught is 14-15" and some fish are pushing 16". We can expect to see them grow and be catching some really nice fish throughout the summer months. The kokanee are being caught on a variety of baits. Try using a slingblade or teardrop dogder trailed by a spinner, bug or hoochie. Glitterbug's micro hoochies and tube bugs in pink and purple have been working well. Also Uncle Larry's Spinners in pink/gold and pink/blue are putting many limits in the boat this year. Try trolling from 30-50' at 1.4 to 1.8 mph. Kokanee will bite out of aggression so be sure your bait is swinging erratically side-to-side. Add some additional scent to your presentation to further entice bites. Garlic, bloody tuna and anise are all good scents. Be sure to stop by the store to pick up some dyed and scented shoepeg corn to put on each hook.

Bass: Good. The bass are going to be a little harder to find during the hot months of the year. May and June are often great months to target bass. The fish generally pull off the shoreline and look for deep/cool water. The spawn will take a toll on them and they will be feeding heavily in order to recuperate. The mornings and evenings are the best times to target bass at this time of the year, but they will still bite throughout the day. They key to catching fish is to make multiple stops and fish various depths until you find where the fish are located. There has been a pretty good topwater and reaction bite. Try fishing baits that you can cover water with. Once you locate some actively feeding fish, try slowing down and using a soft plastic presentation. The fish are feeding on shad, bluegill and baby bass. Key this in mind when selecting baits. Tubes and Beavers fished on a darthead have been working well and a dropshot rig is hard to beat year round. PLEASE PRACTICE CATCH AND RELEASE. The spawn is here and many fish are holding eggs. Take photos and carefully release the fish back into to the lake to maintain a healthy fish population for generations to come.

Catfish: Good. The cats are really starting to bite and the summer months are a great time to catch some giants. They will bite during the day, but are more likely to feed in the mornings, evenings and at night. Catfish have very poor eyesight and use their sense of smell to locate prey. It is best to use bait that has soaked in additional scent to help attract fish. Frozen shad, anchovies and mackerel are all good choices. Also many anglers will use a mallow/crawler combo to catch catfish.

Crappie: Good. The crappie are biting! We have seen more crappie and larger crappie this spring than we have in the last few years. It is nice to see them on the rebound and anglers are having a blast catching these chunky slab-sides. The crappie will hold in creek channels and main lake coves. Look for areas with standing timber and shallow water nearby. The best way to locate crappie is to fish with a small Beetle Spin or Road Runner. Make multiple casts and cover water until the fish start to bite. Once you have an area that is holding, try using a live minnow under a slip-float to load the boat.