Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,554,207 acre-feet of water. The lake level rose about a foot this week, and is currently at 1009ft. above sea level and 79ft. from full. Water temperature has cooled a bit and is 54-56 degrees. The lake is clear, to slightly stained. The lake will "turn over" when surface water cools to the same temperature as the deeper water- around 53-54 degrees. This usually happens around Thanksgiving, few weeks late this year. Soon the trout bite should really turns on for bank-anglers and trollers alike. Good news, the middle ramp on Glory Hole Point is open, which makes for an easy walk.

Trout: Good. Department of Fish and Game is now planting rainbow trout weekly at New Melones.

Trolling anglers caught a few limits this week. The fish are in shallow water near the shoreline. There are fish feeding on the surface in all the major creek arms. A great way to target these fish is top-lining, or using a side-planner. Try trolling (2.4 to 3.0mph.) with a Thomas Buoyant, Rapala, or a Kastmaster. Be sure to let out plenty of line, so your lure is in undisturbed water 100-150ft. behind the boat.

Bank fishing was good this last week. Most anglers are catching planted fish with a few nice holdovers in the mix. Power Bait is working well, catching both planted fish and holdovers. Also, try using a Gulp Egg or a Marshmallow to float a nightcrawler. A crawler is a very natural presentation. Another fun way to catch them is by casting a lure. Try using a gold Kastmaster on cloudy/rainy days, and a silver Kastmaster on sunny days. A good way to find fish is by covering a lot of water by casting and walking. Once you get a couple bites in an area try slowing down and using bait to catch a few more. It never hurts to add extra scent to your bait. Garlic, anise, and garlic crawler are good flavors of Pro Cure gel.

Kokanee: Done for the season.

Bass: Fair. For most anglers the bite slowed down a bit this last week. The bait has been hard to locate making the bass seem to spread out more. Focus on primary and secondary points leading to and from the back of the major creek arms. Try using baits that cover water, and resemble shad. Spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and lip-less cranks, should do the trick. There is also a good drop-shot bite. Roboworm Alive Shad, Gulp Minnows, and Zoom Tiny Flukes are all fish catchers on Melones. Also, crawdads are a more consistent and predictable food source. Try using a jig around wood and rock on main lake points and secondary points. We carry a large selection of jigs made by California Reservoir Lures. The nice thing about these jigs is they are design for our Mother Lode lakes. Like the color Melones craw. It has a perfect blend of crawdad colors. Try using a Zoom Baby Brush Hog or a Yamamoto Fat Baby Craw as trailer. Remember to practice catch and release! 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.

Catfish: Fair. The water is still fairly warm, and the catfish are very active. This is usually the best time of the year to catch big cats. Melones catfish tend to be fish-eaters rather than bottom foragers, so use live minnows, frozen shad, mackerel, or anchovies for best success. Move/drag your bait slowly across the bottom to cover more water and target fish that are aggressively feeding. Generally cats will feed in shallow flats or areas with large chunk rock near deep water.

Crappie: Slow. There are fish in 15-40 foot of water, in the backs of creek channels near submerged timber. Live minnows or red worms fished under a slip-float, with a bobber stop is a good way to target these fish. Also, try using red/white mini jigs, small grubs, and 4" soft plastic worms. Crappie too, will gorge themselves on shad. Try to locate the bait in shallow areas and the fish shouldn't be far.

Photos:
Main Photo Above: George Kennedy and Clyde Brown caught two limits while trolling a Thomas Buoyant spoon.
Photo #1: Bob James of Murphys, caught a nice limit of holdover trout while bank fishing with Power Bait.
Photo #2: The winner of the Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week Contest goes to 6 year-old Hannah Wampler. She caught a beautiful 3-pound rainbow while bank fishing with corn/yellow Power Bait near Angels creek.