Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,596,636 acre-feet of water. The lake level dropped one foot this week, and is currently at 1013 ft. above sea level and 74 ft. from full. Water temperature warmed a little, average is 52-54 degrees with some parts of the lake warming to 58-60 degrees in the afternoon. The lake is clear, to slightly stained with some debris floating on the surface. The lake has turned over.

Trout: Slow. Department of Fish and Game is now planting rainbow trout weekly at New Melones. The trout are still scattered throughout the lake from 0-30' deep and have been difficult for most anglers to find. Trolling anglers struggled this week, catching very few fish. The anglers that are catching them are spending the entire day on the water to get them. A crawler trolled behind a flasher our sling blade continues to be the most productive setup. Generally in past years this is a great time to target brown trout. We have had reports of brown trout being caught this week. The DFG is no longer planting brown trout so we will no longer be recognizing them for the weekly big fish contest. Try using large plugs or rolling shad to catch these big fish. Hopefully this will help the overall bite.

Bank fishing was a little slow this week with very few fish being caught. The standard bait rig with a long leader seems to be your best bet. Use a sliding sinker with a 3-4' leader and a light wire hook. A crawler/mallow combo is a proven fish catcher. Another good setup is a Berkley Pinched Crawler with a pink or white Gulp, or Power Egg. Also, try using a shad patterned casting spoon on main lake points. Kastmasters and Krocodiles are great baits because you can cast them a long distance. Fan cast from deep to shallow to locate were the fish are feeding. Don't forget to add scent to your bait. Garlic, shad, and anise are all good scents for trout.

Kokanee: Coming soon. Generally the first kokanee start showing up in April.

Bass: Fairly tough. Not a lot of fish being caught but some giants are showing up. Including a New Lake Record spotted bass. Randy Pierson of Oakdale caught a massive 10-pound, 1-ounce lunker. He is fishing a tournament on Saturday, so he did not share what he caught this fish on, or where he caught it. We have been seeing a lot of big spotted bass being caught and we possibly have a world record swimming around out there. The current state record and world record was caught May 3, 2001 out of Pine Flat Lake. It weighed 10-pounds, 4-ounces. If you catch a fish that is larger, and want it to be recognized as a state record, it must be weighed on a certified scale. The post office or the grocery store meat department has a certified scale. Spring is right around the corner and the fish will be moving shallow to spawn. To catch some fish, and maybe that record, try fishing from 10-25' with various soft plastics. Some great springtime baits include Brush Hogs, Senkos, and lizards. It is very important to practice catch and release during the spring months! 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: 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.

Photos:
Pictured Above: Winner of Big Fish of the Week Contest goes to Dale Knight of Angels Camp. He caught a nice 3-pound, 14-ounce rainbow on a crawler.
Photo #1: Hannah and Rebecca Wampler had a fun day fishing, and caught a couple of rainbow trout.
Photo #2: Avid angler Bob James of Murphys fished above the 49 bridge and caught a beautiful 3-pound, 4-ounce rainbow on a trolling fly.