Glory Hole Sports , Lake Melones Report 12-20

[Fishing Report]

GLORY HOLE SPORTS

2892 HIGHWAY 49

ANGELS CAMP, CA. 95222

(209) 736-4333 FAX (209) 736-0802

P.O. BOX 1195

MAIL gloryholesports@yahoo.com

Check out our web site at www.gloryholesports.com

New Melones camping reservations:

(877) 444-6777 or www.recreation.gov (enter New Melones, then Glory Hole or Iron Horse area)





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Glory Hole Sports Newsletter

December 19, 2011



Dear John,



Hello, "tis the season to be.....fishing." The next couple of months is when we generally see a lot of brown trout being caught. Brown trout can be a hard species to target. They tend to hold tight to structure and feed on larger baits. This week's "rig of the week" is great for large brown trout. It is a modified jointed minnow bait. Remove the rear hook off of your favorite Rapala, Rebel, Sebile, or S-waver and add a small Sockeye Slammer trolling spoon. Then add a trolling grub or a piece of nightcrawler and you're ready to land some big fish. Downsizing this setup will work great for rainbows too. Here is a picture of a few examples:



We also have vouchers for next years fishing license and gift cards starting at $5.



Happy Holidays - John



Merry Christmas from Dan and Melanie, too!



Thank you to all of you who continue to supports our troops package-sending efforts! We have another 12 boxes ready to go. We have received some great thank-you notes from Marines, who, more than anything, say they really appreciate that people stateside are remembering them and appreciating what they are doing for our country. So remember to drop off a note to them with your donation!

New Melones Report


Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,971,373 acre-feet of water. The lake level has been steady for the last few weeks, and is currently at 1049 ft. above sea level and 39 ft. from full. Water temperature is really dropping now, and is currently 54-56 degrees. The lake seems to have turned over, by the great trout fishing we have seen this week.



Trout:Very good! We are still seeing plenty of nice fish being caught. The Department of Fish and Game continues to plant trout every week. With the surface temperature cooling down, most of the trout are moving into shallow water. There is still an abundance of shad for the fish to feed on. Bank anglers have been using Powerbait, and night crawlers to catch their limits. Try using multi-colored Powerbait. Such as, rainbow, captain America, and sherbert. Also you can create your own colors by taking 2 or 3 different colors and mixing them. Sometimes a certain color will trigger the fish into biting. Bank anglers who brought in trout this week include: David Carr, Chad Carr, F.J. Suchomel, Josh Renzi, Jon Seagale, William Lease, Dan Eliskovich, Robert Mercer, Jaclyn Mercer, Caden Spurr, and Charlie Catario.



Winner of the Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week contest goes to Steve Olley. He was fishing from the shore and caught a 3-pound rainbow trout using a Powerbait. Trolling anglers have been having luck top lining and using side planners. A single night crawler threaded onto the hook is hard to beat. Needlefish and Vance spoon are also catching a lot of fish. Shad patterns such as, natural shad, chrome, and cop car will resemble what fish are feeding on. But sometimes bright colors such as chartreuse, flame orange, copper, and gold, will catch their attention better than natural colors. This time of year is when we start seeing some large brown trout being caught. Try using a Rapala J9, Sebile magic swimmer, or an S-waver to coax these large aggressive fish. Trolling anglers who caught fish this week include: Curt Reyna, Jim Dirickson, Jaden Strittenberger, Kyle Wise, and Steve Olson.



Kokanee: Done for the season.



Bass:Pretty good. On Saturday December 17th W.O.N. Bass held a team tournament on the lake. Most of the teams caught some pretty nice limits. The winners were Alex Niapas and Garrett Anderson. They had a five fish limit that weighed 14.44 with a 4.81 largemouth for big fish of the tournament. They caught their fish on California Reservoir jigs. Other anglers reported catching fish on soft plastics. A drop shot rig fished from 25-50 feet with a 4" shad patterned worm is your best bet for catching the numbers. Target main lake points, humps, and islands. Swim baits and jigs are working too and will generally produce larger fish. Try using a 4" or 5" hula grub on a ½ oz. jig head. This will usually catch fish and is a good bait to cover water. You can fish it in deep or shallow water. It is best to use natural crawdad colors such as green pumpkin (297), cinnamon w/black (176), and watermelon w/black (194). Remember to practice catch and release, especially largemouth bass as we are seeing fewer each year.



Catfish: We have had very few reports, but there are very few people targeting catfish.Some of the biggest fish on our wall of fame were caught in November, December, and January. Catfish are in deeper water on ledges and main lake points. They will feed at any time during the day you just have to be patient. It is best to use two rods with two different baits. This way if the fish don't go for one offering they might go for the other. A good choice of baits would be shad, liver, or crawlers. Soaking your bait in Pro Cure scent will make it even more appealing to those lunker cats. Leave your bail open so the cats can't feel the line if still-fishing. Another way to catch them is to fish a weightless rig. Put enough bait on your hook to where you can make a long cast. This rig will sink slowly and drift and roll along the bottom.



Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week Contest goes to Carl Grogan. He caught a 9-pound 2-ounce catfish on a single frozen shad.



Crappie and bluegill: Slow. Try using small minnows, red worms, and meal worms on a slip-float rig fished 15-25 feet deep will work. Generally 4-6 pound test line will get you more bites and fishing light tackle can be a fun way to catch them.



Guides' Reports




Help us Support a Local Marine

Help us support a local Marine and his platoon. We are accepting donations of items (see list, below) or cash (which we will use to make purchases and for postage). We will be sending packages weekly.

Local Marine Patrick Rowe is 24 years old- he will turn 25 on November 18.



An Angels Camp- Bret Harte High School graduate of 2005, He Joined the Marine Corps in April of 2008. He and Kate Beckmen were Married last April. She is from Arnold and also a Bret Harte Grad.





Patrick was an Infantry Machine Gunner his first deployment to Afghanistan. He was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor during his last deployment.





Here is a link to a news report:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5YbxZsp2-I



Support the Troops Care Package

"Wish List"

FOOD ITEMS (High nutritional value types)
Beef Jerky
Protein Bars (like athletes use)
Backpacking food, such as Dried Fruit, Clif Bars, Trail Mix
Nuts, Sunflower seeds, in smaller size packages
Peanut Butter, Nutella
Non-perishable, individual packaged snacks
Individual-sized Powdered Drink Mix, like Gatorade or Crystal Light
Coffee, ground or instant, Tea Bags
Tuna- the ones in foil bags are easiest to ship
small packaged seasonings
Gum and candy
TOILETRIES
Barbasol or cheap Shaving Cream, the white kind (for use on patrol)
Q-Tips (very important for cleaning self and guns- highest priority)
Lip Balm in a tube, such as Burt's bees, or Carmex
Disposable Razors (Multi-blade for shaving rough beards)
Sunscreen, non-stinging, "Faces", Sport-types
Baby Wipes (Thickest type), hand sanitizer,
Shower gel, deodorant, toothpaste, disposable toothbrushes
Foot care products, spray, powder, insoles, creams
PERSONAL CARE
Winter Socks ( merino wool, polypropylene; Brown, Green, Black)
Thermals (dark colors)?
Gloves, Hand warmers (like Hot Hands)
T-shirts (OD Green)
Writing Materials (Paper, pens)
Magazines (appropriate materials)
Computer Flash drives
Small toys to give to the local children