Glory Hole Sports, Lake Melones report 12-26

[Fishing Report]

Melones Report

Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,395,633 acre-feet of water. The water level rose another 5 feet this week and is at 996 ft. above sea level and 92 ft. from full capacity. Water temperature is about 54 degrees at the surface. Water is heavily stained really muddy from rain run-off.



Trout: Good fishing for most. The Department of Fish and Game continues to plant catchable rainbows into Melones almost every week, so we are seeing plenty of planters, as well as some holdovers in the 2-pound range being caught. With the water being so muddy, be sure to use plenty of scent to help trout locate your bait or lure. Use brighter colors in the stained water- bright orange, firetiger, or pearl white are good choices, although shad or rainbow trout patterned lures are still working well. If bank fishing or still fishing from your boat, use Berkley Select scented Power Bait, Power Eggs, or a crawler/marshmallow combo, or throw Rapala Countdowns, Roostertails, or Kastmasters. If you prefer trolling, target the top 120 feet of water with Rapalas, spinners or spoons. Speedy Shiners are a great way to target a lot of water, since they are designed to be trolled fast- about 2-5 mph. Adding a Sep's Trolling Grub to whatever spoon you are trolling will increase your success, too. Remember- it is very important at this time of year to have plenty of line out when trout are right at the surface, so your lure is away from your boat's chop. 80-100 feet is optimal. Creek arms have provided the most action, especially during and after a rain, when trout move in to eat the insects that wash downstream.



Josh Parris of San Andreas wins the Glory Hole Sports Big Trout of the Week Contest with a beautiful 2.7-pound holdover rainbow trout he caught on a shad-patterned Yozuri while still fishing from his boat in the Angels Creek arm.



Three-year-old Jakob Bouma of Murphys caught a limit of rainbows while surface- trolling Wedding Rings/crawlers soaked in garlic scent, in Coyote Creek.



Eight-year-old Mark McCall of Valley Springs (and his fishing partner) caught 10 rainbows while surface-trolling Berkley Power Grubs in the main lake.

Steve Berg and Eric Anderson of Shingle Springs reported a good day of fishing while trolling lures 10-25 feet deep in back area of Angels Creek.

It's time to target trophy brown trout. Use large rainbow trout or firetiger patterned Rapala, Lucky Craft, or Trophy Stick Lures, or roll shad. Focus on points and outside bends on the main river channel for big browns. Remember that they tend to be oriented to structure, and aren't out in the open like rainbows.



Kokanee: Done for the season.



Bass: Bite is tough right now. Target submerged islands and points, and creek arms with steep walls, 45-65 feet deep. With the stained water, be sure to use plenty of scent, and rattles will help the bass hone in on your lure, so use rattles on your jigs, insert weights in your worms, or throw a Rattletrap. Sometimes when bass are sluggish in the winter, you need to try both finesse-fishing with small baits, and big-profile swimbaits to see what the fish are hungry for. Tie on a heavier jig with a bigger trailer such as a Yamamoto grub. California Reservoir jigs have a number in parentheses on the package- that number references the color of Yamamoto grub to use as a trailer. Scrounger heads with big Zoom Flukes will target large bass that are feeding on bigger, deeper shad. When we get a little weather or if the wind kicks up, throw a swimbait. For finesse-type fishing, downsize your line, and drop-shot a smaller shad-patterned bait such as Roboworm 3" Alive Shad or Power Bait Real Stix. Remember to practice catch and release. The Department of Fish and Game does not plant bass, so it is up to us to maintain our bass fishery. If you do decide to keep bass, please keep smaller spotted bass and turn the big largemouth loose.



Catfish: No big cats this week, but they are still out there and actively feeding. For best success, fish the creek arms where big cats are actively feeding on anything that washes into the lake.



Crappie and bluegill: fair to slow. Bluegill can be found in the backs of coves, and are hitting king mealworms or a piece of nightcrawler under a bobber. Best crappie action near structure, at night under a submersible light. Use red and white crappie jigs or small or medium minnows.
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