New Melones Reservoir - Please take a minute to let the Department of Fish and Game know how important New Melones Lake is to you! With recent budget cutbacks, they are looking to concentrate planting efforts on the lakes that see the most angler demand. By letting them know that we anglers fish Melones, we will insure that Melones continues to get regular plantings. This is especially important because we may not get regular creel surveys (where DFG biologists ask anglers how the fishing was at a particular lake) since we are not close to any DFG office. Don't let them close our Moccasin Creek Hatchery! Please go to www.dfg.ca.gov/lands/fh/hatcheryplan.html and insert your comments. Thank you.
New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,952,800 acre-feet of water, and is at 81 percent capacity. The lake is full and beautiful. The lake elevation is now 1,042 feet above sea level and only 40 feet from full capacity. Surface water temperature is approximately 72-74 degrees. Water is fairly clear, with visibility to 10-15 feet.
Ramp update: All ramps are open. We are now using the uppermost ramp at Glory Hole and at Tuttletown.
Trollers are still bringing in limits of kokanee with rainbows. We tend to see a lot of mixed limits of fish from boaters right now. If you are fishing from the bank for trout, you will have the most luck from the shores of the rivers and creeks, because most trout in the lake has moved to deep waters. Trollers are reporting catching their fish in the main lake (dam or spillway area) or by Rose Island, anywhere from 45 to 55 feet deep. Night fishing with drop lights should really pick up now that the trout are deeper. Night fishermen tend to use large nightcrawlers with sparkly Powerbait, and drop their bait close to the submersible lights for best results. This week's large brown of 5.8 pounds was caught by Karen Luis of Stockton, while bass fishing with a Yamamoto Senko. She wins the Big Fish of the Week Contest at Glory Hole sports.
The kokanee bite is red-hot! Most kokanee are 15-16 inches long, and 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds. Troll slowly (1.2 m.p.h.) 40-50 feet deep, near the spillway/dam area, or near Rose Island. All successful anglers agree - the bite is best in the early a.m., so get up and get out on the water early. Pink seems to be the preferred color for lures, with chartreuse green, red and purple also working. Hootchies, Apex, Glitterbugs Fat Fish and Spinner Hootchies, Uncle Larry's Spinners and Father Murphy's Bugs have been the strongest producers when trolled behind a watermelon or chrome dodger, Kone Zone, or Sling Blade. Don't forget to tip your lure with shoepeg corn soaked in Pro-Cure Scent. Khawh Tran, 5 years old of Fremont, came in with her limit of Kokanee while fishing the dam area with her dad. They were using red Apex with silver dodgers. Steve Dodsworth and Dan Waddell from San Jose also caught their limit of Koks using orange and pink Apex with watermelon dodger and garlic scent trolling between the dam and spillway. Richard Kowski of Angels Camp came in with his limit of Kokanee also caught on pink Apex with a Vance chrome dodger near the dam at 55 feet deep.
There has been good bass fishing! Concentrate on areas with lots of structure. There is a good top-water bite going in the early morning and late evening, when the sun is off the water, so throw a buzz-bait, a Pop-R, or Zara Spook. During the day Senkos, Spinnerbaits, 6" crawdad-colored worms, lizards and green pumpkin Zoom Baby Brush Hogs have been the best producers, with Zoom Flukes working well, too. Many anglers report large numbers of 1-2 pound spotted bass upriver, in the area between the two bridges.
The catfish bite is getting better every day as the water warms. We are hearing good reports from anglers who fish at night. Tuttletown, Angels Cove, or under the 49 Stevenot Bridge are all good spots to try for big cats. Use mackerel, anchovies or sardines, a sliding sinker, leave your bait open, and make sure your hooks are sharp. Night fishing is always best for catfish, but we see plenty caught during the day, too.
Crappie and bluegill fishing has been fair. Try fishing live minnows or trying to entice them with jigs in red/white or purple/white. Best spots on the lake are the south side of the lake near Bear Cove, the back of Coyote Creek, Black Bart Cove, and especially cuts upriver near the Parrotts Ferry Bridge that have a lot of stand-up trees in them. As always, fish tight to structure. Bluegill and sunfish are biting in the coves, especially behind the marina. A piece of crawler under a bobber is the best way to catch bluegill. They are great fun for the kids to catch!
Glory Hole Sports, 736-4333
Lake Don Pedro - Best spots to try are around partially submerged trees, near the marina and rocky points.
Danny Layne says that with plenty of water this year, Don Pedro is producing an abundance of rainbows, kokanees and landlocked king salmon. Salmon are biting in the early-morning hours off the dam face, Woods Creek and in Railroad Canyon. Rolled shad early at 60 feet, then down to 80 feet later in the day, are working. Fishing at 45 feet off Buzzard Point and between Jenkins and Big Oak Island is very good for kokanee, which are hitting on a wide range of lures. Rainbows on grubs, flies and night crawlers are available from the surface to 50 feet when trolled behind a small set of flashers.
852-2369, 586-2383, 848-2746.
McClure Reservoir - Fish in Barrett Cove, Horseshoe Bend, Cotton Creek and Temperance Creek for the best luck.
Bass fishing is good but has been hit-and-miss lately, Diana Mello of A-1 Bait said. Worms in crawdad colors with chartreuse tails were the best bet on bass to 4 pounds targeting the main lake points and rock walls. Cottonwood and Piney Creak were two of the best areas. Early morning and late evening bites on topwater baits, ripbaits and Flukes has been working. Trout fishing picked up for trollers working the dam area with Needlefish for easy limits of fish in the 2-to-3 pound range. Salmon have been showing up in the Horseshoe Bend area for trollers working the 45-foot depth range with slow-rolled shad. Crappie have been hard to find, while catfish to 8 pounds are working the water 7 feet deep at the back of Cottonwood Creek in the late evening on cutbait. Traffic has been heavy.
563-6505, 378-2441
McSwain Reservoir - Try your luck at the brushpile, in front of the campgrounds and marina, and at Gilligan's Island and the handicap dock.
Trollers are getting easy limits on flasher/crawler combos, while shore anglers are struggling, John Kemper of McSwain Marina said. Trollers working the area from Gilligan's Island to the chimney are scoring most consistently. Shore anglers need to move often to find the fish. There was a plant scheduled from Calaveras recently. Water levels fell about 3 feet this week.
378-2534
New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,952,800 acre-feet of water, and is at 81 percent capacity. The lake is full and beautiful. The lake elevation is now 1,042 feet above sea level and only 40 feet from full capacity. Surface water temperature is approximately 72-74 degrees. Water is fairly clear, with visibility to 10-15 feet.
Ramp update: All ramps are open. We are now using the uppermost ramp at Glory Hole and at Tuttletown.
Trollers are still bringing in limits of kokanee with rainbows. We tend to see a lot of mixed limits of fish from boaters right now. If you are fishing from the bank for trout, you will have the most luck from the shores of the rivers and creeks, because most trout in the lake has moved to deep waters. Trollers are reporting catching their fish in the main lake (dam or spillway area) or by Rose Island, anywhere from 45 to 55 feet deep. Night fishing with drop lights should really pick up now that the trout are deeper. Night fishermen tend to use large nightcrawlers with sparkly Powerbait, and drop their bait close to the submersible lights for best results. This week's large brown of 5.8 pounds was caught by Karen Luis of Stockton, while bass fishing with a Yamamoto Senko. She wins the Big Fish of the Week Contest at Glory Hole sports.
The kokanee bite is red-hot! Most kokanee are 15-16 inches long, and 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds. Troll slowly (1.2 m.p.h.) 40-50 feet deep, near the spillway/dam area, or near Rose Island. All successful anglers agree - the bite is best in the early a.m., so get up and get out on the water early. Pink seems to be the preferred color for lures, with chartreuse green, red and purple also working. Hootchies, Apex, Glitterbugs Fat Fish and Spinner Hootchies, Uncle Larry's Spinners and Father Murphy's Bugs have been the strongest producers when trolled behind a watermelon or chrome dodger, Kone Zone, or Sling Blade. Don't forget to tip your lure with shoepeg corn soaked in Pro-Cure Scent. Khawh Tran, 5 years old of Fremont, came in with her limit of Kokanee while fishing the dam area with her dad. They were using red Apex with silver dodgers. Steve Dodsworth and Dan Waddell from San Jose also caught their limit of Koks using orange and pink Apex with watermelon dodger and garlic scent trolling between the dam and spillway. Richard Kowski of Angels Camp came in with his limit of Kokanee also caught on pink Apex with a Vance chrome dodger near the dam at 55 feet deep.
There has been good bass fishing! Concentrate on areas with lots of structure. There is a good top-water bite going in the early morning and late evening, when the sun is off the water, so throw a buzz-bait, a Pop-R, or Zara Spook. During the day Senkos, Spinnerbaits, 6" crawdad-colored worms, lizards and green pumpkin Zoom Baby Brush Hogs have been the best producers, with Zoom Flukes working well, too. Many anglers report large numbers of 1-2 pound spotted bass upriver, in the area between the two bridges.
The catfish bite is getting better every day as the water warms. We are hearing good reports from anglers who fish at night. Tuttletown, Angels Cove, or under the 49 Stevenot Bridge are all good spots to try for big cats. Use mackerel, anchovies or sardines, a sliding sinker, leave your bait open, and make sure your hooks are sharp. Night fishing is always best for catfish, but we see plenty caught during the day, too.
Crappie and bluegill fishing has been fair. Try fishing live minnows or trying to entice them with jigs in red/white or purple/white. Best spots on the lake are the south side of the lake near Bear Cove, the back of Coyote Creek, Black Bart Cove, and especially cuts upriver near the Parrotts Ferry Bridge that have a lot of stand-up trees in them. As always, fish tight to structure. Bluegill and sunfish are biting in the coves, especially behind the marina. A piece of crawler under a bobber is the best way to catch bluegill. They are great fun for the kids to catch!
Glory Hole Sports, 736-4333
Lake Don Pedro - Best spots to try are around partially submerged trees, near the marina and rocky points.
Danny Layne says that with plenty of water this year, Don Pedro is producing an abundance of rainbows, kokanees and landlocked king salmon. Salmon are biting in the early-morning hours off the dam face, Woods Creek and in Railroad Canyon. Rolled shad early at 60 feet, then down to 80 feet later in the day, are working. Fishing at 45 feet off Buzzard Point and between Jenkins and Big Oak Island is very good for kokanee, which are hitting on a wide range of lures. Rainbows on grubs, flies and night crawlers are available from the surface to 50 feet when trolled behind a small set of flashers.
852-2369, 586-2383, 848-2746.
McClure Reservoir - Fish in Barrett Cove, Horseshoe Bend, Cotton Creek and Temperance Creek for the best luck.
Bass fishing is good but has been hit-and-miss lately, Diana Mello of A-1 Bait said. Worms in crawdad colors with chartreuse tails were the best bet on bass to 4 pounds targeting the main lake points and rock walls. Cottonwood and Piney Creak were two of the best areas. Early morning and late evening bites on topwater baits, ripbaits and Flukes has been working. Trout fishing picked up for trollers working the dam area with Needlefish for easy limits of fish in the 2-to-3 pound range. Salmon have been showing up in the Horseshoe Bend area for trollers working the 45-foot depth range with slow-rolled shad. Crappie have been hard to find, while catfish to 8 pounds are working the water 7 feet deep at the back of Cottonwood Creek in the late evening on cutbait. Traffic has been heavy.
563-6505, 378-2441
McSwain Reservoir - Try your luck at the brushpile, in front of the campgrounds and marina, and at Gilligan's Island and the handicap dock.
Trollers are getting easy limits on flasher/crawler combos, while shore anglers are struggling, John Kemper of McSwain Marina said. Trollers working the area from Gilligan's Island to the chimney are scoring most consistently. Shore anglers need to move often to find the fish. There was a plant scheduled from Calaveras recently. Water levels fell about 3 feet this week.
378-2534
