New Melones Anglers Report

NEW HOURS IN PLACE TILL FURTHER NOTICE MON-SATURDAY: 6:00-5:30 PM  SUNDAY: 7:00-4:30 PM DELI HOURS: MON-SATURDAY: 6:00-2:00 PM  SUNDAY: 7:00-2:00 PM TO GO ORDERS ONLY, NO DINE IN SEATING PLEASE CALL IN DELI ORDERS @ 209-736-4339

Fish Report May 6th, 2021 New Melones Reservoir New Melones Reservoirs' current water level is 997 and 91 ft. from full. Lack of rainfall for the west has lake levels in Northern California @ 50-70% of capacity. New Melones fares better than most lakes and reservoirs, being the 4th largest lake in California, there is literally a 100 miles of shoreline to explore, fish, camp, hunt, and have a good time on. For the weekend warrior planning to camp out, Tuttletown has Acorn open and Glory Hole Point has Ironhorse and Big Oaks campgrounds open. Dump station @ Glory Hole is also open. Reservations required for camping. Contact www.recreation.gov. New Melones Lake Marina is planning on opening mid May, we will post date when available. The water temperature is in the low to mid 60s. Water visibility is anywhere from 4-6 feet and will have some mudlines on the weekends due to the high amount of boat traffic out on the lake. Glory Hole Point Boat Ramps: Highest ramp is in water from 1088.00 to 1025.00 (CLOSED) Middle ramp is in water from 1028.00-to 940.00 (OPENED) Tuttletown Boat Ramps:  Highest ramp in water from 1088.00 to 1031.00 (CLOSED) Middle ramp in water from 1036.00 to 942.00 (OPENED) Angels Cove Boat Ramp: Currently closed

 

TROUT   The trout bite has stayed relatively good recently as most of the fish are eating bait anywhere from the surface to 30 ft deep. The areas that have produced the most trout recently are Angels Creek, the spillway and dam and around the Highway 49 bridge as there is large groups of bait schooling up, up river. Some good lures to use right now would be kastmasters, rapalas, apex's, speedy shiners and hoochies as many of the kokanee fisherman are picking up quite a few trout. The best colors to use lately have been silver, watermelon, orange and gold behind a matching dodger.

BASS   With the bass spawn officially being over they are beginning to heavily target large balls of bait. Large groups of bass are hunting down shad all over the lake especially up river and are beginning to eat top water lures really well. Most reports are stating that the top water bite is better in the afternoons but these fish are still actively feeding in the morning and throughout the day just a little further below the surface in 15-20ft of water. Some good options for lures to use at this time would be senkos, dropshots, crankbaits, spinner baits and a-rigs in the morning into mid day. Some good options for fishing in the afternoon would be poppers, spooks, flukes, spoons, whopper ploppers or keitechs. Tori from Angels Camp shows off her catch from Fridays may 7th fishing adventure landing two bass in the 2 lb. range using flukes.   Kokanee   The kokanee bite has officially turned on with lots of limits being caught with some 18" in the mix. Most people have reported catching Kokanee from 40-60ft deep although this can change depending on the water temperature that day. Out in front of the mouth of the dam and slightly out from the spillway have produced the most fish recently although there has been some reports of kokanee being caught up around the Angels Creek area as well. As always apex's and hoochies in wonderbread, chartreus, pink & orange or watermelon have been the hot lure behind a matching dodger.   CATFISH   The catfish have also began to bite better recently and should only get better as the water begins to warm up. This should be a great year for catfishing with the extremely large amount of shad in the lake and we have already had a few reports of catfish in the 7-12lb range and the season is just kicking off. The majority of the catfish being caught have been up in the creek arms underneath of large groups of bait eating the dead ones that fall to the bottom that are being attacked by other gamefish. Any type of cut or frozen fish such as sardines, maceral or anchovies are great baits to use right now.   CRAPPIE   The crappie bite has began to slow up slightly recently but they are still out there and can be caught if found. During the day the crappie have been mixed in with the bass in the creek arms and have been feeding heavily on the small shad and are doing the same at night but will come up and eat closer to the surface. Any type of small shad imitations or minnows will work right now but be prepared to catch more bass than crappie. The crappie have been hard to pin down to one depth as they are anywhere from 15-30 feet during the day and at the surface down to 20ft in the afternoon into the night.   Other News NEW MELONES LAKE MARINA: The latest on the marina is the official opening will be May 15th.   The Bureau of Reclamation administration office and visitors center is now opened and selling annual passes for the lake. Opened from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the weekends only.