Fishing Reports News

New Melones Lake

Water Conditions - New Melones Lake is currently holding 2,350,000 acre-feet of water, and is at 97 percent capacity. The lake is full and beautiful. The lake level held steady this week and is currently 1,082 feet above sea level and only 6 feet from full. Surface water temperature is approximately 76 to 84 degrees. Water is slightly stained, with mud lines forming on mail lake points.

Ramp update - All ramps are open. Gates at New Melones Lake open at 4 a.m. and close at 11 p.m.

Trout - Far more Kokanee than trout are showing right now. Trout have moved deeper with the heat (and probably due to the increases in holiday weekend boat traffic). Trollers should drag lures 50 to 60 feet deep in the main lake off of Glory Hole Point or near the spillway/dam/Rose Island area.

- Joseph Matajcich of Mountain Ranch wins Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week Contest (salmonid) and a free deli lunch from Glory Hole Sports’ world-famous deli, with his 5.6-pound Rainbow trout, caught while trolling a watermelon Apex behind flashers 50 feet deep near the spillway.

- Mike Erdman caught a 4.6-pound Rainbow on an Uncle Larry’s Copper Pop.

- Joe DiConza used the new U.V. Apex to land two 3.5-pound Rainbows.

Night fishing under a submersible light is a great way to catch trout in the summer.

- Dan James caught a limit of Rainbows on nightcrawlers while night-fishing near the spillway.

Bank anglers should head to the local creeks, such as Angels Creek, where the California Department of Fish and Game is making regular trout plants. Use Power Bait or crawlers in the rivers or streams for best results.

Kokanee - Continues to be great. Kokanee are 15.5 to 16.5 inches long and 1.5 to 2 pounds on average, but a couple have weighed in at more than over 2 pounds. The bite has been best in the early morning. Troll 40 to 60 feet deep (go deeper as the sun gets hotter) near Rose Island, the dam/spillway area and near Glory Hole Point. Green lures seem to be getting good action lately and pink, red and Kevorkian are working as well. Many successful anglers listed the new ultra-violet Apex U.V. as the lure of choice. Apex or Pro-Troll Kokanee Killers continue to produce the most limits. Pink R & K, Vance’s or Glitterbugs Hootchies, Glitterbugs FatFish and Uncle Larry’s Spinners are catching lots of fish, too. All lures should be trolled behind a dodger, Sep’s Sidekick or Sling Blade. Nickel/prism, nickel/green, and nickel/chartreuse were all used with success last week, as well as watermelon or copper/pink. Remember to tip your lure with shoepeg corn soaked in ProCure scent. When fishing for Kokanee, the scent is very important. Use garlic, corn or Carp Spit, or a combination. Pautski’s Fire Corn - pre-scented and colored corn made especially for Kokanee fishing, has been a hot item, too. Trolling slowly is important, but many anglers said a slightly faster than usual presentation is working well. Troll at about 1.5 to 1.8 mph.

Anglers who showed off their catches this week included John Darroch, Joseph Matajcich, Corinne Crabb, Les Crabb, Tony Ferreria, 11 and 8-year-olds Michael and David Pitts, Megan, Karen and Bob Hedman (with Danny Layne of Fish ‘n Dan’s Guide Service), Tommy Farr, Neal Amick, Steve SeBree, Greg Jones, Mark Largent, Robert Cain, Phil Wilson and Bill Rdriquez (all with Monte Smith of Gold Country Sportfishing).

Bass - The bite has been good for smaller fish, with a few big ones being caught as well, like the big black bass that Fred Roberts caught and released while throwing a crawdad Fat Rap upriver. Carolina-rigged Zoom Baby Brush Hogs in green pumpkin or watermelon/red flake are catching the biggest number of fish.Yamamoto Senkos fished weightless are another good choice. Rattletraps and spinnerbaits in white or white/chartreuse have been bringing in fish, too. In the early morning or at dusk, use top-water baits such as Zara Spooks or Pop-R’s. Remember to practice catch and release. The Department of Fish and Game does not plant bass, so it is up to anglers to maintain the bass fishery.

Catfish - Really turning on. Night fishing for catfish will be good all summer long. Any major cove or creek arm is a good place to try. Use anchovies, sardines or a ball of nightcrawlers. Leave your bail open so the catfish can pick the bait up and swim with it. You will be more likely to hook them that way.

- Dan James of Sonora won the Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week Contest (catfish) and a free deli lunch, with a 15.4-pound giant cat fish that he caught while soaking mackerel 65 feet deep near the spillway.

- J.D. Linker caught a 10.8-pounder on a red-and-white crappie jig in Glory Hole Cove.

- Seventeen-year-old George Chau of Oakland caught a 6.6-pounder on live minnows near the boat ramp.

Crappie and bluegill - Great. The bite is better than it has been in years, with limits of crappie being caught by some lucky anglers and the bluegill and sunfish aggressively biting. This is a great time to take the kids fishing. For crappie, try fishing live minnows or trying to entice them with jigs in red/white or purple/white. Bluegill and sunfish will hit a piece of a crawler or mealworm under a bobber. Fish the backs of brushy coves or cuts. As always, fish tight to structure.

Lake Don Pedro

From Danny Layneof Fish’n Dan’s Guide Service:

The bite on Lake Don Pedro remains fair to good, but there is lots of boat traffic.

Kokanee - Kokanee are very deep and may be staging before their migration up the Tuolumne River to spawn. Look at depths from 85 to 120 feet off Hatch Creek, Middle Bay and Buzzard Point. All were holding a few Kokanee on Sunday.

Trout - Rainbows are found at depths of 35 to 50 feet, scattered throughout the lake They are hitting on Sockeye Slammers, small Ex-Cel lures or Uncle Larry’s spinners.

King Salmon - Good action on King Salmon working over the river channel from Buzzard Point into Middle Bay. Remember to look deep, from 90 to 130 feet. Rolling shad or anchovies off a Pro-troll E-chip harness or Sting King E-chip lures are producing salmon in the 3 to 4-pound range with some fish to 7 pounds.

From Monte Smith of Gold Country Sportfishing:

Kokanee - The Kokanee fishing at Don Pedro has cooled down somewhat and the fish seem to be scattered more now and are holding deeper from 50 to 80 feet deep in the Willow Tree area. The fish caught on Friday were up to 16 inches and were caught on Sep’s copper dodgers and Uncle Larry’s spinners. The Kokanee bite was slow on Friday but the Rainbow trout action was good at depths of 28 to 35 feet on Excel lures.

King Salmon - The King Salmon action has also slowed and the fish are deep, but still catchable.

Lake Pardee

Water conditions -The water level is the same as it was at last report, nothing going over the spillway but the lake is full to capacity. Clarity improved a little and is presently clear to 17 feet. The water temperature remained the same as last report, it is 74 degrees at surface and 69 at the 20-foot mark.

Weather - Mid 80s to low 90s with clear skies forecast for this week and throughout the weekend. Conditions are warm but comfortable.

Trolling - Lots of trollers are working the river arm from the mouth to Indian Rock. Some boaters are taking advantage of the cold water influx and have gone back to lead core with good success. Four or five colors out are putting the flashers right in the strike zone, you will find the water upriver much cooler than the body of the lake. The bite is still best early and tapers off as it warms up.

Kokanee are still on the small size and plentiful. Night crawlers wound around the hook for concealment for the lead core set up and small lures, pink/white hoochies and beaded spinners tipped with lots of garlic or anise-scented white shoepeg corn followed with a watermelon dodger for downriggers are working well. Fish are at 20 to 30 feet this report.

Shore anglers - Behind the EBMUD boathouse, the low water ramp and the woodpile have all been productive recently. Try and get at least 30 feet out from shore into those cooler, deeper channels that planters favor. Juicy night crawlers and the ever-popular processed bait or eggs in white, rainbow and chartreuse with sparkles have all been successful. A sliding sinker set up is still the best method.

Some recent success stories include:

- Steve Naska, Jacob Frost and Aaron Willington all of Sacramento found the bluegill and crappie hiding place in Ticket Cove and landed 40 pounds of fish between them. Mini crawlers were deadly. As reported last issue there are lots of pan fish in the lake; it’s just a matter of finding them.

As of July 1, a total of 40,000 pounds of trout has been planted by Lake Pardee and the California Department of Fish and Game.

Good luck, tight lines