Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,046,907 acre-feet of water. The lake level dropped very little this week and is currently at 949 ft. above sea level and 137 ft. from full. The water is very clear in some areas and slightly stained in others, with a little bit of debris on the surface. The average water temperature is 52-55 degrees with some areas reaching 57-58 degrees on warm sunny days. The lake has turned over. The docks have been moved to the middle ramp on Glory Hole Point.

Trout: Good. The trout bite this winter has been very good with bank anglers and trolling anglers catching plenty of planted and holdover rainbow trout. There have also been a handful of nice brown trout being caught. The Department of Fish and Game has had multiple plants of rainbow trout so far and has more scheduled. The fish have moved up and can be found feeding on the surface throughout the day. Bank anglers are catching limits off of Glory Hole Point and near the Tuttletown boat launch. Try fishing wind protected pockets and coves just off of the main lake. Power Bait, Gulp Eggs, or a crawler/mallow combo fished off of the bottom works well. It is also a good idea to add extra scent to your presentation. Garlic seems to be the most popular scent. For anglers who prefer using artificial presentations, try fan casting Kastmasters and Krocodiles. With a large population of fish feeding on, or near the surface, try using a bubble and fly to target these fish. It is best to use wet flies, buggers, and streamers with this presentation.

Trolling anglers should try fishing from 15' to the surface. A good way to catch them when they are on the surface is by long-lining a floating Rapala. The small F5 and F7 sizes work great and sometimes the F-11 and F-13 sizes will attract fish from a distance. Be sure to let out plenty of line 150-200". This is a great time of year to catch some large brown trout. When trolling with multiple rods it's a good idea to have one setup for browns. Try using large jointed plugs or rolling shad. When that rod hits it could be a fish of a lifetime.

Kokanee:Done for the season and done spawning upriver. The fish generally start biting again in the spring mid-April into May.

Bass: Fair. The bass bite has been hit and miss. When you find the fish you can catch a bunch of fat 2-4 pound spotted bass. The hard part is spotted bass tend to roam, they will be there one day and gone the next. The key use your electronics to locate fish and bait. Once the fish have been located try using a drop shot rig fished vertically over the top of them. Small shad patterned baits and light fluorocarbon line is the best way to get them to bite. Another way to search for fish is by slowing down a bit and using baits that crawl across the bottom. A Carolina Rigged Brush Hog or Senko will work well as a slow dragging presentation. Or a ?? oz darthead tube or grub fished on the fall and twitched back to the boat will work. There has been a decent jig bite and should get better with fish moving up for pre-spawn. ??- ?? oz. football jigs are good sizes that are easy to fish at various depths. Try using a crawdad colored twin tail grub, Brush Hog, or Beaver as a trailer. California Reservoir Lures makes very durable jigs that are designed specifically for our Motherlode lakes. Also, use plenty of scent and reapply multiple times throughout the day to help the fish locate your bait. With the Department of Fish and Game planting rainbows now is a good time to target giant fish with trout patterned swim baits.

Catfish: Slow. The catfish will be moving to deep water near rock piles and ledges. Most anglers don't target catfish at this time of the year. But, the ones that do will hook into some lunkers. Melones cats tend to be fish eaters. Frozen shad, anchovies, sardines, and mackerel work well for bait. The water temperature is warming faster than most years due to lack of rain and extremely warm weather. Look for extra large cats moving shallow in the next couple of weeks if the weather pattern remains the same.