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FISHINLINES
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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 1,890,000 acre-feet of water, and is at 78 percent capacity. The lake is full and beautiful. With the warm weather melting snow and swelling the river, the lake elevation rose a whopping nine feet this week, and is now 1,042 feet above sea level and only 46 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 picking up trout while most anglers are targeting kokanee this time of year. 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 30 to 50 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. For the third week in a row we saw a large brown that was caught by a kokanee angler. Al Arieta Sr. from Dublin wins the Big Fish of the Week Contest at Glory Hole Sports with his big bellied 8 lb. brown trout while fishing by Rose Island for kokanee at 50 feet with a hoochie. Christopher Mattingly (age 6) and Hayden Ford (age 7) caught several trout and bass while trolling upriver with a yellow and orange rattletrap.

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 mph) 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. John Darroch, Richard Kowski, Norm Fribong and Joe Flores (Joefish Guide Service) all caught fat limits of kokanee this week.

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. At the Nor Cal tournament recently, Jeff Frey got a big fish of 9.72 pounds with a spook. Don Noble from Modesto caught a nice 6 lb. largemouth up-river with a Buzz Bait, then released it. Thank you Don for practicing catch-and-release of our lake's largemouth bass. Mason Russell from Oakland caught a 3.5 lb. largemouth in 3-4 feet of water with a 5 inch worm in green pumpkin with black flake.

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.

Bass fishing at night using junebug or black/red colored Brushhogs or Optimum black-colored swimbaits has produced some big weights, Dwayne King said. Topwater action on Super Spooks or Splash-its also is working for early-morning bass anglers. Trout fishing in the top 25 feet using Excels in pink/pearl and green shad in the Six Bit Gulch, Flume and Fleming Bay areas has been effective. Kokanee are working off the Jenkin's Hill area at around 40 feet and biting pink Hoochies, Vance's Copper Sockeye Slammer or Uncle Larry's Coppertop trolled behind a Killer B dodger. King salmon are available in the Wood's Creek arm or dam face at 70-80 feet with slow-rolled shad or anchovies.

852-2369, 586-2383, 848-2746.

Tulloch Reservoir - Fish the main part of the lake for the best action.

Julie Peters at Tulloch Campground and Marina said fishing has been good for bass and crappie with a few trout thrown in. Asked what people were using and where, she replied, "I hear the cove is good but anymore than that, they just look at me funny as if I were stealing their secrets."

881-0107

McClure Reservoir - Fish in Barrett Cove, Horseshoe Bend, Cotton Creek and Temperance Creek for the best luck.

Bass are biting bone-white Super Spook Junior plugs fished fast near the shore, in the morning, then switching to 6-inch Keeper 082 worms as the sun rises, King said. Anglers should focus on Temperance and the mouth of Piney Creek for the bass. Dropshotted plastics and Carolina rigged plastics fished over submerged grasses also was working, Diana Mello of A-1 Bait said. Trout fishing exploded for anglers trolling flasher/crawler combos or the Firetiger Trout Killer near the dam area at 25-30 feet. Better quality trout were showing up in the Horseshoe Bend area, although numbers were not as great. Crappie stormed back with a big bite in the Temperance Creek and Horseshoe Bend areas. The slabs are running about 1 1/2 pounds. Cats, 4-5 pounds, have picked up for anglers soaking cutbait in the flats area of Cottonwood Creek in 8-10 feet of water in the early morning and late evening.

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 working the Gilligan's Island area are taking limits on flasher/crawler combos, while shore anglers are struggling, John Kemper of McSwain Marina said. Shore anglers need to move often to find the fish, which are moving around a lot in the high water.

378-2534