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FISHINLINES
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New Melones Reservoir - New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,402,000 acre-feet of water. Lake is at 58 percent capacity. Lake elevation dropped two feet this week, to 992 feet above sea level, and 96 feet from full capacity. Water temperature is approximately 74-76 degrees, and clear with good mud lines forming.

Memorial Weekend boat traffic kept most anglers off the water, so we didn't hear too much about fishing this week.

Rainbow trout is showing up in mixed limits with kokanee, and nice browns are being caught from time to time. Trollers should target the main lake near the spillway/dam and Rose Island. Fish are gradually moving deeper, and are about 40-50 feet deep. Wedding Rings, Needlefish, Apex, Father Murphys Bugs, Uncle Larry's Spinners, and Sockeye Slammers trolled behind flashers or dodgers are all working. Bite has been best in the early morning, so plan to hit the lake early. Night fishing under a submersible light is a fun way to catch fish in the summer. The best place to anchor to night fish is near the spillway, the exposed islands between the spillway and Glory Hole Point, or the dam. Drop your submersible light in the water (we have lights available with a 20 foot cord) and fish 10-15 feet below the light, depending on water clarity. For bait, use a worm-threader to thread a nightcrawler onto your line, and put a piece of Power Bait onto your hook, below a small split-shot. The light attracts plankton, which attracts shad, which attracts trout. It takes some time for all that attracting to take place, so plan on slow action for the first couple of hours. If you have been there for two hours and you don't see shad in the water, you may want to relocate. Bank anglers should target the creeks, such as Angels Creek.

Kokanee action had very few anglers on the water, due to the holiday weekend. Steve McGarvey of Livermore took three boys out fishing. They caught our biggest kokanee of the season so far - a 2.1 pounder! I'm not sure which one of the guys landed that fish, but he has a free deli lunch coming, because he won our Glory Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week Contest. Steve said they used an orange/pink Uncle Larry's spinner behind a watermelon Dodger trolled 50' deep near Rose Island to catch the big fish. Anglers who had the best luck hit the water in the very early morning. You should be on the water with your rods out at sun-up. Once the water temperature warms up a little more, the kokanee will school up in big schools, and limits will be easy. The main lake is the place to be - target the wind-blown side of Rose Island, or in front of the dam. Most kokanee are running 13-15" at the tail fork, and weighing 1 to 1 1/2 pounds. Troll 50-65 feet deep with a small lure or spinner such as a Father Murphy's Kokanee Bug, Sockeye Slammer, Uncle Larry's spinner or #1 fluorescent Apex. Be sure you tip your lure with shoepeg corn soaked in ProCure oil. It is very important to troll slowly (1.2 mph) to catch kokanee. This early in the season, kokanee are very soft-mouthed, and because of this you will tend to get a lot of bites and not too many fish in the boat, since they come off the hook so easily. It will help to get fish into the boat if you use an R & K stinger hook, or a lure with two hooks. This helps get a secure hook-up, and they won't come off so easily.

Bass fishing has been fair, with plenty of smaller fish providing action. Bigger fish are harder to come by. Big fish seem to be suspended tight to structure, and not interested in anything you throw at them. Most bass are in 5-25 feet of water, near structure, such as trees or brush. If there is a mud line, there will be bass hiding in it. The south side of the lake has been good. Carolina-rigged Zoom green pumpkin or watermelon Tiny Brush Hogs are working well. Drop-shotted 4" shad-colored worms are producing fish, too. Throw a top-water bait such as a spook or Pop-R in the early morning. White Speed Traps and white or white/chartreuse spinnerbaits are other good lures to throw.

Catfish are good. If you are in a boat, fish the coves at the south side of the lake. For bank anglers, try Angels Cove or near Tuttletown. Use mackerel, anchovies or sardines, crawlers, chicken liver, or live large minnows. The action is always best at night for catfish, when they move into the shallows to feed.

Perch are really starting to be active, so it's time to take your kids fishing! Crappie are showing up as well. Fish brushy coves and creek arms - anywhere there are trees in the water. The south side of the lake has been good, and near Tuttletown is another good choice. Crappie are liking minnows or red/white crappie jigs, and perch are hitting a small piece of crawler under a bobber.

Glory Hole Sports, 736-4333.

Lake Don Pedro - Best spots to try are around partially submerged trees, near the marina and rocky points.

Trout are moving to the shallow areas. Try using cripplures, super dupers, Apexes or Needlefish. For salmon, the same lures are working, but go deeper. A 10 3/4-pound bass was caught last week. Use hard baits, top waters or shallow runners. Four-inch lizards have been luring the big fish. Crappie are hitting small minnows or red, yellow or green and white mini jigs in the grassy areas. There was a report of a 9-pound catfish, but it didn't come through the marina.

Lake Don Pedro, 852-2369 or 989-2206.

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

Trout have moved deep, 40-60 feet, with killer bees in pink and orange working well. The crappie bite is so-so on minnows. Crickets seem to be good for smallmouth. Javier Salinas of Oakdale brought in a 7 1/2-pound largemouth caught on white spinner bait. Pro gold is still a proven ticket, as fish seem to love the gold/copper shine right now.

881-0107, 847-3447.

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

Diana Mello of A-1 Bait and Tackle said trout were hitting at Exchecker shallow off the bank with night crawlers. At McClure Point, fish were coming off the bank with crawdads. Bass are 15-17 inches. Anglers are giving mixed reports of poor conditions to limits.

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.

John Kemper of McSwain Marina said there would be a plant from Calaveras soon. The brush pile has been a hot spot with Power Bait and night crawlers. Trollers were working flasher/crawler combinations in the slot area. Bill McIver caught a 3-pound, 20-inch trout dragging flashers and crawlers.

378-2534.