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FISHINLINES
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New Melones Reservoir - Winter store hours are Monday through Saturday 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Glory Hole Sports' sixth annual Free Fishing Seminar Weekend is coming up! Seminars will be held on April 3. On-the-water fishing demonstrations will take place on April 4. Five dollars will buy you one-and-a-half hours on the water with a fishing guide, who will teach you about rigging and using your downriggers effectively. We will begin taking sign-ups on March 1. Space is limited for the on-the-water lessons, so be sure to call and reserve your space early. On Sunday, April 3, Dick Pool will be testing your boats to see if you need a Black Box, so if you want your boat tested, be sure to sign up for that, too.

New Melones Lake is currently holding 1,395,000 acre-feet of water. It is at 58 percent capacity. Lake elevation rose one foot this week, and is currently at 992 feet above sea level, and 95 feet from full capacity. Water temperature is 52-54 degrees, and clear.

Trout fishing has been great for most. Trout are feeding on shad. Bankies should target Glory Hole Cove and off of Glory Hole Point. Throwing a spinner such as a Panther Martin, or a Kastmaster will catch fewer, bigger fish. Bait is working well, too, especially for planters. Try a crawler/marshmallow combo or pink, rainbow, or sherbet Select Power Bait on an 18- to 24-inch leader. Make sure your bait can float the hook and leader before you toss it into deep water. Jim Sullivan bank-fished near Tuttletown with chartreuse Power Bait and landed a big 3.4-pound rainbow. Lisa Cage caught a 2-plus pound rainbow while soaking a crawler/marshmallow combo by the marina. Robert, Elijah, Shamus and Nini Moncrief used the same bait while bank fishing off of Glory Hole Point. They caught trout weighing up to 2 1/2 pounds. Trollers have had luck with shad-pattern, fluorescent red or firetiger lures such as a Rapala Countdown, Needlefish, Kastmaster, Wee-Tad or Apex. Some anglers report good luck using flashers, but most are running their lures alone. Remember to have plenty of line out behind your boat when trolling, or use a side planer this time of year - the fish are so shallow that your boat will spook them away - you need to have your lure far away from your boat. Kelly Canelo of Atwater wins Glory Hole Sports' Big Fish of the Week Contest with his 4.9-brown trout that he landed while trolling a Rapala 90-110 feet deep in the south side of the lake. Carl Self caught a 4.1-pound brown on a crawler trolled 20' deep near the spillway. Louis Fox caught a nice limit of rainbows weighing up to 3 pounds while trolling a Rapala 90-110 feet deep in the south lake. Darryl Weidkamp trolled a Needlefish 12 feet deep near the spillway to catch a limit of rainbow weighing up to 2 pounds. George Lindsey headed upriver beyond the Parrotts Ferry Bridge. He trolled a red Apex 14-16 feet deep and caught four kokanee and a rainbow trout weighing 2.1 pounds.

Kokanee fishing is done for the season, although trollers are catching the occasional kokanee. We have been seeing kokanee in the 13-inch (at the tail fork) range. Many anglers report catching 1-3 big kokanee while trolling for trout, especially in the vicinity of the 49 Bridge.

Bass fishing is fair. Bass are feeding heavily on crawdads, which are green right now. Most anglers report best luck with brown/brown or brown/green jigs/trailers, drop-shotting and spinnerbaits (especially in the early a.m.). Best baits are oxblood Roboworm Shakin' Worms, green pumpkin Zoom Baby Brush Hogs and green pumpkin Yamamoto Senkos. Most fish were caught 25-60 feet deep in the main lake. Bass anglers should target rocky main lake points and island tops, tight into structure, such as wood. Try brown/green combos such as a Glory Hole Hand-Tied Jig, with a green pumpkin grub trailer, or a black/blue jig/trailer combo. Drop-shotted shad or crawdad-colored 4" worms or grubs will catch more, although usually smaller fish. Remember, with winter weather, a slow presentation is the key. Set the hook on anything - bite is very soft, so don't take any chances - hook sets are free!

The catfish bite is slow. Glory Hole Point or Angels Cove, near Tuttletown or under the 49 Bridge are all good places for bank anglers to fish for cats. Use mackerel, anchovies or sardines, crawlers, chicken liver, or live large minnows.

Crappie and perch fishing is slow. Fish 20-40 feet deep near structure such as trees, with small minnows or crappie jigs. Bear Creek and Carson Creek are two good places to try. Anyone with current crappie stories, we'd love to hear them!

Glory Hole Sports, 736-4333.

Lake Don Pedro - Fish around partially submerged trees, near the marina and rocky points.

Trout and salmon have been hitting lately. In Rogers Creek, trout are biting on Power Bait, minnows or night crawlers 70 feet behind the boat just below the surface.

Salmon are in Railroad Canyon upriver. Anglers are using Apexes and Needlefish. The bass bite is slow, and the best bet is using topwater bait. Schoolhouse Point is a good place to start, and plastic worms are working in dark red or green. There have been no crappie or bluegill reports, but a few catfish have been caught with anchovies.

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

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

Don Jason of Oakdale Bait and Tackle said limits of rainbows have been caught in shallow water with wedding rings or Kastmasters in chrome/blue.

There have been no bass reports for a while.

881-0107, 847-3447.

McClure Reservoir - Best places to try your luck are Barrett Cove, Horseshoe Bend, Cotton Creek and Temperance Creek.

Bass and trout are still hitting, but trout are giving the most action. More anglers are heading to Horseshoe Bend and Barrett Cove, even though fish are also biting by the dam.

Use a flasher/crawler combo 15 feet deep for trout. The blue and silver Ex-Cels are also working.

Bass bite is pretty good along the bank in 15 feet of water by Horseshoe Bend and in Cotton and Temperance creeks. Anglers are using shad-colored plastic worms.

563-6505, 378-2441

McSwain Reservoir - For the best chance at catching some fish, try the brushpile, in front of the campgrounds and marina, Gilligan's Island and the handicap dock.

John Kemper from McSwain Marina said a DFG plant of 4,000 pounds of brook trout brought the people out last weekend. Some of the planters were up to 1.5 pounds and anglers were pulling them in Saturday but had a tougher time finding them on Sunday.

Shore anglers should try mealworms and marshmallows. Trollers should use silver and blue Kastmasters.

Look for good action, the brook trout reportedly fight twice as hard as rainbows.

378-2534.

Trout plants - Turlock Reservoir.