The bite has slowed down a bit, and the fish have moved to deeper/cooler water. Trolling anglers are catching a few trout along with some kokanee. The trout that are being caught are nice 2 to 3-pound rainbows.  Trolling spoons and spinners seem to be producing quality fish. Tie on a Needlefish, or a Rocky Mountain Serpent Spoon trolled behind flashers, or a Mack's Wedding Ring tipped with a crawler. Trolling at 2.5 to 3.2 mph will trigger more trout bites and less kokanee bites.   Bank anglers- Slow (head to the local creeks for better action).  Bank-anglers fishing Melones should target deeper water near the main lake and throw shad or rainbow trout patterned Kastmasters, or other casting lures with enough weight to make long casts.  Or use a worm threader to thread a nightcrawler on the hook and fish it with a Berkley/Gulp Power Egg or a marshmallow to float your bait off the bottom.  Night Fishing under submersible lights has been very good.   Drop Power Bait, Gulp Minnows, or live minnows under a submersible light near the spillway/dam, or under the Highway 49 Stevenot Bridge.  Be patient- it takes some time for the trout to start biting once you drop your light in the water. Another trick that has worked well in the past is to vertical jig a spoon under the light. Fly Fishing has been very good on local streams. Try using a hopper-dropper setup to locate fish. Tie a #6 yellow stimulator with a #14 copper john or pheasant tail as a dropper fly. By doing this you can determine if the fish are feeding on the surface, or sub-surface. Don't forget to always have a wooly bugger in your arsenal, they catch fish everywhere. Good, with most anglers getting easy limits of fat 13-14" fish. The fish are growing quickly now. Troll 40-65 feet deep in the spillway/dam area or near the 49 Bridge. Try using the new Anglers Market Kokanee Bites with an additional spinner, or a bladed Glitterbug Micro Hoochie. To target larger fish, use baits that have a large profile and produce a lot of action.  Rocky Mountain Super Squid or an Apex will trigger these larger fish.  We have also had reports of bigger fish being caught close to the bottom. Troll as close as you can without snagging your downrigger weight. The fish are moving into deeper, darker waters, and pink/purple, watermelon, and blue will be more visible to these deeper fish.  Be sure to add scent to your bait. Garlic, carp spit, kokanee special, and anise have been good choices.  Don't forget your corn soaked in the same scents.

Bass: Good.  Bass anglers are reporting catching fish all day long. Most fish are 12-15 inches with a few 3-pound plus fish caught.  Bass are feeding shallow early and late, and move out to main lake structure as the sun warms the water. Try using topwater (poppers, spooks, and buzz baits) in the mornings and switching to soft plastics (Stick-baits, creatures, and hand pours) as the sun comes up.  There is good drop shot bite on submerged island tops and main lake points at 25-45' deep. Clear water use natural colors, and stained water spice up the same natural baits with a chartreuse dye pen. To trigger bites try using baits that are a lot smaller than average or a lot larger than average.  Remember to practice catch and release!  If you do keep a bass, please keep the spotted bass and release the big female (largemouth) black bass.  Glory Hole Sports can teach you the difference, so you can practice good conservation of the species.

Catfish:  Wide open.  Melones cats tend to be fish-eaters rather than bottom foragers, so use frozen shad, mackerel, chicken liver, or anchovies for best success.  Larger cats will also feed on natural bait like crawlers, so to target large cats try using a big ball of crawlers.  Target shallow flats or areas with large chunk rock, these are prime locations for big cats to hang out. Larger fish are smarter, so use a fluorocarbon leader to entice more bites.  Generally these fish will feed a night, but anglers have been hooking them at all hours, day and night. Glory Hole Sports  (209) 736-4333, (209) 586-2383