New Melones Reservoir

The Editor at the paper has been bugging me, for some time, to go out and try new Melones Reservoir. I was out there once a long time ago when the report said that people were catching limits of 14" Rainbows on pink Power Bait at Angels Point. When I got out there, there was no body there, I fished with pink Power Bait and caught nothing.

Today, once I got to the check in, I found out that the gentleman in the little hut doesn't take your fee, they have an electronic fee gizmo that you put your money in and it gives you a ticket for your dashboard. Put in more than the $8.00 fee and it gives you gold dollars in change. Cool, I could put in $10.00 and get two gold dollars for the Grandkids. I put in $10.00, got two quarters in change. What's wrong with this picture? Fortunately I could reverse and work it out with the guy in the hut since I was the only one in line. Gave him the two quarters, got the $2 change (bills, no gold dollars for the kids) and I was off.  

First I cruised by Angels Point and snapped a picture. Can you see the guy fishing down there? The only guy fishing there? The shadow is me standing on the road.

Angels Point Area

OK, here is a telephoto (10X) of the same guy fishing. Can you see him now?

Close up of the picture above

He walked down there ( a really long way) from where I'm standing because there is only one place to park along this road until you get to the boat launch, somewhere way back in the top picture. That's the parking place below.

Parking for Angels point

You can not fish within 500 feet from either side of the boat launch, so what's the point of parking there. Not a very "shore fishing" friendly place.

The next stop was Glory Hole point. Nice parking area, room for a gazillion vehicles with boat trailers. Mostly empty today, so I parked right at the end. There was a nice gravel drive to walk down to the lake. About the same distance (Cardio walk) as the walk from the gate at Bear River Reservoir to the dam. Set up two rods, one with Rainbow Power Bait and the other with Florescent Red Power Bait (it's pink).

Then the fog started coming in. Then the wind started to blow. Then it got cold. Then I moved to the right so that I could have the line straight into the wind and not have a HUGE bow in the line. Then I moved to the other side of the pennisula. 

Glory Hole area

Once I got to the other side, the wind abated some. Got two lines out (same colors)

More Glory hole area

In the shot below, take a look at the rock structure. It's that way all along the shore and I'm sure that it's that way out from shore because the one and only bite I got (on the rainbow color), snagged the sinker in the rocks. I could feel the fish, but the sinker was firmly stuck. The only option I had was to break the line and let the fish go.

A little to the left

That was the only bite of the day. There were a couple of guys fishing just to the right of me, but they didn't get any bites while I was there. The older gentleman lives close by and said they have been catching some pretty good sized fish in the area we were fishing.

Then the fog rolled in, it got colder, so cold that I walked up to the truck and got my parka and gloves, and then it got down right miserable. Cold, foggy, wet, and windy. I'll only do miserable for so long and then call it a day. This is what it looked like when I left. They joys of winter in the Central Valley in California.  

The fog

I'd give this one another shot on a sunnier, less windy day, but at least I gave it the old college try.

Till the next adventure.

Mark