Waters · Lakes · CA · Mon, Aug 24

How's the bite at New Melones Lake today? Biting — fish it after dark.

Worth a cast.

Built from solunar, pressure, level, wind. This water has no live gauge for every reading — see the sources below.

6/10
Biting

Today's bite windows

12 AM6 AMNoon6 PM11 PM
Minor
2:13 AM–3:13 AM
Moonset
Major
9:28 AM–11:28 AM
Moon underfoot
Minor
5:34 PM–6:34 PM
Moonrise
Major
9:52 PM–11:52 PM
Moon overhead

Sunrise 6:25 AM · sunset 7:42 PM · tomorrow's first major 10:16 AM–12:16 PM · windows on every water

Solunar · computed updated 6:18 AM

Conditions right now

Water level
1010.7ft
-0.04 ft in 24h
USBR New Melones Lake Dam and Powerplant reading for Aug 23
Pressure
29.87inHg
rising · +2.03 hPa/12h
NOAA KMOD updated 6:05 AM
Wind
5mph WNW
NOAA KMOD updated 6:05 AM
Moon
89% waxing
Solunar · computed updated 6:18 AM

What this means

Largemouth bass, Crappie, Catfish
This gauge reports level but no water temperature, so depth calls stay open. Read the windows and the pressure trend instead.

New Melones Lake water level today

1010.7 ft down 0.04 ft in 24 hours

That sits 0% of the way up the band it has held over the last 9 days, between 1010.7 and 1012.02 ft. Over the week it is down0.92ft.

08-14 1010.70–1012.02 ft 08-23
USBR New Melones Lake Dam and Powerplant reading for Aug 23

The week ahead

Tue 6 Biting
Wed 6 Biting
Thu 6 Biting
Fri 6 Biting
Sat 6 Biting
Sun 6 Biting
Mon 6 Biting

Forecast days carry solunar and the wind outlook. Pressure and gauge movement land the morning of.

Before you go

A CA fishing license covers this water. The state agency sets the rules and is the one that counts.

Nearby waters today

Questions people ask about New Melones Lake

Answered from the same readings as the rest of this page. Where we have no basis for an answer, there is no entry — spot-by-spot local knowledge is not something we can claim for New Melones Lake.

Is it worth fishing New Melones Lake today?
6 out of 10 — biting. Worth a cast. The strongest stretch is 9:28 AM–11:28 AM. That number is worked out fresh each morning from the solunar windows, the pressure trend, the water level.
What time should you fish New Melones Lake?
Today's major windows run 9:28 AM–11:28 AM and 9:52 PM–11:52 PM, with minor windows at 2:13 AM–3:13 AM and 5:34 PM–6:34 PM. Sunrise is 6:25 AM and sunset 7:42 PM. A major landing on first or last light is the stretch worth setting an alarm for.
What is the water temperature at New Melones Lake?
No gauge on New Melones Lake measures water temperature. US reservoir gauges report height, not temperature — so rather than estimate it, this page leaves it out and leans on the windows and the pressure trend instead.
What is the water level at New Melones Lake right now?
1010.7 ft, the reading for August 23 from the New Melones Lake Dam and Powerplant gauge run by the USBR, which publishes one value a day. Over 24 hours it is down 0.04 ft.
Can you eat the fish you catch in New Melones Lake?
That is a health question, and it is answered officially rather than by us. California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment publishes the fish consumption advisory covering these waters, where over 150 site-specific advisories, searchable by water, species or county, plus a statewide default for untested waters. Read it before you keep a meal — we give no eating advice.

OEHHA fish consumption advisory

What size fish can you keep in California?
It depends on the species, and several have slot limits rather than a simple minimum. Open to harvest today: california halibut, pacific halibut, striped bass, white seabass. Seasons here change mid-year by agency order, so the status is re-checked every morning.

California halibut limits · Pacific halibut limits · Striped bass limits · White seabass limits · Check a length against the rules

Where these numbers come from

Read at the dam by the Bureau of Reclamation once a day. No temperature sensor.

No one types these in by hand. If a source goes quiet, the page says so instead of showing you yesterday.