Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California, the Sierra and Southern Oregon. This report is through Feb. 21.

The California Fish and Game Commission has voted unanimously to protect two species of native frogs under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). The unanimous vote was taken at the Commission’s February 2 meeting in Sacramento.

Following recommendations from the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG), the Commission moved to list the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog (Rana sierrae) as a threatened species and the southern mountain yellow-legged frog (R. muscosa) as an endangered species.

In honor of great conditions and anticipation of more snow, Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows are launching the new Tahoe Super 2 which offers two unrestricted days of skiing and riding at either resort for just $49 per day. Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows have recently been graced with blue skies, great groomers and incredibly fun snow conditions across 4,000 acres of open terrain, 31 lifts, 6 terrain parks and a jib pipe - offering 54 terrain park features. With several storms predicted in the next week, both resorts are expected to add to their 3-to-4-foot bases.

ANGEL LAKE, ELKO COUNTY, NEV:
The Nevada Department of Wildlife (www.ndow.org) reports:
The road to Angel Lake is now closed for the winter.

BISHOP AREA, CALIF:
The fishing season for the Bishop area is closed.
 
BLUE LAKES, CALIF:
Lower Blue Lake:
Upper Blue Lake:
The road to Blue Lakes is now closed for the winter.

BRIDGEPORT RESERVOIR, CALIF:
The fishing season for Bridgeport Reservoir is closed.

CARSON RIVER, CALIF:
East Carson River:
The fishing season for the East Carson River is closed upstream from Hangman’s Bridge.
West Carson River:

Extreme snow sports legend and Transformers film wingsuit stuntman JT Holmes has finished shooting promotional TV spots for the Tahoe Fund’s Plate for Powder program, which gives purchasers of California and Nevada

February 11 is the opening day of the 2012 fishing seasons for the following waters in Lyon County:
01. The Fort Churchill Cooling Ponds, near Wabuska.
02. Applicable open waters (Bass Pond, Beaver Slough, Crappie Pond, Hinkson Slough, North Pond and the Walker River), all on the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area (MVWMA), near Yerington.
All of the waters listed above will close on Sept. 30.
If you are interested in fishing at any of those waters on Opening Day, here is some miscellaneous information:

Fort Churchill Cooling Ponds:

Spent some time skiing at Heavenly Mountain Resort the other day and the snow was fine, though pretty hard at 9 a.m. but softening as the sun at Lake Tahoe came into play. Couldn't help noticing how many skiers are still using the old rotary shoulder turn yet skiing on modern, shaped skis. That's a waste of energy.
On shaped skis keep the body facing down the fall line, letting the edges do the turn. That's what today's skis are all about. The deep sidecut makes the skis turn when you put the edges in. Gotta keep the hands out front, which incidentally is crucial in avoiding ACL injury.

How would you like to camp under a sky like this?

With the arrival of winter weather in this area, we certainly have plenty of water frozen on our creeks, streams, rivers, ponds, lakes and reservoirs.
And, that ice covering effectively inhibits your opportunity to catch fish…unless you are an ice fisherman.

Winter is a time of cheer and for those who enjoy the snowy slopes it’s a time to carve your way down the mountain.
For many locals and out-of-towners they welcome the winter weather, anticipating prime skiing and snowboarding conditions.
A few different ski resorts and ski areas throughout the Shasta Cascade region that offer excellent skiing and snowboarding opportunities. Skiing and snowboarding is a great winter sport that can be enjoyed by all ages.

Here is this week's fishing report for January 18-25. This report covers streams, lakes and rivers in Nevada, Northern California, southern Oregon and the Sierra.

ALMANOR LAKE, CALIF:
Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500) (www.shastacascade.com) reports:

A doe mule deer takes life easy on a lazy, sunny afternoon on Sunday, January 15 near Davis Lake, Calif.
The doe should be aware that area should be covered with several feet of snow by now. But that is set to change as a weather pattern is expected to settle into Northern Californ, Western Nevada and the Sierra beginning Thursday.
— Photo by Elaine Quilici

California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) wardens cited a Southern California man early Sunday morning for poaching dozens of lobsters inside a Marine Protected Area (MPA).
Wardens observed Marbel A. Para, 30, of Romoland (Riverside County) and a companion SCUBA diving in the Laguna Beach State Marine Reserve after midnight on Jan. 15.
This location, which is in the Heisler Park area off the coast of Laguna Beach, has historically been closed to lobster fishing for years (even prior to the establishment of the MPA).

Ducks down at the Carson River enjoying the water and apparently practicing their synchronized swimming routine...One of 'em is off his mark a bit though.

Normally a dusting of snow in my front yard would not merit a photo, but this has been anything but a normal winter. It's been two months since the last recorded trace of precipitation. Let's hope the storm forecast for later this week brings a lot more than this.

The year of 2011 was anything but quiet for the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG).
Pesky bears, a roaming gray wolf, significant poaching arrests, tsunami relief work and dramatic wildlife rescues were among the stories that captured the public’s attention.
DFG also welcomed new Director Charlton H. Bonham, who was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown in August.

Winter is one of the best times to catch fish. Just because it's cold doesn't mean it's time to put your fishing gear away. In fact, if you put your gear away now, you might miss some of the best fishing of the year.
Catching bluegill through the ice is a fun thing to do in Utah in the winter.
That's right—those "crazy" people you see standing on the ice at waters across Utah aren't so crazy after all.
They know a layer of cold ice means hot fishing in the water under the ice.

In the main photo, a solitary ice hut sits on the ice at Watson Lake, Yukon, Canada, just out of the City of Watson Lake. In the second photo, a close up of that same ice hut.
Photo courtesy of Barry Drury of Watson Lake, Yukon

If you like to fish in the State of Nevada, you might be interested in entering the 2012 Ormsby Sportsmen’s Association (OSA) fishing contest. This annual contest is inexpensive, you can have fun fishing during the year and you might even win some nice cash, just before Christmas. If you’re interested, here is all kinds of information on that contest:

With the recent warmer temperatures and lack of natural snow, rumors have been circulating this week that ski resorts will be forced to close. According to officials, that's not the case for any South Shore resorts.

"It's actually the opposite," said Heavenly Mountain Resort's Russ Pecoraro. "We're focused on making more terrain available."
...

Those of us who have spent most of our adult life on ski and snowboard slopes know how important it is to follow the rules on the slopes. From our earliest snow days we have followed the Skiers Responsibility Code, simple rules that make fun on the trail safer. If you don't know the Code, check it out next time you're at a mountain resort.

It’s the very first part of January and this is a good time for all of us to make some personal resolutions for the year 2012. Most importantly, remember that if you do make any resolutions, be sure to follow through with what you resolve to do in this new year. I have a number of things I would like to accomplish this year, so without any further ado, here are my resolutions:

My family went ice skating yesterday (everyone except me, because I would probably break something). But it was quite a sight to see three generations out on the ice together.

However, there was a problem. My wife used Google to find out what times the skating rink was open, and got that information from the DowntownCarsonCity.com website.

Unfortunately, those times are wrong. They are from last year, as that site hasn't been updated since then. The current holiday schedule for the ice rink is here.

Session start at 10 a.m. on weekends, not 3 p.m. as it says on the DowntownCarsonCity.com site. With the warm weather, this makes a big difference because by later in the afternoon, the ice can get pretty chopped up.

So enjoy the ice skating while it lasts. It's the only real sign of winter we have around here so far this year.

Diamond Peak Ski Resort on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe is the home mountain for a January 7-8, 2012, ski camp hosted by legendary skier Wayne Wong.

The camp begins with an evening “meet and greet” at Village Ski Loft in Incline Village on January 6 and then continues with two full days of on snow instruction at Diamond Peak.