Fishing Report: Fish plants, California Free Fishing Day coming up, lake levels still high and more
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Thu, 08/24/2023 - 9:57am
Hello Fellow anglers. I have been on the road again up in Oregon. The salmon were running and we had to go.
Renee and I fished with my nephew Chris Hacker for 3 days on the mouth of the Rogue River. That, my fellow anglers, is trolling to the highest level.
There were approximately 75 boats in the area one third the size of Topaz Lake, fishing only five to ten feet apart, and I never saw a single person catch another line. A few times I did have to take my pole out of the holder from the side of the boat, so that I did not hit someone's pole going the other way.
The fishing had slowed down by the time we got up there, and we were not one of the lucky anglers to catch one of those big salmon. So we went out into the ocean for Lingcod on the off tides.
After a lot of searching and experimenting with different jigs and depths, we began to get our limit of black and lingcod. My biggest Lingcod was 28 inches at about 10 lbs.
It was a sunny day and we were about to end the day and go in to do more trolling. But we decided to drift and jig a little longer. This was when one of the poles doubled over. Chris grabbed the pole and put on the fight of his life. The water was pretty clear and after a while we could see it was a nice fish. The closer it came up, the bigger our eyes got. When it got to within 25 feet of the boat, we both let out a loud, "Holy blank, get the net".
I said a few prayers and hoped I did not miss netting it on the first try, because it would have been all over and the fish would have either beelined it to the bottom or snapped the line. We were successful and also lucky we had brought the bigger net.
The lingcod measured 47.5" long and came in at approx 50 lbs. I only wished we had a camera to see the expressions on our own faces as the fish came up closer to the boat. That, my friends, is a very memorable trip. And now that our own weather here has cooled off, the fishing is only getting better.
CAPLES LAKE: The lake level is still high and the fishing has picked up for trollers as well as shore anglers. Best area for shore has been by the Woods Creek area throwing small spinners or kastmasters. Trollers have been working the far side of the lake with Rapals or flashers and a crawler. The resort is open for boat, kayak and cabin rentals.
SILVER LAKE: Silver Lake West Campground is officially open. We have about 80% of the sites available. The inflow has definitely stopped. The lake is dropping. Currently the lake levels at 92%. Not many anglers have been out to give you an accurate report. But as the weather cools, the mackinaw will start to get active early in the morning. Fish the trench on the far side with blk/gld or blk/silver Rapalas.
WOODS LAKE: The campground is now open.
RED LAKE: The lake level is still up and the fishing has been slow. Early morning anglers have had most success with kastmasters or salmon eggs.
BLUE LAKES: The road is open to the lower and upper lake. The lake was recently planted by the CDFW with rainbow trout. Fishing has been fair for shore anglers early morning or evening hours using powerbait or salmon eggs.
SUNSET UPPER AND LOWER LAKES, TAMARACK LAKE: The road is open, but I would use caution with all the rain we have had. That dirt road can be a little tricky.
INDIAN CREEK RESERVOIR: The campground is closed for the season and the lake is at caution stage for blue green algae.
HIGHLAND LAKE LAKES: The road is open in about 1.5 miles to Bloomfield campground.
WOLF CREEK: The road is now open.
POORBOY, SCHNEIDER COW CAMP, LOOPE CANYON, SILVER HILL: The road is still closed.
TOPAZ LAKE: The fishing has been good for trollers on the west side in 20 to 40 ft of water. Most have been using perch rapalas, #2 green needlefish or Flashers and a half a crawler. Shore anglers had done fair on the California side with green or yellow powerbait. The lake level has come down a foot over the last couple weeks. But still 15 ft higher than this time last year.
WEST FORK CARSON RIVER ALPINE COUNTY: The flows are running low at 75 CFS. There are plenty of fish in the river. You just need to do a little walking to find the eddies and slack water. Most anglers have been using a pinch weight and a salmon egg.
EAST FORK CARSON RIVER ALPINE COUNTY: The river flows had gone up last week due to the rains they had, but has dropped to 335 CFS as of this week and is clearing up nicely. The CDFW planted the river last week. The Alpine County Fish Commission planted the river recently with 1 to 5 lb rainbow trout. Salmon peach or chartruesegreen powerbait has been most productive. I personally like to throw a Thomas Buoyant spinner in the faster waters. Those bigger fish like the faster water and a spinner gets them off the bottom a little better. For more information or to get a photo of your catch. Stop by the Carson River Resort.
CARSON RIVER NEVADA SIDE: The NDOW planted the upper and lower part of Douglas County as well as the Carson City area recently with rainbow trout. The flows on the river have come down after the rains and were at 353 CFS this week.
BRIDGEPORT RESERVOIR: The Reservoir is still the hotspot lately with lots of fish being caught over in the stream channels in Buckeye Bay. We haven’t heard much from the Rainbow Point area, or trolling in general but there is plenty of action over in the Bay. Pinched crawlers, mice tails, power bait and inflated crawlers are all doing well over there and some anglers are jigging Hook Up Baits and fishing small Rapalas to get it done. Fly anglers are fishing balanced leeches, damsels, ice cream cones and soft hackles off of indicators and also doing very well. The Bridgeport Marina is open for boat launching, mooring and rentals. I would call ahead of time to make sure they have camp or RV spots available.
CALIFORNIA FREE FISHING DAY: September 2nd. No license is required, but you do have to abide by all laws and regulations pertaining to where you are fishing. Which would include any report cards.
Good luck on your next fishing adventure. If you get a picture of your catch, send it to kelsey@carsonnow.org
Have a good Labor Day weekend and remember that campfires are only allowed in designated campgrounds. Hope to see you on the waters soon.Good fishin' and tight lines.
