This is a reminder that a special trout fishing season will open on the Friday before Labor Day.
August 31, 2012 is the Opening Day of the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout fishing season at Heenan Lake in nearby Alpine County, Calif.
Each year, that season opens the Friday before Labor Day and closes the last Sunday in October (October 28 this year). If you’re interested and if you would like to enjoy a totally different fishing experience, plan to spend August 31 at that easy-to-get-to location.
If the weather (spelled: W-I-N-D) allows and if the late summer water conditions (spelled: A-L-G-A-E) allow, here is a whole bunch of useful information for fishing at Heenan Lake.

How to get there:
From the Carson City area, drive south on a combination of U.S. 395, Nevada S.R. 88 and California S.R. 88 to Woodfords, Calif.
This is a distance of about 30 miles.
At Woodfords, turn left onto California S.R. 89 and travel to Markleeville.
This is a distance of about seven miles.
Continue through Markleeville, drive past Hangman’s Bridge, and go until you reach the junction of S.R. 4 and S.R. 89 (The Monitor Pass Junction).
Turn left and travel uphill on S.R. 89 about 4-5 miles.
Heenan Lake will be on your right hand side.

How to fish:
Preferably, you should plan to fish from a float tube, inflatable raft, canoe, kayak or a small, car-top boat (gas motors are a big “No-No”).
You can fish from shore, but you’ll have better success out on the water.

What to use:
If you’re a fly fisherman, try an assortment of different artificial flies such as: Antron Caterpillars, Leeches, Prince Nymphs, Woolly Buggers, Woolly Worms, Zug Bugs, etc.
If you’re a spincaster, try lures such as: Daredevils, Kastmasters, Mepps, Panther Martin, Super Dupers, Thomas Buoyants, TOR-P-DO’s, etc.

What you’ll catch:
You’ll catch Lahontan Cutthroat Trout, with many of them running up to some very impressive (EYE POPPING!) sizes in length and weight.

Special Note:
You can only fish Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during the open season.
Mondays-Tuesdays-Wednesdays-Thursdays are “Taboo.” 
So don’t do something dumb, or the guy tapping you on the shoulder could be the “Friendly Old Game Warden,” and he won’t be too friendly as he is writing a fish and game citation. The judge won’t be too happy either!

Catch and Release:
Heenan Lake is a “Catch and Release” lake.
That means the limit is zero fish.
Any fish you catch must be released, unharmed, back into the water.
Anglers are encouraged to practice “airless” catch and release, which means keeping the trout in the water at all times, while trying to release it.
If you must take the fish out of the water, hold your breath when you do. Then, while trying to release it, if you run out of air, take a big, deep breath and put the Cutthroat back in the water, so it can breathe too.

Special Regulations:
You can only use artificial flies or lures with barbless hooks.
If you’re a bait fisherman, this is the wrong lake for you, and you should plan to go somewhere else.
Fishing hours are sunrise to sunset.
You must park your vehicle outside the locked gate at the lake.
Gasoline motors are not permitted; however, you can use electric motors.
Heenan Lake Tributaries are closed to fishing, all year.

Miscellaneous:
On that Opening weekend, if the weather and water conditions cooperate, there could be as many as 60-70+ fishermen in their float tubes, out on the water, on each of those three days.
If they are out there, they will look like a whole bunch of Cheerios, floating around in a big bowl. That could be a great “Photo Op” for your camera.

Special Tip:
If you’re one of those trout fishermen who seek solitude when fishing, the Opening Weekend at Heenan Lake will definitely NOT be your bag of tea.
It could be very crowded and you would be well advised to go somewhere else, anywhere else to avoid lots and lots of other fishermen.

If you don’t fish:
The drive from Carson City to Heenan Lake, the surrounding high-country scenery, the colorful float tubes out on the water, the large crowds of fishermen at Heenan and the spectacular views from nearby Monitor Pass will be well worth the time and effort for some unforgettable photos.
If you continue on S.R. 89 from Heenan Lake over Monitor Pass to where S.R. 89 intersects with U.S. 395, just south of Topaz Lake, be advised to drive careful, as the highway is very steep and windy.
You will have lots of photo ops on that drive, and as you drop down toward U.S. 395, Slinkard Valley will be on your right hand side.

— Don Quilici is the Outdoor editor for Carson Now and www.SouthTahoeNow.com. He can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com.