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Mac the Naw Sierra fishing report: Mountain lakes freeze but not enough for safe ice fishing

Hello fellow anglers, Wishing you a warm and a happy holiday fishing season. Although many areas in our local area have closed for the season, we still have plenty of options to keep on fishing. The lakes in the higher altitudes have started to freeze and ice fishing will be upon us soon. I ask anglers to resist the urge to venture out on lakes and ponds until we have at least eight inches of solid ice.

I would also recommend to not venture out on many of our back roads, the ground is soft and with snow drifts around hidden corners. You don't want to be stuck miles away from help with no cell service. For those that will be out shopping or spending time with family this weekend, I do have a couple suggestions. For that special place on your Christmas tree, stop by the Greenhouse Garden Nursery in Carson City.

They have a dedicated tree with ornaments for that outdoor person. Want to spend quality time with family. Come to the Minden Gardnerville parade of lights Saturday night. Begins at 5 p.m. starting from Heritage park to the Minden town park. I personally like to see the Kids Fishing derby volunteer float, but I am a little bias on that one. There will 40 floats to see this year all lite up to kick off the holiday spirit. I will be enjoying the evening with friends along Main street. For those that would rather think about fishing, lets check out our local waters.

LAKE TAHOE: The wind and the chill has been a challenge. But for those that do accept the a little chill in the air, the reward is great. I talked with Gene St Denis last week. Gene said they had three fish on that were so big, they could not land them. Average mackinaw have been 2 to 5 pounds. Best areas have been on the north end of the lake from Tahoe City going east to Carnelian bay. 150 feet to 220 feet of water. I do recommend getting on the lake as early as possible. The winds come up about 11 am and navigation can be tricky on Lake Tahoe. Flashers and live minnows have been most productive.

Special note, only minnows caught on the lake can be used for fishing. They can not be transported from another body of water. Most anglers use a minnow trap with either a can of either cat or dog food in it. Drop your trap around the rocky areas with a float. For more information or to get a fishing gift card, which makes a great stocking stuffer, call Blue Ribbon Fishing Charters at 530-544-6552.

CAPLES LAKE: Couple reports of ice forming on the lake. Not safe enough to ice fish.

SILVER LAKE: Ice forming around the edges. Not safe to ice fish.

RED LAKE: Reports of ice forming on the lake. Not safe to ice fish.

INDIAN CREEK RESERVOIR: I ventured up last week with my friend Tom Blotter from Minden. We launched my boat from the unimproved ramp area. After casting for an hour or so with no luck, we started trolling. I, a Thomas Buoyant spoon and Tom a Rapala. We caught a few rainbows and cutthroat trout up to 2 pounds. The F-5 broken back perch pattern Rapala was the best action of the day. We watched a few shore anglers real in a few trout about 12 to 14 inches long. Being on the lake I realized the lake still has plenty of weed action. But as I have said in the past, weeds are your friend. We caught most of our fish in 7 to 12 feet of water in the weedy areas. The lake was planted with 1800 pounds of catchable to 3 pound rainbow trout a couple weeks ago by Alpine County.

TOPAZ LAKE: As of Wednesday, the lake has been planted with over 15,000 pounds of trout from the Nevada Department of Wildlife. I have not received the information on the derby as of yet. I will pass that along in my next report. The lake is closed to fishing until January 1, 2017. If you plan on making reservations for the opener I would recommend to do it soon. For reservations call 775-266-3338. See you there on opening day.

PYRAMID LAKE: Fishing has been good. Don James and his fishing partner Don Coffin fished near Hells Kitchen with a gold chub lure. They caught and released a 31 inch 18 pound cutthroat trout. I have seen the picture,and will pass it along as soon as I receive it. Other anglers have been doing well with various colors of spoons on the south end past the nets. The average catch has been 18 to 26 inches.

EAST FORK CARSON RIVER NEVADA SIDE: The NDOW has planted the river in the Douglas county area with catchable rainbow trout.

I hope your next fishing adventure is great one. If you have any questions or reports in our local area, call the Naw line at 775-267-9722. Have a photo of your catch, send it to jeff@carsonnow.org. See you on the waters. Good fishin' and tight lines.

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We’re back, bigger and better than ever! Please welcome the second annual Mark Twain Days, May 10-12. For a listing of events take a gander at the website here.

You will find something of interest or my name’s not Mark Twain, or used to be anyways. And this year Virginia City is joining in on the fun along with Carson City. Wow!

Nevada Division of Forestry state nursery is open for business beginning Thursday, May 9. When we first bought our home in 1988 with its 2.5 acres, there were some poplars, pines, blue spruce, willows, and grass, but little else. I soon discovered the state nursery and filled the yard with flowering shrubs and other plants. I added lilacs, sand cherries, golden and Nevada currants, sumacs, Apache plumes, and incense cedars.

The Lyon County Sheriff's Office arrested a Dayton man Saturday for possession of child pornography. During the investigation, officers also learned the man was a local little league coach.

Mrs. Carson City America, Kassandra Tapia, is set to grace the stage of the Mrs. Nevada America Pageant, scheduled to take place on June 9, 2024, in Las Vegas. She is proudly representing the Capital City, and she aims to not only showcase her poise and grace but also advocate for her powerful platform, Cycle Breakers.

Nevada Author, Sandie La Nae will be selling her Carson City and Virginia City books the three days of the Mark Twain Days, May 10, 11, and 12.

As part of Smokey Bear’s 80th birthday celebration, the Smokey Reading Challenge is underway. Launched this morning at the Nevada State Library, Archives and Public Records in Carson City, the program is designed to engage children across Nevada in an exciting reading journey to learn about wildfire prevention, forests, and careers in natural resources with Smokey Bear.

The Nevada Jeep Club held their first Washoe Valley Cleanup on Saturday, May 4 and collected more than 450 pounds of trash along Highway 395.

Partnership Carson City has launched “Rediscovering Your Mental Health Series,” a five-week program aimed at promoting mental wellness during Mental Health Awareness Month this May. Each week, participants will have the opportunity to learn new skills and techniques to enhance their mental well-being and foster a healthy community.

The Carson City Leisure Hour Club members continue celebrating the organization’s 127th year with a presentation on the upcoming Jazz and Beyond festival.

At the club’s dinner meeting on Thursday, May 16, Cherie Shipley, a member of the event planning committee, will talk about the annual Jazz and Beyond festival, how it formed, and the impact it has had on the community. Jazz and Beyond is scheduled for August 16 to August 25, 2024.

Here is the Carson City area road report for the week of May 6-12, 2024. Closures are expected at the following locations due to road and utility work:

Organized by Carol Park, the Elks held an open to the public, two-day indoor garage sale at the lodge in March as a fundraiser for Holiday with a Hero. Lodge members donated all items sold and assisted at the event which received excellent support from the community.

An 18-year-old Carson City man was arrested at a local diner after allegedly stealing a car from a used car lot two days prior to test drive it.

Friday May 10 at 7:30PM, Valhalla Tahoe kicks off their season with a living history presentation, “The Reno Cure,” at the Boathouse Theater. Reno has long been known as “The Biggest Little City.”

The Carson City Symphony Association will present a concert, "Pleasures of Music," on Friday, May 10, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. at Shepherd of the Sierra Lutheran Church, 3680 N. Hwy. 395, south of Best Buy, Carson City. The concert is a Mark Twain Days event. Admission is free, donations welcome,

Members of the Rotary Club of Carson City will learn how its annual Educational Grant has helped local students at the club’s next meeting. Carson School District K-12 Curriculum & Assessment Coordinator Brittany Witter received the club’s Carson City School District’s Professional Development Center Grant last year with the goal of funding the “Literacy and Love of Reading through Social Studies” project.

Western Nevada College hosted a ceremony to celebrate students succeeding in training to reestablish themselves in the workforce on Thursday.

Perfection in a fur coat is the best way to describe Cher, our cat of the week. Just 7 months old, she is a pretty little short-haired girl with a sweet and social personality.

Carson High School's Senior in the Spotlight this week is Parker Schmid, a remarkable young man whose sparkle radiates in every aspect of his life. From academics to extracurriculars, Parker's journey embodies excellence and compassion, traits that set him apart from his peers.

UPDATE 6 p.m.: Courtesy of the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office: On May 3, 2024 at approximately 1430 hours, Lyon County Sheriff’s Deputies responded along with Central Lyon County, Carson City and Storey County Fire personnel to the area of 34 Newman Ln. for a report of motorhome on fire. Upon arrival, it was discovered that the fire had spread and multiple other abandoned vehicles caught fire as well. No one was hurt or injured during the incident. The incident is currently under investigation, which is being conducted by the Nevada State Fire Marshall’s Division.

UPDATE 2:38 p.m.: Firefighters from Storey are also now responding.

UPDATE 2:33 p.m.: Multiple vehicles on the property are engulfed in flame.

***

Around 2:15 p.m. a fire was reported at 34 Newman Lane in Mound House.

Firefighters from Carson City and Lyon County are enroute to the scene.

UPDATE 1:20 p.m.: According to Sheriff Ken Furlong, a student reported they saw a weapon. The incident was investigated and there was no weapon found. The lockdown has now been lifted and students are leaving the school.

UPDATE 1:15 p.m.: Update 05-03-24 at 1:15 p.m.
One student has reported an alleged weapon sighting. It has not been corroborated, but school officials and the sheriff’s office are investigating out an abundance of caution.

***

UPDATE 12:50 p.m.: The following update was provided by the district:

Carson High School was put on lockdown this afternoon around 12:15 p.m. No person was injured. There is an active situation being investigated in cooperation with the Carson City Sheriff’s Office. We will provide more information as it becomes known. The school is secure. Do not go to the school. No entrances will be permitted at time. The district will provide updates every 30 minutes. Expect the next update at 1:15 p.m.

***

Carson High School is currently on a lockdown as of 12:40 p.m. Friday, but there has been no incident reported according to Sheriff Ken Furlong.

Two School Resource Officers are on scene investigating why the alarm went off.

The Lyon County Board of County Commissioners heard a presentation from the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) on the current status of the Highway 50 Preservation Project in Dayton.

Kids ages 8-14: Join Skiing is Believing at Western Nevada college for our multidiscplinary sport & fitness camp! Every day of every week, Skiing is Believing staff will help provide a variety of sports for kids to develop their physical skills and promote emotional development through exercise and community service.

After months of thorough community engagement and meticulous deliberation, Douglas County has announced the completion of its new Strategic Plan. This document, which will guide the County's decisions and resource allocation for the next five years, is the result of extensive input from both internal and external stakeholders.

The unpredictability of spring this first weekend of May continues with the threat of snow showers in the Sierra on Saturday, along with gusty winds and rain down to the valley floors for Carson City and surrounding areas. The storm system should moved out by Sunday morning.

Carson High School Culinary Arts and Early Childhood Education students competed at the three-day state conference last month for Nevada Family, Career and Community Leaders of America. This was the first time the school’s programs participated in the conference. A total of 25 students competed in eight events.

Family fun, lively bands and historical characters return to Dangberg Historic Park in Minden beginning in May. Favorite presenters, bands and Chautauquans will be joined by new ones as well.

Carson City’s former Board of Supervisor and business owner Stan Jones was posthumously awarded Thursday the Historic Preservation Award for his long time work for downtown Carson City.

Each year, a Historic Preservation Award is awarded by the Historic Resources Commission to Carson City residents or organizations who have gone above and beyond in their dedication to historic preservation.

The Nevada Law Enforcement Officers Memorial is today, Thursday, May 2 at the Nevada State Capitol in Carson City. The memorial brings hundreds to the capitol grounds. The ceremony begins at 1 p.m.

Douglas County Sheriff's Office arrested three for their alleged involvement in business thefts last month on Topsy Lane south of Carson City.

The national issue of suicide — particularly among veterans — touched many people who attended the Walk for Hope on Wednesday morning at Western Nevada College in Carson City.