Hello fellow anglers. I have to say it, is it hot enough for you? Dang, not just the heat. But the 20 to 40 mph winds we have been having in the Carson-Minden area each afternoon and evening. If you want to get out and fish, do what I did this week.
I started at 5:30 a.m. and fished until noon. That was the time the wind and the roll on the lake started coming up. Now for those anglers that might want to get out this Saturday and head up to the East Carson River in Alpine County, I say STOP! Highway 89 from Turtle Rock Park up and over Ebbetts Pass will be closed most of the day, as well as Monitor Pass over to Highway 395 in all directions.
This my fellow anglers is because of the Death Ride bicycle challenge that will start at 5 a.m. Saturday morning. I personally like to ride, but I don’t think I would survive going over 7 passes. But I will be out fishing this weekend, maybe I will head to either Caples or Silver Lake where traffic is a little more manageable. Due to the heat and some low waters in areas, the fishing has been slow in most areas.
Special note to all anglers and campers. Due to the extreme heat and dry vegetation, campfires are only allowed in designated campgrounds with a fire ring. No matter how safe you think you may be to have a campfire, it may cost you $385 to $500. Now in some national forests, you can be fined up to $5,000 and 6 months in jail. Driving back from Oregon last month. We drove past the Goat Fire off Highway 44 in California, where 1,117 acres burned. And what was the cause of the fire? An illegal campfire. Let us all play it safe and just bring a couple extra lanterns. We need to keep what’s left of our natural forest lands for all to enjoy.
Here is this week’s report:
LAKE TAHOE: Fishing has been best up on the north end for mackinaws around the McKinney Bay area or Dollar Point. Keep an eye on your depth finder, there are some sharp ledges up there. But that is what holds the fish in the area. A dodger and a live minnow in 150 to 200 feet of water. Some anglers have been doing well with tube jigs off the Camp Richardson area. A few Kokanee have been caught down on the south/southwest end of the lake. Now even though the holiday has passed, there is still a lot of boat traffic out there so be careful of others. Especially the ones not paying attention to where they are going. For more information call Jason at 775-233-5055 or go to rubyjeancharters.com.
CAPLES LAKE: Fishing has been hit and miss. The macs are down deep and the rainbows are suspended. Lead lining a broken back perch Rapala has been my best lure to use. Some have done well with the flashers and a threaded crawler. I have tried jigging off the deep ledges with only one hit on my last trip with this method. The Caples Lake marina is open for launching and boat rentals. or you can use the public boat launch. For more information call the Caples Lake Resort at 209-258-8888.
RED LAKE: I have not fished it recently. But maybe this weekend I will give it a try. The lake has rainbows and brook trout. Small gold Kastmasters are good for casting by the dam or inflated night crawlers or salmons eggs are productive when the bite is on.
INDIAN CREEK RESERVOIR: Campground still closed and I cannot get any information on when Alpine County will bring it back to life. The lake has gone down a bit and the weeds have started to take over. But then again, weeds are your friend if you use Powerbait or inflated nightcrawlers. Use a leader about 2 feet to get it just above the weed line to have more success. You may have to use the dirt road to get in on Saturday due to the Death Ride.
WEST FORK CARSON RIVER ALPINE COUNTY: The flows are way down in Hope Valley. You will have to do some walking to find the deep undercuts where the fish lay in. But you have to be a little sneaky as not to spook them.
EAST FORK CARSON RIVER ALPINE COUNTY: The fishing has picked up a little. Most anglers have picked up a few nice rainbows. I even received a picture of an angler that caught a huge mountain white fish this week. Best picture I have seen is 9-year-old Gio Menor from Stockton, Calif., with a nice 3-pound rainbow he caught on a mice tail. I spoke with Connie from the Carson River Resort this week. She said all anglers are catching fish. Most are small but a few up in the 3-4 pound range. For more information call the Carson River Resort at 530-694-2229.
TOPAZ LAKE: I fished the lake this week. Started at 5:30 a.m. and ended at noon. I had plenty of hits and plenty of fish right up to the boat, but that’s what we call short distance release. All of the fish were suspended in 8 to 15 feet of water. I used my lead line with an F5 hot steel pattern and a F7 jointed perch colored. These tow patterns were working well, but it was the anglers’ error not getting them in the boat. I started down on the south end and found my prop and each line full of weeds. I then went to the north end where the fishing was more productive. On another note, the NDOW planted the lake with 4,000 catchable rainbows just before the holiday weekend. Fall fishing is going to be hot this year.
BRIDGEPORT RESERVOIR: The bite on the reservoir also seems to have slowed a bit with reports coming in from anglers getting into fewer numbers of fish than a few weeks ago. There are of course still some fish being caught, with some good 4 to 6 pounders being caught each day. There is some bait action in the East Walker, Robinson and Buckeye channels as well as over off of Rainbow Point with pinched crawlers, inflated night crawlers, mice tails and power bait and there’s still a few anglers getting some fish trolling with Thomas Bouyants, small Rapalas and night crawlers. If you plan on doing some trolling this year, I would get down there by the end of July. The water level is dropping pretty quickly. But remember, you can still launch at the other end off the shore at the bathtub. But use cation and a 4 wheel drive is recommended. The Bridgeport marina will still be renting boat throughout the summer until the water level get too low. For more information call the Bridgeport Marina at 760-932-7001 or stop in at Kens Sporting Goods in Bridgeport.
BLUE LAKES: Open to the lower lake. Fishing has been fair for shore angler with Powerbait or night crawlers.
HIGHLAND LAKES, WOLF CREEK, SUNSET LAKE, TAMARACK LAKE, BURNSIDE LAKE RD: All open.
UPPER OWENS RIVER ABOVE BENTON CROSSING: The Summertime temps here are usually 10 degrees give or take higher than in the June Lake Loop so it can get pretty toasty out there especially if there’s no wind. Therefore, we will pick and choose the days we fish it. During the last trip we were seeing and getting a few more Browns mostly with Stimulators of various sizes and colors casting upstream Hopper style or swinging and stripping Caddis patterns downstream. The flow in the Upper varies depending on how much water LADWP is sending from Grant Lake via a tunnel system. Now it’s at 78cfs dropping from about 120cfs a week ago so we’ll see if this results in any water temperature rise along with the higher summer heat. We’re hopeful, like the past couple years, we see a run of bigger browns come up sometime this month.
GULL AND JUNE LAKES: We have not fished Gull since May as it was slow then but should be picking up due to recent stockings prior to the July 4th weekend and will get to it soon. It’s been slow at June also, but we expect it to improve this month. We fish floating baits including Powerbait, Mice Tails and Garlic Pinch Crawlers with Salmon Peach Powerbait working the best at June. With the hotter weather and rising water temps we fish deeper, cooler water in July and August. Both lakes really do depend on consistent stocking by CDFW which so far this season has been sporadic.
BACKCOUNTRY FISHING: July, with its warmer weather, is when we spend more time in the backcountry where it’s cooler primarily at Mine Creek, Tioga Pass and Upper Rock Creek above mosquito flats in little lakes valley. Since May with each trip the fish have become increasingly more active and therefore the fishing is improving. We fly fish these spots with Caddis patterns and Black Ants getting most of our grabs while stripping line in and the fly is slightly under water. Both locations offer not only creek fishing but lakes and ponds too with Mine holding small Brooks only and Rock with Brooks, Browns, and Rainbows. On a typical trip to both spots we hike upstream about an hour and fish back down towards the trailheads.
Good luck on your next fishing adventure. I hope to see you on the waters soon. If you get a picture of your catch. Send it to editor@carsonnow.org. Good fishin’ and tight lines.
