Hello fellow anglers. Renee and I just returned from a long camp trip to the Sierra. Now let me tell you, it started off with problems and continued for a week. Before we left, the pigtail on one of the propane tanks broke and had to replace it. Sounds easy, right? We called every RV store within a 20 mile radius and no one had any parts. Believe it or not, I found a new one at Walmart.
So off we go to Alpine County, Calif. The first night the barbecue would not start. Again, another propane line gone bad. We looked all over the Carson River Resort and the Town of Markleeville for a tall screw bottle of propane. Of course the short green bottles would not fit on our barbecue. That took a couple days. But we were treated to a nice 15 bean pork dinner at the CRR complements of Phil and Connie.
A couple days later, I decided to drive back into town and I found the last 2 blue bottles at Tractor supply in Minden. Oh happy days we can now barbecue dinner. But lets not stop there. The water pump in the trailer kept acting up and could not get much water through the lines. I checked every valve and could not figure it out. until the second to the last day. I took out the brand new water filter that I had just purchased and installed, and that was the culprit. A brand new plugged up water filter. So that night we had our good friends Dave Fuentes and his wife Karen up for a big barbecue with music around the campfire.
I must tell you It was a great trip, not perfect, but we caught plenty of fish and met some nice people at the Carson River Resort. If you have never been there, they offer cabin rentals, RV spots with full hookups, tent camping right on the river, or you can choose the stargaze campground atop of the hill. All of this within a short walk from the East Carson River. We not only fished the Carson River, but as you will see in this report. We got out and fished a few other places within Alpine County.
LAKE TAHOE: Fishing has been getting better as the temperatures drop. The mackinaw bite has picked up around the camp Rich are to Dollar Point. Many anglers have been doing well on at the Tahoe shelf with a dodger and a live minnow. For the Kokanee they typically school up in the deeper holes by Taylor Creek getting ready to spawn. Vertical jigging with a blue/white or pink/white jig is most productive. Some have trolled with a wedding ring behind a set of small blades. For more information go to Rubyjeancharters.com.
TOPAZ LAKE: Renee and I fished the lake just before our trip and caught 18 nice trout up to 14 inches. The lake level has dropped a little. We fished the whole lake and could see fish every where. I usually throw flies and have great luck on the lake. This trip, nada! Meaning not a one would touch my flies. So we went to trolling perch and fire tiger Rapalas. We had the best luck in 15 to 30 feet of water on the north end of the lake. After a nice day of fishing, we came in and gues who was at the dock? The NDOW planting some catchable and some very nice looking triploid strain of rainbow trout. Guess Ill have to go back again this weekend for the bigger ones.
CAPLES LAKE: The water level is getting very low and the fishing has been slow as well. Some anglers have done good by the spillway with inflated nightcrawlers. The public launch ramp will stay open through mid October or until the weather changes. The resort/marina is still open for boat launching and boat rental until the weather changes. Usually mid October. The restaurant will be open until the 10th. Renee and I trolled the lake for a few hours recently with very little success. I personally will wait for ice fishing season. For more information go to capleslakeresort.com.
WOODS LAKE: I have not had any reports and I have not fished the lake recently. They usually close the campground and the main gate in mid October when the weather changes.
RED LAKE: Fishing has been fair for anglers shore fishing by the dam with night crawlers or salmon eggs.
INDIAN CREEK RESERVOIR: Renee and I fished the lake for a couple hours last week. The lake is full of weeds and coots. We did find a place to cast out over the weed beds and have some luck. The trout are very clean and bright. I saw a couple other anglers that were there longer than we were and they had caught 5 nice rainbows 12 to 14 inches long. Red power eggs or rainbow Powerbait with a long leader. Lures will not work right now. But if you got out in a kayak or float tube and threw some flies. You would have a good day. The water level has dropped a lot, so the boat ramp is only available to tubers and kayakers.
EAST FORK CARSON RIVER ALPINE COUNTY: My first two casts with a yellow panther martin spinner, prompted two nice fat rainbows to follow it in. But that was the last fish to look at my lures. I moved to the faster waters with a micro split shot and a half a threaded crawler and could not keep the fish off the hook. I did catch a lot, but nothing to brag about. All of my fish were released unharmed. A few other anglers had that luck. I saw a few come into the resort in the 2 to 5 pound range. all on a night crawler. You will have to move around to find the fish as I did. They are strung out along the river. But it is worth the walk, and sometimes a climb. For more information call the Carson River Resort at 530-694-2229. They are open all year.
WEST FORK CARSON RIVER ALPINE COUNTY: The best areas to fish are either in the middle of Hope Valley or down in Woodfords Canyon. Here again night crawlers were the ticket. Now don’t forget your camera. You do not want to miss seeing Hope Valley in all its splendor when the full fall colors hit. And they are almost there.
BRIDGEPORT RESERVOIR: The marina is now closed for the season due to low waters. You can still launch by the dam at the bathtub. But do use caution and there is some slick sandy areas. Trollers have done good to fair using Rapalas or flashers and a crawler. or as I do, just a threaded whole night crawler on lead core or a weighted line. Shore fishing has been slow lately. But as the weather cools down, the bite should pick up. That’s when the big ones come into feed.
Here’s an interesting tid bit we use, amongst other baits, while fishing Gull and June Lakes Berkeley’s FLOATING 2” Garlic Pinched Crawlers. They also make an identical non-floating, not garlic version. For us floating is critical as the bait must be above the lake bottom and any weeds. The packaging is almost the same except the floating garlic label has an image of a whole garlic and the word floating on the label or lid. Keep an eye out as they often get mixed together on retailers shelves.
UPPER OWENS RIVER ABOVE BENTON CROSSING: We have seen a few big Rainbows and remain hopeful that more are on the way along with big Browns like last year. The last two trips have yielded two 20-inch Rainbows each time and both times one on a Yellow Spot Nymph and one on a Black Bugger. Our approach has been working upstream in the morning with the nymph catching one and spotting a few others then about mid-day turn around and fish downstream with the bugger getting one of those we spotted on the way up while covering about a mile of water. We’ll stick with this for now then add some other techniques and fly patterns as more fish arrive.
GULL AND JUNE LAKES: Please refer to the previous reports regarding the baits we employ. The State did stock June Lake this week so we’re eager to see how we do during our trips there next week. Last week the “Bunch-O-Nuts” were here for two days of fishing on Gull and June Lakes. We worked together 30 to 50 years ago building residential projects throughout SoCal. So, fall is a wonderful time to be in “The Loop” regardless of how the fishing is.
BACKCOUNTRY: We have not fished our two favorite locations for awhile now but you can expect it to be excellent through October. At Mine Creek, this is the time when many of the Brookies move into the Creek to spawn so we generally focus on that along with the lakes and ponds.
I would like to remind all anglers. If you plan on releasing your catch. Learn how to do it the right way. I saw to many small dead fish in the river this last week. If they are bleeding, they are yours. Don’t throw a fish back just because its to small and it might ruin your daily limit. If you can’t do it the right way. Use a barbless hook.
Good luck on your next fishing trip. I hope to see you one the waters soon. If you get a photo of your catch, send it to editor@carsonnow.org. Good fishin’ and tight lines.
