By Don Quilici
This my annual reminder that many nearby California waters will close to
fishing on November 15…that’s this coming Tuesday.
That’s only six days from now, so if you want to fish any of them, you better
hustle because you are running out of time.
Those waters will not re-open until the last Saturday in April next year
(April 28, 2012), and that is a long time to wait to wet your line.
Here is a partial list of some of the nearby waters that will be closing:
Alpine County:
The East Carson River (with the exception of the stretch from Hangman’s
Bridge downstream to the California/Nevada state line), the West Carson
River, Markleeville Creek, Red Creek, Silver Creek and Wolf Creek.
The Bridgeport Area:
Bridgeport Reservoir, Hunewill Pond, Kirman Lake, Lundy Lake, Robinson
Creek, Upper and Lower Twin Lakes, the Virginia Lakes area, the West
Walker River and the Little Walker River.
The June Lake Loop:
Grant Lake, Gull Lake, June Lake and Silver Lake, plus Rush Creek.
Mammoth-Bishop Area:
Convict Lake, Convict Creek, Crowley Lake, Intake II, Mammoth Lakes
Basin, North Lake, Sabrina Lake, South Lake and Weir Pond.
The Eastern Sierra Backcountry:
East Lake, Fremont Lake, Gilman Lake, Green Lake, Upper and Lower
Hoover Lakes, Lane Lake, Leavitt Lake, Nutter Lake, Poore Lake, Roosevelt
Lake, Saddlebag, Secret Lake, Summit Lake, Trumbull and West Lake, to
name just a few of many hundreds.
The Good News:
However don’t fret about those seasonal closures because there will still be a
whole bunch of California waters that will remain open between November
15, 2011 and the last Saturday in April, 2012. Here are some of them:
Alpine County:
The East Carson River from Hangman’s Bridge to the California/Nevada
state line, Indian Creek Reservoir, Red Lake, Caples Lake, Silver Lake, etc.
Other nearby areas:
The East Walker River from Bridgeport Reservoir to the California/Nevada
state line, Lake Tahoe, Donner Lake, Boca Reservoir, Stampede Reservoir,
Frenchman Reservoir, Davis Lake, to name just a few.
The Bad News:
During the up-coming winter months and most of the early spring, you will
need a snowmobile (where they are legal to use), snowshoes or cross country
skies to reach many of the higher elevation, backcountry waters.
And, for darn sure, if you do try to fish at any of those backcountry waters,
you had better have warm layered clothing, insulated waterproof boots,
thick wool mittens, ear muffs or wool cap, a big thermos of hot coffee or hot
chocolate, plus an ice auger to cut through the ice.
Here are several suggestions on where to fish in the next few days.
Try one or more and have fun before these waters close:
Upper and Lower Twin Lakes:
They are about 11 miles west of Bridgeport, via a paved road.
Both lakes have Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout and Kokanee Salmon.
Generally, you will catch mostly Rainbows, an occasional Brown and
maybe, even a small-sized Kokanee.
The June Lake Loop:
It is about 100 miles south of Carson City, via a combination of U.S. 395
and the June Lake Loop.
You can catch Brown, Cutthroat and Rainbow Trout.
There are all kinds of places to fish either from shore, in chest waders, in
float tubes or from a boat.
Bait fishing, spincasting, fly fishing or trolling from a boat can all be good.
The East Carson River:
About 35-40 miles south of Carson City via a combination of U.S.
395, Nevada S.R. 88, California S.R. 88 to Woodfords, and then on a
combination of California S.R. 4 and S.R. 89.
Your best bet will be to fish from Hangman’s Bridge (just out of
Markleeville) upstream to about the Monitor Pass Junction.
Red Lake:
It is past Woodfords, between Hope Valley and the foot of Kit Carson Pass,
and lies near S.R. 88.
Red Lake has Brook Trout, Cutthroat Trout and Rainbow Trout.
There is no boat ramp, so you need to fish from shore, in your chest waders,
from a float tube or with a very small car-top boat.
Your best bet will be to fish from shore in the dam area with an inflated
nightcrawler or with flies from a float tube at the far end.
Finally:
The last Saturday in April 2012 is a long time from now, so you had better
try to get in all of the fishing that you can before those waters close on
November 15.
If you do go, good luck to you and don’t forget your camera.
Bet Your Favorite Pigeon
Bet your favorite pigeon that he can’t tell you what I’ll be doing between
now and November 15.
If he grins and says, “Don and Elaine are going to be winterizing the Quilici
Cabin, which is located on a steep hillside between Portola and Davis Lake
in Northern California, because winter cold and snow can be very serious
in that part of the western world,” he could be someone who has been an
overnight, winter visitor in the past at that cabin.
