Doug 'Mac the Naw' Busey's Lake Tahoe and Sierra fishing report for early April

Hello fellow anglers, I am counting the days to the California opening fishing season. On April 25, 2015 most of California lakes, streams and rivers will open for fishing. Always check your regulation book for every body of water you fish. Regulations can change and some waters do not open until later in the season.

For instance, Taylor Creek, Upper Truckee River and Trout Creek open on July 1. For those anglers headed down to Mono County, I have a few reports to share with you. James Erdman from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said, Mono County's high elevation, and numerous natural flow lakes mean that lake levels, while definitely lower than in non-drought years, remain in good shape for this year's fishing season.

Gary Jones, long time owner of Silver Lake Resort in June Lake concurs, "Silver Lake is only down about 11 inches this year and they are looking forward to good  opener and fishing season."

If you love to fish the Bridgeport Reservoir, Grant Lake Marina or the West Walker, come early this year, advises Jeff Simpson, economic development manager and staff member for the Mono County Fisheries Commission. We are stocking these locations heavily in the early part of the season, so the best time is to fish will be during the opener and in May, June and July.

Now as for the Alpine County area, The Alpine County Fish and Game will start planting the  the week before opening day. They will be stocking Silver Creek, East and West Carson rivers and Markleeville Creek with 3600 pounds of rainbow trout. The California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife are scheduled to plant the Alpine County area streams and rivers as well. The Sierra will be well stocked for this year's opening day fishing season. Make sure to plan ahead of time and call that favorite resort of yours to reserve your spot.
Now let's check out our local fishing report.

LAKE TAHOE:
Mackinaw action has been good to fair. The weather this time of year can turn on or off the fishing, day by day.
Andy Maas from Edinburgh, Scotland was fishing on one of the boats from Tahoe Sport Fishing on April 1.
"This is no April fools." Andy caught a 10 pound mackinaw while fishing near the Camp Richardson area.
Other areas to fish on Lake Tahoe are Logan Shoals, Cal/Neva point or the area known as the Tahoe Shelf off of Tahoe City. For more information call Tahoe Sport Fishing at 530-541-5448.

CAPLES LAKE:
The lake level is at the 55 foot level and should stay there respectfully through July. Anglers have been fishing at the spillway or the dam area and have been catching good rainbow trout. Most anglers have been using Power bait or nightcrawlers, while a few have thrown some Kastmaster lures. If you don't mind a hike, Woods creek area is a good spot this time of year.
A little warning, the area received 10 inches of snow with our last storm. The Caples Lake Marina and General Store have moved their opening day to May 1, 2015 due to our recent weather change. The Eldorado Irrigation District boat ramp is scheduled to open also on May 1. For more information call the Caples Lake resort at 209-258-8888.

TAYLOR CREEK, UPPER TRUCKEE RIVER, TROUT CREEK: All located on the south shore of Lake Tahoe will open to fishing on July 1,2015.

WOOD LAKE:
Road is still closed.

BLUE LAKES:
The road is open 4.5 mile in to the third gate.

WOLF CREEK, HIGHLAND LAKES, BURNSIDE LAKE, PLEASANT VALLEY, SCHNEIDER COW CAMP SILVER HILL, POOR BOY: All roads are still closed to these areas.

RED LAKE:
The lake is thawed and the area received some snow last week. Shore fishing was fair before the snow. Anglers were using small gold Kastmaster lures or night crawlers off the bottom.

INDIAN CREEK:
The campground is scheduled to be open on April 24, 2015. That can change as fast as our weather has recently.
Fishing has been rated as slow, a few anglers have ventured to the other side of the dam and have caught a couple rainbows up to 14 inches. Most anglers have been using Power bait or marshmallows. The water level is still up and the algae has started to grow. 

TOPAZ LAKE:
Renee and I ventured up a couple weeks ago. We launched our boat and trolled the lake with medium Cowbells and a quarter inch piece of worm on one line and I used a Dick Slammer on the other. We caught two rainbows over the 2 pound mark and a 13 inch rainbow. I recommend getting out there early, as the bite stopped about 11:30 am. We got off the lake a little too late and were not able weigh in our fish.

Main reason was because we found out the Mountain View BBQ in Walker, Calif., was only open until 5 pm on the weekends. If you have ever eaten there, you would know which is more important, at least to us it was.
I talked with Chuck Fields from the Topaz Marina last week. Chuck told me that he had started to put in his rental boats, but had to take them out because the water level has started to go down quickly.

The Douglas County Ramp is still open for all boats, but that can change quickly with the water level dropping each day. Good luck to all the derby entries this weekend. The drawing will be held inside the Topaz Lodge on Sunday April 12th at 7pm. 

NEVADA FISH PLANTS:
These plants have been over the last week. West Walker River, East Fork Walker River, Mitch Pond, Baily Pond, Wilson Common Pond. Good luck on your next fishing adventure.

If you get a picture of your catch send it to donquilici@hotmail.com. If you have question or a fishing report in our local fishing area, call the Naw Line at 775-267-9722. Next report will be on April 24, 2015 for an update on our opening day fishing season. Good Fishin' and tight lines.