Mac the Naw: Fall colors and lots of fish opportunities through the end of October

Hello fellow anglers, this time of year is great to get out and enjoy fishing a river with the fall colors in bloom. The trees and aspen "quakies" in Alpine County have now peaked. Another place to enjoy the fall colors would be at Taylor Creek on Emerald Bay Road near South Lake Tahoe.

The kokanee salmon have been coming up to spawn for the last week or so, I would recommend to leave your fishing rig at home while visiting Taylor Creek. The fishing season is closed on all streams leading into Lake Tahoe. But, the Carson Rivers will remain open until Nov. 15.

CAPLES LAKE: End of season nears as Caples Resort will be closing for the year this week. The EID boat launch is usually open until the end of October, weather pending. The fishing has been very good for shore anglers using night crawlers by the dam area or by the spillway. Salmon eggs or kastmaster lures have been far by Woods Creek.

RED LAKE: Fishing has been slow to fair. Small rainbows and an occasional cutthroat. Gold kastmasters or salmon eggs have be most productive. But remember, this lake can turn off as fast as it comes on.

BLUE LAKES: The lower lake level is way down. Fishing has been slow. The upper lake has been more productive. Report of two anglers using powerbait and night crawlers caught a nice stringer of good sized rainbows last week. The road is subject to closures and any time. the upper lake campground is closed but the lower lake as of this week was still open for use.

INDIAN CREEK RESERVOIR: The water level is down and the weed are still plenty. With a couple good freezes the lake should turn over and clear out most of the weed action. The lake was planted by Alpine County last week with 1,800 pounds of large rainbow trout. Salmon peach or green power bait has been most productive. The campground and boat launch is closed for the season. The unimproved launch is open by the dam area.

WEST CARSON RIVER CALIFORNIA SIDE: The water level is low and the fishing has been slow. You need to do some walking into those secluded pools and stretches of moving water. Small silver spinners or salmon eggs are your best approach.

EAST FORK CARSON RIVER CALIFORNIA SIDE: The river is running low but very fishable. Many reports of limits of rainbows from 1 to 5 pounds have been coming out. rainbow or garlic Powerbait has been most productive. Small Panther Martin spinners or Thomas Bouyany spoons have also been productive. Alpine County planted the river last week with 1,800 pounds of 3 to 8 pound rainbows. And you can bet there are larger fish in there. For more information stop by the Creekside Lodge.

HEENAN LAKE: The lake is open until the last full weekend of October. Fishing has been very good for anglers throwing kastmasters in a silver color. Check rules and regulations before fishing this area. Catch and release only with barbless hooks.

TOPAZ LAKE: Closed for the season, will reopen on Jan. 1, 2019.

CARSON RIVER NEVADA SIDE: fishing is open all year long. The NDOW planted the river with catchable rainbow trout last week in the Carson City area. My advise is to fish over by the Deer Run road and the Pinion Hills road bridge area and down stream.

PYRAMID LAKE: Fishing has been rated very good with anglers reporting average cutthroat in the 16 to 26 inch range. There have been a lot of fish caught in the 4 to 10 pound range as well. Boaters have been using black or purple jigs. Shoe angler have been using green stripped spoons on the drop offs.

JUNE LAKE AREA, SILVER LAKE: Silver Lake Resort 760-648-7525. Wow! I'm looking at the Resort's big fish book seeing oodles of Oregon Rainbows from 2 to 6 plus-pounds being caught from shore and boat using the typical baits and lures. Why?

Silver Lake Resort has had plants of these big fish going all the way back to last year including last week and another next week. The bite at Silver should remain great through the end of the season. Dig this: Steve from Anaheim weighed in a 15 pound-plus stringer.

Really dig this: Debra from Campo brought in a 27 pound-plus stringer including one tipping the scale at seven pounds, six ounces. Wow again. Remember, when fishing floating baits here use at least 5' of leader. I go with this length in all The Loop lakes. The Resort will be closing Oct. 15 however the lake will remain accessible including the Forest Service campground and boat ramp.

RUSH CREEK: A few migratory Browns have been spotted coming up out of Grant Lake and down from Silver. These are fish preparing to spawn and numbers should increase deeper into Fall. Please catch and release as they are the future of the fishery. Look for the Oregon Rainbows also wandering down from Silver Lake.

GRANT LAKE: Grant Lake Marina-no phone. Marina, campground, and boat ramp are closing as of Oct. 7. Shoreline will still be accessible via numerous dirt roads. Best area to target is upper portion of lake between the narrows and Rush Creek inlet. Go with the baits, lures, and flies suggested from shore or tubes, kayaks, etc.

JUNE LAKE: Big Rock Resort 760-648-7717 and June Lake Marina 760-648-7726. Both due to remain open through last weekend of October. The Marina, as they have all season, is continuing to release trophy size Oregon Rainbows from their pens.

This season has been the best so far for "Wild" Cutthroats up to 5 pounds. The most successful method for both has been trolling in the 7 to 9 color lead core range. This depth may decrease as the water surface temp cools this time of year. A tip from an experienced troller: Drag your lure a few feet above where the locating device indicates the fish depth. Trout generally see and feed up. Fishing the go to baits have been working from boats in deeper water. Looks like fishing from shore is best at the south end.

GULL LAKE: Gull Lake Marina 760-648-7539. Marina scheduled to be open till Oct. 31 weather permitting. William there is saying catching has been slow but should improve after they drop a load of those Oregon rainbows on the 5th and Fall conditions kick in.

BACK COUNTRY: Fall is an awesome time to visit the local back country lakes and creeks what with the changing colors and fish aggressively feeding before winter. I'm generally tossing flies and, or small lures up there. Reachable on a day hike are Parker Lake and Creek, Little Walker Lake, Upper Rush Creek, and Fern, Agnew, and Gem Lakes.
Good luck on your next fishing adventure. Get out to see the fall colors.

If you have a question or a report for our local area, call the Naw line at 775-267-9722. Have a photo of your catch? Send it to jeff@carsonnow.org. Good fishin' and tight lines.