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As I have done for many years, my last article of the current year is to present the Annual Don Q Awards for a number of different reasons.

Those reasons include such assorted things as: Outstanding, memorable, good, not so good, questionable, bad, serious, funny, dumb, head-scratching, are-you-kidding, etc.

Those annual awards are presented to all kinds of people or places or things for what has occurred throughout the year. It’s a fun way to end the year for yours truly, so without further ado, here are my 2012 winners:

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of Dec. 26.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of Dec. 19.

Below is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California, Lake Tahoe and the Sierra. This report is for the week of Dec. 12-18. We want to note a big fish caught by Eric St. Denis of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., pictured above.

Eric caught a 28-pound, 9-ounce Mackinaw trout at Lake Tahoe on Dec. 9, at 10:30 a.m. Photos courtesy of Gene St. Denis of Blue Ribbon Charters.

Being the capital city of Nevada, Carson City once again shines brighter and bucks the rest, turning the lights on Friday to not one but two Christmas trees during the kick-off of the two-day Snowflake Festival of Lights.

Perched on the State Capital steps, some 300 voices of the Carson City 5th Grade Singing Ensemble sang Christmas carols to a crowd of hundreds (if not thousands) of parents, siblings, dignitaries, retirees, state workers and locals who swelled onto Carson Street in good measure.

Carson City's annual Silver and Snowflake Festival of Lights has become so well received over the years that the 2012 festival will now run for two days. The enhanced event is tonight, Friday, Dec. 7, from 5:30-8:00 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 8, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Ice skating continues until 10 p.m.

Tonight's night's festivities begin on the capitol grounds with the state tree, a bristlecone pine, and downtown Carson City being lit along with a procession including Santa, Mrs. Claus and the 300 voices of the Carson City 5th Grade Music Students Singing Ensemble.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes an streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of Dec. 6.

Recent rainfall and clearing skies may allow areas of fog to develop across Carson City, Carson Valley and Lake Tahoe through Thursday morning.
The National Weather Service in Reno reports visibility could drop below one mile with a few areas of dense fog and visibility below 1/4 of a mile early Thursday morning. Fog will begin to burn off after 8 a.m., and may linger in a few valleys until 11 a.m.
Areas of fog could impact travel along the following routes:

It might have been raining across much of Northern California, but last week’s storm brought snow to Lake Tahoe ski resorts – more than 3.5 feet of the white stuff, making for a great ski weekend.

“You just never know how these storms are going to play out,” said Chief Marketing Officer Andy Chapman of the North Lake Tahoe Chamber/CVB/Resort Association. “But Mother Nature cooperated and we’ve got new snow on the mountains.”

Here is the fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of Nov. 29.

Carson City teens, little ones and families by the dozens turned a black Friday into a perfectly crystal clear opening day of skating at Arlington Square Ice Rink.
Kicking off its third season, the rink at corner of North Robinson and Carson Street across from the Carson Nugget has become a Carson City favorite holiday feature. By 4 p.m. more than 150 skaters had signed in as part of Family Skate Day, said Brady Roser, recreation supervisor for Arlington Square.
"There's been a lot of excitement for us to open and we're seeing it today," said Roser.

Here is the fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California, Southern Oregon and the Sierra for the week of Nov. 21 through Nov. 27.

Camp Richardson, South Lake Tahoe’s only lakefront holiday dining for under $24 is at The Beacon. Recognized for decades as a family destination, historic Camp Richardson is authentic Tahoe. It’s beachfront location, long tradition and hearty holiday menu help keep the meaning alive.

November 18 is a very significant date in the lives of several thousand hardy Alaskans. Those folks live in a unique location known as Barrow, Alaska, which is the northernmost community in the United States.
It is located in the Far North, on the edge of the Arctic Ocean, about 320 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
On November 18, the sun sets below the horizon at Barrow and it will not peek back up over the horizon until January 23 (weather permitting).
That’s more than two months without sunshine. Wow!

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of Nov. 14-21.

This my annual reminder that many California waters will close to fishing on Thursday, November 15.
That’s only a few days from now, so if you want to fish any of them, you better hustle because you are rapidly running out of time.
Those waters will not re-open until the last Saturday in April next year (April 27, 2013), and that is a long, long time to wait to wet your line.
Here is a partial list of some of the nearby waters that will be closing on November 15:

Alpine County:

With Lake Tahoe area ski lifts just days away from turning for the first time this ski and ride season, it is not too early to start planning holiday vacations, especially with the wide variety of holiday activities and great vacation packages Heavenly Mountain Resort, Northstar California and Kirkwood Mountain Resort are offering.

Carson City's annual Silver and Snowflake Festival of Lights has become so well received over the years that the 2012 festival will now run for two days. The enhanced event is Friday, Dec. 7, from 5:30-8:00 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 8, from 11:30 a.m.to 3 p.m.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This week's report is for the week of Oct. 24-30.

Elaine and I just returned from a fabulous, four-day, three-night visit to the Sierra Nevada, just west of Bishop, Calif. I highly recommend that each and every one of you duplicate our fun-filled trip and be sure to do it as soon as you can within the next two weeks.
The purpose of our visit to the mountains was two-fold:
1. To photograph the fall colors of the Quaking Aspen trees and bushes.
2. To fish for trout in some of the waters in that area.
We succeeded beyond our wildest imagination on both purposes.

Here is this week's fall fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of Oct. 3-10.

Bill Felcyn's yarn about a practical joke among buddies on an Arizona golf course that involved a harmless snake, a six-foot rattler and a karmic turn of events won him entry to play in an epic Wild West golf tournament on Oct. 2 in Northern Nevada.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of Sept. 26 through Oct. 2.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of September 19-25.

ALMANOR LAKE, CALIF:
Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500) (www.shastacascade.com) reports:

A $10,000 cash prize and a wild night full of surreal costume get-ups that are guaranteed to make more than a few heads spin returns to MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa with Lake Tahoe's legendary Halloween event, the 34th annual Freaker's Ball, Saturday, Oct. 27.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of Sept. 12-19.

Carson City's networking group We of the World, will hold its September meeting Thursday, Sept. 13, from 11:30 am. to 1 p.m. at Sassafras 318 N. Carson St., Carson City. The featured speaker is Lindsey Swanson, owner of Business R.N. Her interactive presentation is called "It's Easy to Get Everything You Want."

Here is this week's fishing report for Nevada, Northern California and Sierra area rivers, lakes and streams. Fall colors are around the corner for the Sierra and Lake Tahoe region. Enjoy the fishing while the weather is still good and don't forget to pack your sunscreen and fishing license. This report is for the week of Sept. 5-11.

ADOBE POND, CALIF:
Tom Loe of Sierra Drifters Fly Fishing Guide Service (760-935-4250) (www.sierradrifters.com) reports:

Fans of the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation’s Take Me Fishing campaign took to Facebook this summer, to participate in Nature’s Waterpark Showdown. 
Each fan was invited to help determine the top eight natural “waterparks,” or state parks, for boating and fishing in America.  They could also enter for a chance to win the grand prize: a vacation to a state park for a family of four. 

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of August 29 to Sept. 4.