BLUE LAKES AREA, CALIF: Dave Kirby of the Woodfords Station (530-694-2930): The Blue Lakes Road is now closed for the winter. We have about 2 inches of snow here at the store (Monday morning).
CAPLES LAKE, CALIF: Dave Kirby reported that the lake is frozen over, but he does not know the thickness of the ice.
PYRAMID LAKE, NEV: Valerie at Crosby's Lodge at (775) 476-0400 reported: The weather has been cold, there was a full moon and the fishing has slowed way down.. We only had two fished weighed in last week: Debra Tallon of Reno caught a 9-pound, 12-ounce Cutt, while trolling from a boat at Hell's Kitchen. There was also a 5-pounder turned in.
PYRAMID LAKE, NEV: Andy at the Gilly Sporting Goods Store in Sparks at 358-6113: Pyramid has been slowing down for the fly fishermen, but it is picking up for the spincasters and the jiggers. Joe Winchesters of Sparks caught and released 9 on flies, including a 9-pounder, at "The Nets." There was a report of a 13-pounder caught by a troller on the north end of the lake.
PYRAMID LAKE, NEV: George Molino of the Pyramid Lake Store at (775) 476-0555 reported: The fishing has slowed down. The water is getting colder and they are not catching the quantities like in October, but that is typical for this time of the year.
Most of the trollers are at Pelican or Warrior Points. Last week, we (Pyramid Lake Charters) put 5 fish on the leader board, all the way from 5.5 pounds to 9.5 pounds. We are catching about 12-15 fish for a four-hour trip, while trolling with Apex lures.
RED LAKE, CALIF: Dave Kirby reported that an ice fisherman said that Red Lake has about 4-6 inches of ice. He fished twice last week, limiting out both times with worms.
RED LAKE CALIF: Doug Busey of Douglas County is going to have his annual ice fishing "Get Together" on Saturday, Dec. 30. It will run from about 8 a.m. to about noon, weather permitting. It is strictly informal with no derby and no prizes. He will give you tips on how to fish through the ice. If you do not have an auger, you can probably talk him into drilling your hole.
SACRAMENTO RIVER: Kirk Portocarrero of Outdoor Adventures Sport Fishing, Redding, Calif. (800-670-4448): Fishing for Kings is fair, still catching salmon, when water is clear. Over the weekend, storms have made water very muddy, we are waiting for water to clear. Looking for later this week for a break in storms, rain should bring more nice, chrome colored salmon. This is the late Fall run salmon, the salmon are beautiful and bright. All salmon being caught using Flatfish lures, T-55's.
SACRAMENTO RIVER, CALIF: Dave Jacobs/Hank Mautz (Professional Guide Service) (800-355-3113): Fishing for late fall run Kings has been very good this past week from the Barge Hole downstream near Chico.
Most salmon being caught downstream are the new late fall run Kings. Guides have been reporting 2-5 salmon per outing.
These kings are big and bright with a few over 40 pounds.
Best bets have been sardine wrapped K-15 or K-16 Kwikfish lures in silver or gold color combos. Pink and pearl color combos are also a good bet this time of year. Roe tipped with a flame colored Quickie puffball has produced a few fish in the Barge Hole area. Back-bouncing fresh sardine wrapped Kwikfish has been best bet for fishermen downstream. Big fish of the week was a 44 pound late fall King and a 37 pound King.
SHASTA LAKE, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): Trolling for trout continues to be the best bet, though cold weather hopefully also helped the bass bite. Use silver colored Hum Dingers or Cripple lures, worked 150 feet behind the boat. Spinnerbaits and swim baits will be good options for bass.
SMITH RIVER, CALIF: Kirk Portocarrero: The Smith River will produce nice winter Steelhead as we move into January. February will heat up, as that is prime time for Steelhead fishing.
SMITH RIVER, CALIF: Hank Mautz of Professional Guide Services (800) 355-3113: Steelhead fishing has been improving this past week with more Steelhead being caught than salmon in the main system. Side drifted roe and a Quickie puffball has been best bet. Anglers should call ahead for river conditions.
LAKE TAHOE - North Shore:
Gene St. Denis of Blue Ribbon Charters and Tahoe Trophy Trout at South Lake Tahoe, Calif. (530-544-6552): Fishing has been good to excellent dependent on the day. We have been trolling at 180-380 feet with silver Herring Dodger flasher blades and live minnows. I've been fishing at Cal-Neva Point, Dollar Point and Sugar Pine Point. We've been catching 3-9 fish per trip.
LAKE TAHOE - South Shore: Gene St. Denis: I've been trolling at Ski Run Shelf and Camp Richardson. We have been trolling at 180-280 feet with silver Herring Dodger flasher blades and live minnows. The jiggers are jigging in water 160-240 feet deep, with White Star jigs or Squid jigs (tipped with a live minnow) at Ski Run Mound and Camp Richardson Shelf.
WILDHORSE RESERVOIR, NEV: Dennis Dunn at the Wild Horse Resort (775) 758-6472: It's beautiful, up here. The sun is out and it is 40 degrees (Monday morning). We got 2 inches of snow over the weekend and it has been down to -15 at night. We've got 7 inches of ice. The perch fishing is slow and the trout fishing is red-hot.
Fish with small, white-colored, lead-head jigs with a plastic tail, together with a tiny piece of worm, mealworm or cocktail shrimp on the hook. Drop that combination down to the bottom, bring it up about 1-2 turns on the reel handle and slowly jig up and down.