ALMANOR LAKE, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): A variety of areas are producing nice brown trout, rainbows and a few salmon. Lake Cove is still holding some fish, all about 16-19 inches. A nice rainbow over 4 pounds, measuring 22.5 inches was taken in the same area. Try a gold Cripplure or 1/4-once red and gold Speedy Shiners.
BISHOP, CALIF. AREA: Gary Olson of the Bishop Creek Resorts (760-873-4484):
Intake No. 2: Remains great with lots of limits of DFG stockers coming out. Olive Matukas behind a bobber have been great. Also, the chunky cheese Power Bait.
North Lake: Has been super with chunky cheese Power Bait or nightcrawlers. Some action with flies but mostly with Power Bait. A 5-pound, 7-ounce rainbow on Power Bait.
South Lake: Remains very good for fishing with DFG and Alpers stocking weekly. Trolling with small trout colored Rapalas has been great. Casting with Thomas Buoyants or Kastmasters has also been very good. A 5-pound, 11-ounce rainbow on Power Bait.
Bishop Creek: Still at a perfect level for fishing. Salmon eggs have been super with nightcrawlers doing very well, also.
BISHOP, CALIF. AREA:
Sabrina Lake: Rick and Patti Apted of the Lake Sabrina Boat Landing (760-873-7425): Fishing slowed a bit this week. Rick thinks it may be to the warm temperatures we've been having and the fish have gone deep. Don't think it's a full moon - no thunder-boomers this past week. Someone came in and thought it could have been the earthquake in Chino Hills last Tuesday. Things are a tad different this week in the "What's workin' where" scenarios. Fishing off the Little George Inlet was the hot spot this past week with Power Bait and nightcrawlers. Many anglers spent a quiet day with family and friends drifting the lake over the natural shoreline between the two natural lakes or by the rock piles with Power Bait and nightcrawlers. Trolling has been kind of slow, but if you're fishing from shore, you need to get into the deeper water with nightcrawlers, Salmon eggs, or Power Bait. DFG replenished the lake on Thursday. Remember your sunscreen, dark glasses and bug juice as we still have a few of those pesky skeeters around. ALWAYS PACK A JACKET! The Paiute Palace and Adopt-a-Creek is sponsoring the "CASH OF THE DAY" where the waters of INTAKE II, NORTH LAKE and the BISHOP CANYON CREEKS will be stocked with tagged fish redeemable at the Nite Palace for CASH. No registration required - just fishin' and catchin'.
BLUE LAKES AREA, CALIF: Dave Kirby of the Woodfords Station (530-694-2930): Was OK this last weekend, but nothing to write home about. Advise fishing early or late as the fish are staying deep in the middle of the day. Catching some fish at Upper Blue.
BRIDGEPORT RESERVOIR, CALIF: Randy Picton (760-932-7001): The fishing couldn't be more consistent with the action remaining very good to excellent for most anglers. Best action is with nightcrawlers or floating bait, fished 2-4 feet off of the bottom off of Rainbow or Rocky Points towards the middle of the lake, or in close to Paradise and the "Narrows".
Try trolling early and late in the day in the clear water from Paradise to the dam with Rapalas or nightcrawlers.
Fly fishers report very good fun using Perch streamers and Damsel patterns or indicator/Nymph techniques, as well as our old friends San Juan worms. Very active right now.
CAPLES LAKE, CALIF: The water is being drawn down at the present time to replace two water gates in the dam.
CARSON RIVERS, CALIF: West Carson River: Dave Kirby reported the water is extremely low and clear and challenging. A few fish now and then. You need to work the deeper holes.
DAVIS LAKE, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): Anglers still catching quality rainbows here, but the bite has slowed some. Shore fishing was reportedly best at Mallard Cove and the South tip of Honker Cove point. Try nightcrawlers or Power Bait. Trolling action reported productive at 17 feet; use downriggers or three colors of leadcore line to get down there. Red Head Wee Dick Nites have been trollers' top lures. The Damsel hatch has about run its course, but there is a morning Midge hatch and a moderate late-morning Blood Midge hatch now.
FEATHER RIVER, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): It's strictly an early morning bite, and it's all over by 10 a.m. at the latest, but there was still some decent Steelhead activity in the Low Flow Section. While most fish were under 18 inches, there were a few more adults up to 6 pounds showing up. Small Baetis-imitating Nymphs provided most of the action. A few striped bass were still being caught below Shanghai Bend, down to the Bear River, but throwing small Rapalas toward deadfalls provided better action in the same section of river.
FRENCHMAN RESERVOIR, CALIF: Wiggin's Trading Post at Chilcoot, Calif. (530-993-4683): Has been overflowing with campers and fishermen every weekend. Fishing has slowed some but most everyone is catching 1 or 2. Catfish are plentiful all over. Even some of the trollers are catching them. Troll deep or cast from shore to deep water. Keep your bait off the bottom.
FRENCHMAN RESERVOIR, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): Fishing not hot, but worth the effort. Power Bait in Chartreuse and rainbow-glitter colors has been working for bank fishers. Trollers have been going down fairly deep with 4 or 5 colors of lead-core line trolling nightcrawlers behind silver dodgers. Lots of catfish reported caught in the bays off Turkey and Lunker points. Lake received plant of catchable rainbows.
INDIAN CREEK RESERVOIR, CALIF: Dave Kirby of the Woodfords Station (530-694-2930): It is fairly quiet. They are waiting for an aerator to be installed before the winter freeze.
LAHONTAN RESERVOIR, NEV: Brian Sproull of Carson City was fishing from shore near the dam with his wife Cheryl on Sunday morning when he hit the jackpot. He caught a 12-pound, 9-ounce Wiper with a worm on 6-pound test line. Between the two of them, they caught about 20 Wipers plus lots of Carp and Catfish.
NORTH POND (on the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area): You've got to fish super early. My son, a friend of his and I went fishing last Friday morning at 5:45 a.m. We were using Spinner Baits and caught 6 bass that were over 14 inches and another 6 under 14 inches, The action stopped at about 8 a.m.
RAYMOND LAKE, CALIF: Dave Kirby reported that a fly fisherman backpacked in there and fished in the evening and early morning. He caught three Golden Trout, the largest was about 14 inches.
SACRAMENTO RIVER, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): Trout fishing slowed because of dropping flows and warmer water. Fish early and high, around Dunsmuir.
SHASTA LAKE, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): Still smoky but bass fishing has been fair, though the smaller fish were easier to find than the larger ones. Reaction baits and swimbaits, targeting suspended fish have been necessary to find bass off main body points, out to 35 feet. The lake is still dropping about a 1/2 foot a day so watch for things in the water. Centimudi, Jones Valley, Packers Bay, and Bridge Bay and Lakeshore, all still had alternate ramps in.
STAMPEDE RESERVOIR, CALIF: Norm Budden of Carson City reported he got skunked on Saturday between 8 a.m., when he began fishing, and 10 a.m. when he got blow off the water by the wind. Marty Martinez also did not catch any fish.
LAKE TAHOE - North Shore: Gene St. Denis of Blue Ribbon Charters at South Lake Tahoe, Calif. (530-544-6552): Fishing has been very tough to good for Mackinaw, because of the full moon. We have been trolling 100-300 feet deep. We locate the fish on the fish finder and then troll Dodgers and a live minnow in a "Figure Eight" pattern, bouncing the bottom. I've been trolling at Cal/Neva Point and at the Tahoe City Shelf.
LAKE TAHOE " South Shore: Gene St. Denis: I've been fishing at Ski Run Shelf. Trolling 50-250 feet deep with Trophy Stick lures.
UPPER TWIN LAKE, CALIF: Annett's Mono Village (760-932-7071): A 3-pound 14-ounce rainbow on a trolled Kastmaster, a 3-pound, 3-ounce rainbow on Pautzke green eggs and a 2.75 pound brown on an orange Rapala lure.
VIRGINIA LAKES, CALIF: Carolyn Webb of the Virginia Lakes Resort: The heat is on in the Eastern Sierra and no predicted cooling slated for the near future. Fire season is still on. The Mariposa fire filled the valley leaving only a 1/2 mile
visibility up to around 9000 feet. I hiked the Pine Creek trail last Monday and got skunked at 1st and 2nd lakes, but my fellow hikers did well on worms at the inlet. This is a brutal uphill climb with plenty of bugs for the "annoy-able". Yes, anything that bites, will bite, so look into stock options for "DEET", and dump your fuel stocks.
Fishing has been doing great, catching even better with a few slow hours daily due to the high temps, so you'll find the fish in deeper water mid-day and closer to the surface early and late afternoon. Worms and power worms, crickets, meal worms and grubs will get you into some nice fish. Inflate your nightcrawlers and add a pinch of Power Bait for the gourmet trout, and of course, buoyancy.
The best lures are the new standard "Buoyant Red/Gold" for most of the summer and it's not about to change. Second place is always the Kastmaster gold prism or blue/silver. Surprisingly, No. 502 Super Dupers have taken third place, as they usually work best in the backcountry.
Fly tuggers are using Woolly Buggers, Matukas (olive) and Doc's Twin Lakes Specials. Fly casters are using Nymphs and Midges of all sizes and colors, come prepared.
Jim Billings of Lake Arrowhead caught a 3 LB 10 oz on an Olive Matuka on the 30th, Chuck and Barbara Singer of Lakeview Terrace caught a 3 LB 12 oz and 5 LB 4 oz on worms, and early on the 2nd, Chris Halterman of Lake Elsinore caught a 4 LB 2 oz Alpers on his hand-tied Woolly Bugger. Don Hosokawa of Huntington Beach caught a 2 LB 9 oz on a worm.
Backcountry angling is doing well with worms for the am catch and small dry flies (Griffith's Gnats, Mosquitoes, Adams, Martinez and Bivisibles) for the evening bite. Again, BRING DEET, you'll need it.
WILDHORSE RESERVOIR, NEV: Dennis Dunn at the Wild Horse Resort (775) 758-6472: Perch and trout are still on the menu. Shore fishermen fish the deeper coves for trout. Perch seem to have moved to Hendrick's Cove.