BISHOP, CALIF. AREA: Gary Olson of the Bishop Creek Resorts (760-873-4484):
Intake No. 2: Was stocked heavily this week and the fishing was great. Power Bait worked wonders as well as nightcrawlers or an olive Woolly Bugger behind a bobber.
North Lake: Remained a great fishery this week. Red Power Bait was great along with the silver/blue Kastmaster.
South Lake: Fishing has been great with most lures with a red color. The red/gold Thomas Buoyant has been king with Kastmasters coming in a close second. Bait fishing has been very good with fluorescent red Power Bait being the best. Trolling good with a threaded nightcrawlers or a rainbow trout Countdown Rapala lure.
Bishop Creek: Is good with a chunk of worm or Pautzke's Salmon eggs. Red seems to be working best.
BISHOP, CALIF. AREA:
Sabrina Lake: Rick and Patti Apted of the Lake Sabrina Boat Landing (760-873-7425): First things first: "THANK YOU SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON" for the load of Alpers on Monday, just in time for the holiday weekend and what a surprise! DF&G also loaded the lake on Monday. Fishing this week got better with most anglers getting some fish, and Ryan Robar from North Hills getting a lunker and I mean LUNKER: 8.25 pounds on rainbow Power Bait. The Dingleberry Inlet was once again the hot inlet especially when using nightcrawlers or Power Bait. Flasher and a worm were being trolled around the lake behind those on the move. Those wanting to get a bit deeper, lead-corers were putting out 5 colors and using Thomas Buoyants Ð red/gold being the most popular. Those enjoying a day in a boat were seen using nightcrawlers and Power Bait while drifting around the lake. Shore anglers were also using nightcrawlers and Power Bait along with Salmon eggs. One boat had an Alpers on board in an ice chest, the ice chest went over, alas, no more Alpers. The lake still has not spilled, but boy are we close ~ maybe a foot or so. The smoke sort of comes and goes Ð depending on which way the wind is blowing, which it blew on 4th of July.
BLUE LAKES AREA, CALIF: Dave Kirby of the Woodfords Station (530-694-2930): The fishing was OK, nothing special and not quite as good as we would like to see.
BRIDGEPORT RESERVOIR, CALIF: Randy Picton (760-932-7001): Nightcrawlers and or floating bait remain the best baits as the fishing has gone to very good to excellent for the majority of anglers this past week. Rainbow and Rocky Point, the "Ledge" and just off Paradise are the best areas for the bait fishers. Some reports out of Buckeye Bay include nice trout and really nice perch around the springs. Trolling small flashers with nightcrawlers, Rapalas, Kastmasters or Buoyants is producing good results early and late in the day in the deeper waters towards the dam. No fly reports despite huge hatches of every bug in the book! Water levels remain steady with no problems launching at the marina or the bath tub.
CAPLES LAKE, CALIF: Dave Kirby reported fishing was OK this past week, mostly for shore fishermen at the dam with worms.
CARSON RIVERS, CALIF:
East Carson River:
Todd Sodaro and Chad Machado of the Carson River Resort (877-694-2229): The water and the fishing are both picture perfect. The fishing is incredible right now. The State planted on Monday with 2,000 rainbows in the East and West Carson Rivers. The County planted here, last Wednesday (July 2), and the average fish was in the 3-5 pound range. Jim Santo of Stockton caught a 9-pounder. He and his girl friend, Melissa, caught 18 fish in two days. Those fish ran from 4 pounds to nine pounds, and will be smoked. Jake Riggs, age 8, of Sacramento caught his first-ever limit of rainbows. Jim Pearse of Alameda caught a 6-pounder on a black Bird's nest.
West Carson River: Dave Kirby reported it was planted for the holiday and lots of fish were caught from that plant. Some nice 4-5 pounders on worms.
FRENCHMAN RESERVOIR, CALIF: Wiggin's Trading Post at Chilcoot, Calif. (530-993-4683): It was a very busy place 4th of July weekend. The best fishing is early morning or just before sunset. Limits of rainbow trout were caught at the dam on Rainbow Glitter Power Bait. One fisherman reported catching fish "all around the lake" with nightcrawlers and green marshmallows. Trollers: Go at least 25 feet down with nightcrawlers and flashers. Bank fishermen need to keep the bait off the bottom. Go deep.
INDIAN CREEK RESERVOIR, CALIF: Dave Kirby of the Woodfords Station (530-694-2930): Fly fishermen report good fishing in float tubes, between the boat ramp and the dam. They are using dry flies after the sun goes off the water.
Summit Lake (above Indian Creek Reservoir): Was planted and the water is getting warm.
LAHONTAN RESERVOIR, NEV: While trolling in "The Narrows" on Tuesday morning, Norm Budden, Don Hettrick and Don Quilici caught several hundred, small-sized White Bass on many different types and colors of lures. Marty Martinez did not catch any fish.
NORTH POND (on the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area): Elmer Bull reported that some people were camping, even though there is no shade and the weather was hot, hot, hot. They caught some fish with rubber worms, spinner baits and top-water baits.
RED LAKE, CALIF: Dave Kirby: Slow. Not rated very high for fishing success. The fishermen are hardly catching any fish.
SACRAMENTO RIVER, CALIF: Dave Jacobs (Professional Guide Service) (800-355-3113):
Rainbow Trout: Fishing for wild rainbow trout from Redding downstream below Anderson has been great with multiple hook-ups for trout guides both on conventional spin and fly gear. River releases from Keswick dam near Redding have stabilized to 13,000 CFS with no scheduled changes at this time. Trout guides are reporting great fishing for wild rainbow trout 1-3 pounds with the occasional big trout of 4 plus pounds, from Redding downstream near Red Bluff. Depending on which section of river you fish will determine which baits are best. Many rainbow trout have been over 16 inches with some in the twenty plus inch class. 20 plus Sacramento river rainbow trout hook-ups a day a real possibility this time of year. Boats cannot pass the Cypress bridge construction in Redding from 7,000 CFS and up. Side drifting small Glo Bugs in various egg color combos and/or live cricket or nightcrawlers with a Quickie Puffball have worked well. Back trolling small Hot Shot 50's or small K-4/K-5 Kwikfish in various color combos can also be very effective.
Shad: American shad are still in the upper reaches of the river below Red Bluff, with best fishing from Red Bluff downstream below Chico. Shad fishing has been a bit slower for anglers who find and follow the schools of shad with very little fishing pressure this past week. Shad guides have reported side drifting small jigs to be best technique on conventional gear. 1/32, 1/16 and 1/8 ounce weighted jigs with a one or two inch curly tailed grub have been top producers.
LAKE TAHOE - North Shore: Gene St. Denis of Blue Ribbon Charters at South Lake Tahoe, Calif. (530-544-6552): Fishing has been pretty darn good for Mackinaw. We have been trolling 80-180 feet deep. We locate the fish on the fish finder and then troll in a "Figure Eight" pattern, bouncing the bottom. I've been trolling at Cal/Neva Point and at Dollar Point. Today (Wednesday), Tim Wereel of Santa Anna, Calif., caught a 17 pound Mack on Kokanee-colored Trophy Stick lure, and his wife, Cecilia, caught an 8 pounder. We've been catching 8-11 pounders on every trip.
LAKE TAHOE - South Shore: Gene St. Denis: The Mackinaw are stuffed full of shrimp, crawdads and small Kokanee salmon. You've got to work hard to catch a fish. I've been fishing at Ski Run Shelf, Tahoe Keys and Camp Richardson. We are catching 1-9 fish (2-6 pounds). Trolling 50-250 feet deep with Trophy Stick lures and A/C plugs.
LAKE TAHOE - East Shore: Gene St. Denis: Shore fishing has been very slow for fishing.
TOPAZ LAKE: Chuck and Linda Fields at the Topaz Lake Marina (775-266-3550): A very nice weekend for campers, swimmers, water skiers and jet skis. There were no fishermen that we saw. The water is now 70 degrees and the fish are right on the bottom and staying there.
UPPER TWIN LAKE, CALIF: Annett's Mono Village (760-932-7071): David Brush from Simi Valley used red Power Eggs for his 5-pound, 2-ounce rainbow. Orange twist Power Bait worked for Keith Beaulac of La Puente for his 4-pound rainbow. A 4-pound, 120 ounce rainbow was caught by Jeff Corlex of La Mirada using a nightcrawler.
VIRGINIA LAKES, CALIF: Carolyn Webb of the Virginia Lakes Resort: Warm weather has definitely sunk it's teeth into the Sierra this past week, with terrific weather and blue skies. DFG planted some nice trout for the holiday week and everyone enjoyed their time on the water. Michal Nadenicek of Virginia Lakes caught a nice 3-pound, 10-ounce Alpers on a lure, Ed Law of Carson City taking a 2 pound, 6-ounce Alpers on worm. Also, Blake Stratford of Redwood City caught a 3-pound, 10-ounce Alpers on a Kastmaster. The rest of the Alpers are sitting in cooler water waiting for their favorite munchy to bump their nose for a rise. Most of the Alpers are still out there cooling their heels. Chartreuse Power Bait, baby night crawlers and Zeke's rainbow were the top contenders for taking limits most of the week. Kastmasters, gold/red, 1/4 oz Hot Shots and some small Rapalas also did a excellent job of putting fish on the stringer. Flycasters mostly used streamers in the morning when the water was calm, and small dries toward the later part of the day. Some nymphs were also working, but you would need a seine to determine which "bug" to imitate. Probably the bead head soft hackle "anything" with a grayish fly/bubble rig did well on mosquitoes, gray hackle yellow, Adams female, and the VLR Callibaetis cripple. Things will definitely slow down this coming week, as we are expecting a slight drop in the temperature, and possibly some showers, but you know how weather forecasters predict. You know it will happen, but it is the WHEN that always gets in the way.