ANTELOPE LAKE, CALIF: Norm Budden and Marty Martinez of Carson City fished there last week. Budden caught numerous Catfish, Crappie and Blue Gills with worms. Martinez got skunked, while using his new "Secret" lure. Budden drove to the lake while Martinez provided lunch (liverwurst sandwiches).
BISHOP, CALIF. AREA: Gary Olson of the Bishop Creek Resorts (760-873-4484):
Intake No. 2: Doing well with nightcrawlers and Power Bait. Most anglers did very well but reported having to work pretty hard for their fish.
North Lake: Was great this week. Excellent fishing on the far side by the pack station. A 4-pound, 7-ounce rainbow on green Power bait.
South Lake: Fishing has been very good with lots of limits coming out with nightcrawlers and gold Kastmasters. The red/gold Thomas Buoyant has been a killer. Trolling has been doing very well by the rockslide and through Boiler Cove with red/dot frog Needlefish lures or just a threaded nightcrawler.
Bishop Creek: Fishing has been pretty good. Panther/Martins and small Kastmasters have been very good. Lots of action with red label Pautzke's.
BISHOP, CALIF. AREA:
Sabrina Lake: Rick and Patti Apted of the Lake Sabrina Boat Landing (760-873-7425): Most productive again were the inlets, with the Dingleberry Inlet (back right-hand corner) being the most beneficial with nightcrawlers and Power Bait, although don't discount the Little George (back left-hand corner) when you just can't get into the Dingleberry. Some of the trollers claimed a few limits by dragging an olive Woolly Bugger or olive Matuka fly through the water. Those communing with nature and the mosquitoes on shore were feeding the fish with Power Bait. Berkeley has come out with a new Gulp Power Bait (CHUNKY CHEESE), it's expensive, but boy, is it getting results. Maybe it's just because it's new and the fish are bored with everything else. DF&G stocked Tuesday. Dan Doran of Bishop nabbed his second big fish in as many weeks: A 3-pounder on a Power Worm. Austin Phillips of Yorba Linda plucked a 4.5 pounder out of the lake on green Power Bait. Eamon O'Connor of Los Angeles yanked out a 3-pounder also on Power Bait. Not to be outdone, Sean Bozigan of Palmdale walked off with the BIG FISH of the week with a 5-pound Alpers. The lake is just about ready to spill, probably next week. All this means is that there is more water coming into the lake than is going out. It will NOT be going over the part of the dam where you walk, but the spillway at the far end of the dam. So if you intend to use the shortcut across the dam to get to the Blue Lake trail, expect to get a bit wet. The water has cleared up and you can now once again see the fish you're fishing for.
BLUE LAKES AREA, CALIF: Dave Kirby of the Woodfords Station (530-694-2930): Last Thursday, was the worst smoke that I have ever, ever seen.
BRIDGEPORT RESERVOIR, CALIF: Randy Picton (760-932-7001): The action remained good to very good for most anglers this past week. Best bets at this time are nightcrawlers or floating bait fished on the bottom in 12-15 feet of water just off of Rainbow and Rocky Points or the "Ledge" between Rocky Point and Buckeye Bay. Nothing huge this week, but lots of limits of quality, pink-meat fighters from 1 to 2 1/2 pounds. Trolling remains consistent between Rainbow and the dam. Try Rapalas, Buoyants and Kastmasters, or nightcrawlers behind small flashers for best results. Fly folks report limited action despite huge hatches of Midges and Damsels. Fish are showing up with snails and blood worms in their bellies, maybe it's time to switch to Scuds and San Juan worm imitations? Water levels remain very good as the run-off has finally started after the cold spring weather. Launching is no problem at the marina or the Bath Tub.
BURNSIDE LAKE, CALIF: Dave Kirby reported a family caught trout on worms, floated off the bottom.
CAPLES LAKE, CALIF: Doug Busey of Douglas County reported Grace Pierini-Steblay of Pioneer trolled and lost her father's lucky lure. She tried a "pretty little plastic lure" and caught a 13-pound, 6-ounce (32 inches) Mackinaw trout on June 26. Also, a report of a large brown caught on Monday.
CARSON RIVERS, CALIF:
East Carson River:
Todd Sodaro and Chad Machado of the Carson River Resort (877-694-2229): Fishing has been good for those folks who fish along the edges on both sides of the river and move around.
West Carson River: Dave Kirby reported it was planted last Friday, and there were some 4-7 pound rainbows caught on worms in the lower section of the river. It will be planted again this week.
DAVIS LAKE, CALIF: Ed Dillard (Dillard Guided Fishing) (530-832-6394): Same report as last week: I am catching 10-25 fish a trip. Fishing almost every day. Dick Nite copper redhead, down 11 feet. The fish are 14-20 inches.
FRENCHMAN RESERVOIR, CALIF: Wiggin's Trading Post at Chilcoot, Calif. (530-993-4683): Nice sized trout are being caught at Lunker Point. Trollers are going deep, about 25 feet down with nightcrawlers and flashers early in the morning or just before sunset.
HINKSON SLOUGH, NEV: Elmer Bull reported Rich Ellington caught some trout from a float tube. He was fishing with Midge flies under a strike indicator in the main channel. The trout fishing is getting tougher due to the hot weather.
INDIAN CREEK RESERVOIR, CALIF: Dave Kirby of the Woodfords Station (530-694-2930): There has been good fishing off the dam. One angler had two rainbows (22 and 24 inches).
Summit Lake (above Indian Creek Reservoir): Was planted last Friday with 500 pounds of rainbows.
LAHONTAN RESERVOIR, NEV: Missy Swain and Shirley at Burke's Market at Silver Springs (775-577-2750): The water level is still going down. I've been told that it will drop to about 40,000 acre feet when it is done dropping. We have people galore catching all kinds of fish all over. They are knocking the heck out of the little white bass, wipers and channel catfish. If you boat, be extra careful due to the low water. Walleyes, up to 6-7 pounds, are being caught from Fisherman's Point to the Narrows on nightcrawlers and minnows.
LAHONTAN RESERVOIR, NEV: Norm Budden and Marty Martinez of Carson City trolled on Tuesday. Budden caught 79 white bass with standard lures. Martinez caught 4 white bass with his new "Secret" lure. Budden drove to the reservoir, while Martinez provided lunch (liverwurst sandwiches).
NORTH POND (on the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area): Elmer Bull, his wife and son fished last Friday with rubber worms from a boat. The fishing was slow. This is not a good place to come fishing, right now, due to lots of weeds in the water and lots of mosquitoes. The mosquitoes are really bad on shore but not out on the water.
RAYMOND LAKE, CALIF: Dave Kirby reported that a couple of fishermen hiked in over the weekend. They did not catch any fish due to a huge hatch of bugs, but the fish they saw, looked healthy and good-sized.
RED LAKE, CALIF: Dave Kirby: Was quiet this last week. Lots of people trying to fish but not catching much.
RED LAKE, CALIF: Doug Busey reported fishing has been fair for Cutthroats, up to 2 pounds, early or late in the day.
LAKE TAHOE - North Shore: Gene St. Denis of Blue Ribbon Charters at South Lake Tahoe, Calif. (530-544-6552): Fishing has been slow for Mackinaw. 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 Dollar Point.
LAKE TAHOE - South Shore: Gene St. Denis: It is a "Dead Dog" summer, right now, the bite is off and there are a lot of boats coming in without any fish. 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) per trip, with the biggest being 8.5 pounds. Trolling 50-250 feet deep with Trophy Stick lures and A/C plugs, they have been much more effective than Dodgers and minnows.
LAKE TAHOE - East Shore: Gene St. Denis: Shore fishing has been dead for fishing. It is really tough to catch a fish.
LAKE TAHOE: Doug Busey reported that Mike Nielsen of South Lake Tahoe, Calif. caught the new Tahoe record rainbow trout. It weighed 15-pounds, 2-ounces and measured 35 inches in length. It was caught on June 20.
TOPAZ LAKE: Chuck and Linda Fields at the Topaz Lake Marina (775-266-3550): Very few fishermen are out. They are working all day to try to catch a limit. The lake level is down further than it was last year at this time.
UPPER TWIN LAKE, CALIF: Annett's Mono Village (760-932-7071): Alan Reising from La Habra trolled a gold Super Duper for a nice 5-pound, 13-ounce rainbow. About 50 of our hand-fed trout being put into the lake, averaging 3-5 pounds each.
VIRGINIA LAKES, CALIF: Carolyn Webb of the Virginia Lakes Resort: Here is this week's fish report for VLR with Jeff Stetzl of Paso Robles taking honors with a 3 lb. Rainbow out of Little Virginia on a power worm. This past week has been very successful for almost all anglers to wet a line, limit after limit were taken by even the novice fishermen. Float tubers also did well when the air started to clear after the thunderstorm of Thursday and Midges and small dries took over as the number one fly. Of course, the VLR special (red throated Matuka) took second. Bait anglers did well on salmon eggs, crawlers and meal worms with power worms and power eggs following close. All drive up waters did well and the back country waters are producing small brook trout for those hungry enough to take a short hike. Red Lake did great on Gray Hackle Yellow, Mosquitoes, and small Adams. Blue Lake also produced with small dries on the south east corner all the way to the inlet. The fire smoke lifted today for several hours and the air quality is much improved for those seeking some relief from the lack of visibility and sanity.
WILDHORSE RESERVOIR, NEV: Dennis Dunn at the Wild Horse Resort (775) 758-6472: The trout have come to life, 3-5 pounds, fat and heavy. Body weight is the best it has ever been. Troll with TOR-P-DO's, Super Dupers, and small cowbells in gold/red. Shore fishing is good with nightcrawlers and gold colored Power Bait or marshmallows. Perch have come to life in Hendrick's and Penrod Coves. A bit of nightcrawler on the tip of a little Fire Tiger or other washy-tailed grub.