LAKE ALMANOR, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): As the Blood Midge hatch begins to wane and the solid bite in the Prattville area cools off a little, the king salmon bite is coming on along the east shore. The Lake Cove had salmon in the holes with nightcrawlers, just off the bottom, assuming they made it that far. Various spawning staged bass are also becoming active around stumps and points.
BISHOP, CALIF. AREA: Gary Olson of the Bishop Creek Resorts (760-873-4484):
Intake No. 2: Continues to be great. Power bait and worms seem to be best.
North Lake: The Forest Service re-opened the road and the fishing has been very good. Nightcrawlers or Thomas Buoyants have been best. Some action with streamers, usually dark colors.
South Lake: We are finally starting to see some big fish come out of the lake. Nightcrawlers have been best back at the inlet or by the rockslide. For lures a gold Kastmaster or the red/gold Thomas Buoyant has been great.
Bishop Creek: Water level remains good and the people who venture out into the cold are being rewarded. There have been a good number of browns coming out of the creek.
BISHOP, CALIF. AREA:
Sabrina Lake: Rick and Patti Apted of the Lake Sabrina Boat Landing (760-873-7425): Fishing picked up a bit from last weekend for those hardy souls (or maybe I should call them Fishin' fools) braving the weather. One group consisted of Nico (6), Makayla (8) and Zoe (8) from Long Beach. These kids trekked back on the west trail in the snow with their dads to do some fishing in the snow. About 4 hours later, out they came with smiles cuz they caught fish. Kastmaster and Thomas Buoyant topped the lure list again, while nightcrawlers and Power Bait dominated the bait list. The Department of Fish and Game stocked the lake on Monday.
BLUE LAKES AREA, CALIF: Dave Kirby of the Woodfords Station (530-694-2930): The Blues Lakes road opened last Friday and then they had to close it due to the snow and it has since re-opened. Upper Blue Lake is still totally frozen and Lower Blue Lake is about 30 percent open.
BRIDGEPORT RESERVOIR, CALIF: Carolyn Webb of the Virginia Lakes Resort: Looks good and clarity is improving daily, with temps rising. Tubing will be the only way you can get into some action with a No. 2-fly rig. Midges will get you two-points unless you go into the paint for a 3 point cast and put it on his nose, but some nice fish are coming out if you work it.
CARSON RIVERS, CALIF:
East Carson River:
Todd Sodaro and Chad Machado of the Carson River Resort (877-694-2229): Early last week, the water dropped about 2 feet, it cleared up, the river was picture perfect and the fishing was spectacular. It was simply amazing! Here are a few examples: Tim Daily of Placerville caught a 5-pound rainbow on red Salmon eggs and had two other rainbows about the same size. His wife, Sandra, caught a 5-pounder and a 4-pounder, also on Salmon eggs. John Manfroy of San Jose caught a 5-pounder on Salmon eggs.
West Carson River: Dave Kirby reported the weather was bad and there were very few "humans" over the weekend. A few fish were caught by just about everyone. The water is fairly clear due to the colder temps up high.
CROWLEY LAKE AREA, CALIF: Steve Osterman of Performance Anglers of Mammoth Lakes (760) 924-2181:
Crowley Lake: Wind, rain and snow the last few days brought fishing here to a virtual stand still. Things should pick up this coming week as more seasonable weather is forecast. McGee Bay and Hilton Bay had been productive with black/silver Stevie's Wonder and dark colored streamers.
Hot Creek: The cold winter-like weather slowed down the run off and the creek is currently running at 41 CFS. Fishing has been good with Nymphing the most productive technique. WD-40's, Prince Nymphs and Caddis Pupa. Not much surface action right now.
DAVIS LAKE, CALIF: Half empty campgrounds over the long wet, cold, windy weekend. Saturday, lots of rain, lots of shore fishermen, lots of boats.
DAVIS LAKE, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): Planting of trophy-sized rainbows weighing from 6 pounds up to 13 pounds has launched the rebirth of the lake in a big way after it was devastated by predatory northern pike and the eradication process to get rid of them. Now the next big event is the Portola Rotary Club's Lake Davis Fish Derby set for Saturday June 7, from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., offering thousands of dollars in prize money for the largest fish caught, as well as tagged fish worth up to $20,000. So far trollers have been getting the better bite out in deeper water, with bank anglers working hard for fewer fish. Pulling Needlefish, Wee Dick Nites and Woolly Buggers has been working well for trollers. Bank fishers have been getting sporadic action dunking Power Bait and nightcrawlers just off bottom under a bobber, or floated with marshmallows on a sliding sinker rig.
FEATHER RIVER, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): Shad continued to be caught in good numbers at Shanghai Rapids but fishing pressure is very heavy. Evening fishing continued to be the best time of day and Teeny Rounders in Chartreuse or pink, on a 1/8-ounce jighead, were the best lure. Striper fishing was slow.
FRENCHMAN RESERVOIR, CALIF: Wiggin's Trading Post at Chilcoot, Calif. (530-993-4683): Unsettled weather conditions this weekend contributed to fishing being spotty. We had reports of a few nice rainbows being caught off the shore at Crystal Point and Lunker Point. Most people are using nightcrawlers. Use bobbers, marshmallows or inflate them to keep off the bottom.
FRENCHMAN RESERVOIR, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): Bank fishing has been good at Lunker Point and Turkey Point. Nightcrawlers floated off bottom have been producing, as have rainbow glitter and chartreuse glitter Power Bait. Afternoon winds have been a problem. Little Last Chance Creek below the dam has produced some rainbows to 1-1.5 pounds. Try nightcrawlers or small lures.
FT. CHURCHILL COOLING PONDS (on the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area): Elmer Bull: We had over 1.5 inches of rain over the weekend, I have no fishing reports.
INDIAN CREEK RESERVOIR, CALIF: Dave Kirby of the Woodfords Station (530-694-2930): A lot of the weekend campers left early due to the bad weather.
JUNE LAKE LOOP, CALIF: Steven Osterman: Flow in Rush Creek is down to 65 CFS. The wild weather last week sunk several boats at Grant Lake. In the creek try Stone Fly Nymphs, Flashback Hare's Ears, olive Caddis Larva and sparkle Caddis Pupa.
KINNEY RESERVOIR, CALIF: Dave Kirby reported that S.R. 4 was closed due to the snowstorm and it re-opened this morning (Tuesday). There was about a foot of new snow at the reservoir.
LAHONTAN RESERVOIR, NEV: Missy Swain and Shirley at Burke's Market at Silver Springs (775-577-2750): They were catching lots of Walleye and Catfish, not so many Wipers and White Bass, as they did last year. The fishing has been good on worms and minnows. There were not as many people over the weekend as we had expected, due to the horrible weather.
MAMMOTH LAKES BASIN, CALIF: Steven Osterman: Mammoth Lakes Basin: The road into the lakes basin is open and the lakes are now ice free. As with the rest of the area, weather has been a factor here. Try the inlet at Lake Mamie with purple or black Mohair Leeches or Doc's Twin Lakes Special in black.
OWENS RIVER, CALIF: Steven Osterman:
Upper Owens: Water flow 74 CFS. Fly fishing is fair above the Benton Crossing Bridge. The cold weather has slowed down the caddis hatch and feeding activity. Try Nymph fishing with Z wing Caddis, bird's nests and olive Caddis Larva.
Lower Owens: Water flow is currently 574 CFS. Try the Upper Owens!
PYRAMID LAKE, NEV: George and Carla Molino of the Pyramid Lake Store at (775) 476-0555: Fishing has been good but not super good. There were not many campers over the weekend due to the weather, but the few fishermen were catching fish. both from shore and from boats. We had reports of fish hitting lures and being caught, with the tails of smaller fish sticking out of their mouths.
PYRAMID LAKE, NEV: Jim Hartfiel of Just Rite Fishing at Pyramid Lake at (775) 575-7850 (home) or (775) 813-3411 (Cell): We went out Sunday and caught over 25 fish. Our 5 clients all limited out. Our biggest was 25.5 inches. We were trolling Apex lures behind big prism dodgers between Pelican and Warrior Point.
SACRAMENTO RIVER, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): Trout fishing remained good, but the best action occurred very early with a significant drop-off in action as the sun rose higher in the sky. Boaters are reminded that no boats can pass under the Cypress Street Bridge as long as flows remain above 7,000 CFS (they were 10,000 CFS over the weekend). Most anglers were floating downstream from Bonneview to Anderson.
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 good with multiple hook-ups for Sacramento river guides both on conventional spin and fly gear. River releases from Keswick dam near Redding have stabilized at 10,000 CFS. Very good trout fishing is being reported from Redding downstream to Red Bluff. Trout fishing should really improve with the increased flows in late May and June for wild rainbow trout 1-3 pounds with the occasional big trout of 4 plus pounds. 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 starting to show in the upper reaches of the Sacramento river below Red Bluff, with better scores of shad in late May and June in this area. Small weighted jigs in various color combos with a curly tailed grub have worked best. Higher river flows have moved some of the lower river schools of shad upstream. Shad guides have reported side drifting small jigs to be best technique on conventional gear.
Striper: Reports of good striper fishing have come in for striper guides who find the schools of new stripers in and around the Colusa/ Grimes area. Flows have risen slightly this past week and cooler weather has really lowered the river temps. Many of the early season stripers have spawned. New stripers are still around the Colusa area and much cooler weather is still expected for the rest of this week. Reports of good bait fishing has come in from striper guides for keeper size stripers from anchor. Sardine/anchovie cut bait or pile worms have worked best from anchor. Best striper action has been spread out with most activity from Colusa downstream near the Grimes/Tisdale area. Backbouncing minnows or pile worms are producing nice stripers.
SHASTA LAKE, CALIF: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500): For bedding fish, bass anglers should be tossing lizards or Brush Hogs in the main lake for males cruising the shorelines. The bite has also been picking up for anglers tossing tubes in green/pumpkin colors and dart-headed worms in crawdad or Morning Dawn. Other productive areas included the coves where some are bedding and off points. Trout and salmon trollers are finding success by trolling in 50 feet of water with mixed limits of them by the Dam and in Digger Bay. Though many set-ups are producing, anglers using a nightcrawler and an anchovy chunk are another choice.
LAKE TAHOE - North Shore: Gene St. Denis of Blue Ribbon Charters at South Lake Tahoe, Calif. (530-544-6552): Fishing has been good for Mackinaw, up to 10 pounds. We have been trolling 150-300 feet deep, going deeper later in the day. 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 Sugar Pine Point and at Dollar Point.
LAKE TAHOE - South Shore: Gene St. Denis: Fishing at the Ski Run Mound, 150-250 feet deep, with a Thunderstruck lure for Macks, 1-8 pounds.
LAKE TAHOE - East Shore: Gene St. Denis: Has been slow with 1-3 fish per trip. Toplining 20-40 feet deep, using Trophy Sticks and A/C plugs. The shore fishermen are catching 1-4 pound rainbows. They are using worms or minnows.
TOPAZ LAKE: Chuck and Linda Fields at the Topaz Lake Marina (775-266-3550): It's raining right now (Tuesday morning). The fishing picked up for awhile, but there were not a lot of people out for the weekend. It was very quiet, probably due to the weather. A few people stillfishing out of boats on the south end caught some 2-3 pounders. There was hardly anyone fishing from shore due to the rainy muddy weather. On Monday, Jan Jacobson of Reno caught a 2-pound, 15-ounce rainbow with a orange Rapala lure on the southeast side. The lake is still rising, they are allowing water into the lake through June 7. It's level will not max out this year due to the slow snowmelt.
VIRGINIA LAKES, CALIF: Carolyn Webb of the Virginia Lakes Resort: Stocking started the week of the 19th, and a lot of nice trout were taken on olive and black Woolly Buggers out near the inlet of Little Virginia. May was better than any Indian summer I've seen since 1983, until the snow monsoon hit on the 21st. The 22 of May showed 23 degrees and no further progress on the thaw of Big Virginia. A total snowfall for the 5 days was 28 inches, leaving us with very wet ground that should slow down the fire season when it arrives. Fishing has been fairly good with a few brave souls sticking it out for 30 to 40 minutes at a time, and a few fish for their efforts. Olive/black Woolies, black/olive Leeches, and a few Midges probably in all "white" to match the hatch. Two very nice browns came out and went back in, in the 23 to 24 inch range. A 6-pound brown was caught through the ice in the last hour of fishing on Little Virginia on May 12 around 8:30 p.m. It must have tasted like leather. Yuk!
WALKER RIVERS, CALIF: Steve Osterman:
East Walker River (From Bridgeport Dam to the Nevada Stateline): The water flow has jumped up to 252 CFS. The increase in water has moved the fish around, so your favorite spot may not be the best spot right now. Be sure to fish the water thoroughly and wade carefully. Red Serendipitys, flashy Prince Nymphs, Z-Wing Caddis and Brassies.
WALKER RIVERS, CALIF: Carolyn Webb:
East Walker River: Dry fly action has been fun on Parachute Adams , size 16-18, E/C Caddis, Parachute Caddis and Griffith Gnats in size 20-24. Try some WD-40's, Zebra Midges, Blood Midges and Copper John's. Streamers have all been doing well, either Hornburgs or mini Leech Perch Fry's.
West Walker River: Still very hard to find fishable water except near the bridge with the flow at 423 CFS. The flow is down from May 11 at 745 CFS, so this is good news, but will soon change now that the weather has greatly improved. Use a No. 2 fly rig with a large dry over a Prince Nymph or Flashback Zug Bug, below the bridge just before the first campground, where the elevation drop is minimal and the water is flat. Midges are everywhere, even the no-see-ums, so come prepared with the best bug juice you can find. These are the Dracula of all bugs.
WILDHORSE RESERVOIR, NEV: Dennis Dunn at the Wild Horse Resort (775) 758-6472: Weekend weather was lousy. Fishing was good for trout with many limits. Many trout in the 3-5 pound class. We had about 45 camps around the lake, down about 2/3 of normal.