Fishing report for May 2-9

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of May 2-9.

ALAMANOR LAKE, CALIF:
It will be planted this week by the California Department of Fish and Game.

BISHOP AREA, CALIF:
Rick and Patti Apted - Lake Sabrina Boat Landing (760-873-7425) (www.lakesabrinaboatlanding.com) reports:
Sabrina Lake:
The Lake was stocked Friday as were the shelves in the Café and store, the only thing we ran short of was parking spaces – what an Opening!
Boats on the Lake on the Opener – what a sight!
And then there were the fish seen leaving the Lake – nothing huge, but most were respectable limits –weighing in over 7 pounds – I see Fish Fries in lots of peoples’ futures.
Brian Hohenstein - Bishop, Steve Keef - Bishop & Kevin Keef – Reno – were ready with for the Family Fish Fry – all came in with nice looking limits. Don, John & Nick spent their 39th Opener at Lake Sabrina – 3 generations of fishing – 106 fish caught and released between them.
You might ask – well, what was working – the better question might be what wasn’t working! That answer would be nothing wasn’t working! Everything was working from anywhere on the Lake.
With the pre-Opener DFG stocking and the hungry fish left from last year – it was a given – FISH ON!
The normal Lake Sabrina baits – Nightcrawlers, Power Bait, & Salmon eggs or lures – Red & Gold Thomas Buoyants, Super Dupers or Kastmasters.
Can’t even say the beautiful weather contributed to the great turnout, cuz’ last year with the Lake ice-over, it was a great turn-out, the only thing we can think of is cuz’ it’s an awesome place to be!
Thanks to all of you that made this the best Opening Lake Sabrina Boat Landing has ever seen!
Just heard the Bald Eagle is back – it was spotted chasing two seagulls off the Lake Sunday afternoon.
Forest Service and the campground hosts worked hard to get the campgrounds available for Opening Weekend - BitterBrush, Bishop Park, Intake II, Four Jeffery and the Forks are all open.
Guess it’s that time of year to remind you of a few things – when using BUG JUICE (the skeeter are out and they are BIG) or SANITIZER you need to really wash your hands before fishing — then rub some Salmon Egg juice, worm dirt or Anglers Bros Trout attractant to take that smell off.
Remember your polarized dark glasses and sunscreen – we saw a few anglers that looked a bit like cooked lobster last year. As there still is snow around, the rays from the snow are deadly!
You can check www.weather.gov and enter ASPENDELL, CA on the site and it will give you a fairly good hint at the weather or check in with Howard at www.MammothWeather.com.
Lake Sabrina Boat Landing will serve Breakfast from 7:00am to 11:00am and Lunch until 4:00pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for now. The store hours are as follows:
Sunday 7:00 to 6:00pm
Monday 8:00 to 6:00pm
Tuesday 8:00 to 6:00pm
Wednesday 8:00 to 6:00pm
Thursday 8:00 to 6:00pm
Friday 8:00 to 6:00pm
Saturday 7:00 to 7:00pm
And, of course, we'll have HOMEMADE pie, sodas, beer, wine, coffee, tea and hot cocoa!
Bryan, Len & Ginny are here. Looking for a part-time server at the Lake this year – Friday, Saturday and Sunday – Give us a call at 760-873-7425, if you’re interested – need to be available until mid’ October.

BRIDGEPORT RESERVOIR, CALIF:
It will be planted this week by the California Department of Fish and Game.

BRIDGEPORT RESERVOIR, CALIF:
Jim Reid of Ken’s Sporting Goods Store in Bridgeport (760- 932-7707) (www.kenssport.com) reports:
Bridgeport fished excellent yesterday from tubes and boats.
The shore fishing was a bit tough, probably due to the lake being so full. 
Surface temps are in the high 50's and the fish are pretty happy.
Trolling seemed to be the best bet yesterday, Rapalas, Thomas Bouyants, Needlefish and blades with crawlers all produced lots of fish.
Bait anglers out in boats also faired well with crawlers and Power Bait.
I'd say that the rainbow to brown ratio was about 60/40 yesterday. Most of the fish being caught were in the 2 to 4 pound range with a few around 5 pounds


CAPLES LAKE, CALIF:
John Voss of the Caples Lake Resort reports:
Caples Lake is starting to thaw! We are predicting that the lake will be thawed by the middle of May. We will be reopening for lodging at the end of May on Memorial day weekend.

CARSON RIVER, CALIF:
East Carson River:
It will be planted this week by the California Department of Fish and Game.
West Carson River:
It will be planted this week by the California Department of Fish and Game.

CARSON RIVERS, CALIF:
East Carson River: Doug Busey of Douglas County reported that on the Opening Weekend the river was high, muddy and fast, which greatly reduced fishing success.
West Carson River: High, muddy and fast.

CHETCO RIVER, ORE:
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (800-720-ODWF) (www.dfw.state.or.us.com) reports:
Closed until the trout opener on May 26.

CROWLEY LAKE, CALIF:
Steve Osterman of Performance Guide Service (760-934-6101) (www.performanceanglers.com) reports:
Crowds were fairly light on the lake for opening day.
Fish seem to be spread out over the entire lake and fishing was productive in all areas. Try Stevie's Wonder gray in 10-12 feet of water.


DAVIS LAKE, CALIF:
The Truckee River Outfitters (775-853-7368) (email: info@renoflyshop.com):
Davis is starting to fish pretty well. A report from last week said that the fish are in much better shape than last spring. We should be in for a really good season at Davis.
We have had time now for the bugs and the fish to rebound from the poisoning three years ago.
It will not be long now until the Blood Midges start to show themselves and the Damsels will not be too far behind.
Spring is coming on fast and this should be a stellar year at Davis.
This time of year fish like to hang out in the channels and a little deeper water near any inflow. Look for 6-12 feet of water and try anything from Woolly Buggers, Leaches to hanging Midges under an indicator.
Type of water is the most important thing right now.

DONNER LAKE, CALIF:
It will be planted this week by the California Department of Fish and Game.

EAGLE LAKE, CALIF:
The fishing season for Eagle Lake is closed.

EAGLE VALLEY RESERVOIR, LINCOLN COUNTY, NEV:
The Nevada Department of Wildlife (www.ndow.org) reports:
Anglers are sure to find busy shorelines as the annual Tagged Fishing Event slated for Saturday and Sunday is sure to draw the attention of anglers hoping to catch the $50,000 fish.
Recent trout plants are providing anglers with good fishing opportunities.
The fish have been biting on small flies, Power Bait and night crawlers. 
A registration fee of $30 must be paid at the Eagle Valley Resort in Ursine.
For information call (775) 962-5293.

ECHO CANYON RESERVOIR, LINCOLN COUNTY, NEV:
The Nevada Department of Wildlife (www.ndow.org) reports:
The crappie bite has shown signs of turning on but remains very slow.
Rainbow trout, on the other hand, are providing anglers with good fishing.
The trout are hitting green-colored Power Bait and nightcrawlers.

FRENCHMAN RESERVOIR, CALIF:
The Truckee River Outfitters (775-853-7368) (info@renoflyshop.com):
Fishing at Frenchman’s has been outstanding. Most of the fish caught at Frenchman’s are in the 13-17 inch range but they fight as good as any fish in the area. They are healthy and rambunctious.
Like Davis the Rainbows are staging in creek channels and inflows to the lake. Look for drop-offs where the water goes from shallow to 8-15 feet.
Snail patterns fished on a sink tip line is working well.
Intermediate and faster sinking lines are also working with smaller Woolly Buggers and Leach patterns. Bead head nymph’s fished “Floater No Cator” style has been really effective.
The fishing should only improve over the next 2 months or so.

HEENAN LAKE, CALIF:
The fishing season for Heenan Lake is closed.

HOT CREEK, CALIF:
Steve Osterman of Performance Guide Service (760-934-6101) (www.performanceanglers.com) reports:
Water flow at 27cfs.  The increase in water flow has slowed the Mayfly hatch but Nymph fishing is still good.
Scuds, FB Pheasant Tails and small Hares Ears.


JIGGS / ZUNINO RESERVOIR, ELKO COUNTY, NEV:
The Nevada Department of Wildlife (www.ndow.org) reports:
Unfortunately, Jiggs has dried up.

JUNE LAKE LOOP, CALIF:
Steve Osterman of Performance Guide Service (760-934-6101) (www.performanceanglers.com) reports:
Fishing was good through out the loop for opening day. Try Silver Lake with black or purple Woolly Buggers on sink tip or full sink lines.
Rush Creek is very high at 189 CFS.


KIRMAN LAKE, CALIF:
Jim Reid of Ken’s Sporting Goods Store in Bridgeport (760- 932-7707) (www.kenssport.com) reports:
Haven't had any reports from Kirman yet, if anyone made it up there for the opener drop us a line and let us know how you did!


LAUGHLIN, CLARK COUNTY, NEV:
The Nevada Department of Wildlife (www.ndow.org) reports:
Colorado River:   Anglers are finding slow fishing for rainbow trout left over from winter stocking activity, but striped bass action is beginning to improve.
The stripers have been very active near the Avi.

MAMMOTH LAKES BASIN, CALIF:
Steve Osterman of Performance Guide Service (760-934-6101) (www.performanceanglers.com) reports:
Lower Twin is ice free but very cold and fishing is slow.
Road is still closed to the lakes basin.

MARLETTE LAKE, CARSON CITY & WASHOE COUNTIES, NEV:
The fishing season for Marlette Lake is closed.

LAKE MEAD, CLARK COUNTY, NEV:
The Nevada Department of Wildlife (www.ndow.org) reports:
Plastics are catching both largemouth and smallmouth bass.
One lucky angler reeled in a 4.5-pound largemouth bass near Temple Bar. The fish hit a hard jerkbait.
Folks at Temple Bar Marina report the best action in the upper lake has been seen between mile markers 42 to 45, though the stripers are trending to the skinny side. Spinnerbaits and crankbaits continue to be somewhat effective.
Fishing guide Jim Goff reports that shad have come into the shallows to spawn and the striped bass action has picked up in the Vegas Wash area. 
In the Hemenway area anglers are catching a few stripers fishing at night.

LAKE MOHAVE, CLARK COUNTY, NEV:
The Nevada Department of Wildlife (www.ndow.org) reports:
Willow Beach striper action has slowed considerably. There was one report of a six-pound striped bass this past week. Cottonwood Cove has seen improved fishing but the striper action is slowing down.
The best results have been in the late evening hours under spotlights.
Linda of Cottonwood Cove, said the winner of last weekend’s American Bass tournament weighed in a five-fish bag that topped 17 pounds.
Smallmouth bass have been running up to five pounds. 
Largemouth and smallmouth bass have been taking plastics and jigs.

OREGON PACIFIC OCEAN AND BEACHES, ORE:
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (800-720-ODWF) (www.dfw.state.or.us.com) reports:
Fishing for surfperch has been very good on the beaches near Bandon.
Anglers have also picked up a few redtail surfperch on the beaches near Coos Bay. Sand shrimp has been the best bait to use but sand worms can also work. 
Fishing for bottom fish is now closed outside of 30 fathoms.
Anglers can now retain Cabezon. The marine fish daily bag limit is seven fish, of which no more than 1 may be a Cabezon from April 1 through September 30.
There are separate daily limits for lingcod (two) and flatfish other than Pacific halibut (25).
Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain the Near shore halibut season begins May 1. The first weekend for the All depth halibut season is May 10- 12.
Recreational Chinook salmon season is open in the ocean from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain.

OROVILLE LAKE, CALIF:
Rick and Tresa Kennedy of Tight Line Guide Service (530-263-7944) (www.fishtightlines.com) reports:
We went out today with our client Steve Mothersell in his Rogue Jet, he wanted me to show him how some of his equipment works.
We launched at the spillway ramp around 6:30 AM.
We didn’t get 50 yards from the ramp and I was showing Steve what the action of a Sling Blade should look like when we hooked about a 14" Coho, our lure wasn’t 10 from the boat. We knew then it was going to be a hot bite. Needless to say, we hooked fish non stop.
We put 10 Cohos in the ice chest for table fare with the biggest going about 16.5". All these fish were stuffed with pound smelt.
We hooked all our fish in the top 10 of water on 6" UV Glow Sling Blades and white Hoochies with Pro Cure Anchovy scent. These fish are growing fast and Oroville will only get better in the weeks to come.

OWENS RIVER, CALIF:
Steve Osterman of Performance Guide Service (760-934-6101) (www.performanceanglers.com) reports:
Upper Owens River:
Current water flow is 110 CFS. 
Over fifty citations were written on the section above the Benton Crossing Bridge on opening day. Be sure you know the regulations before fishing.
The river is still slow and murky.
The section below the monument has some larger lake fish and is under the same regulations as Crowley Lake. San Juan Worms and egg patterns
Lower Owens River:
We estimate the flow to be around 250 or so. The hatches are still unpredictable. When it does happen expect to see BWO's in the am and Caddis from around noon into the afternoon hours. Nymph fish with Barr's Emerger, Flashback Pheasant Tails and green Rock Worms.


PINE VALLEY COMPLEX, HUMBOLDT COUNTY, NEV:
The fishing season for the Pine Valley Complex is closed.

PYRAMID LAKE, WASHOE COUNTY, NEV:
The Truckee River Outfitters (775-853-7368) (info@renoflyshop.com):
One of the strangest fishing seasons continues at Pyramid Lake.
The water temperature on Monday mid day was in the low 60’s. By Saturday it was more like 53 degrees. Two weeks before it was still in the 40’s. The fishing has been as tough for April as it has been for many years.
Higher water from last year’s run-off and fluctuating water temps have made this spring very confusing.
On a normal year 1 fish an hour is considered a slow day. This year anglers would relish a day like that. One to two fish a day is more the norm now.
We could still see some good days in May at the lake but by no means can we count on it.
That being said there have been some toads caught in the past week including a 16 pound female at Sand hole, a 12 pounder at Pelican and another 16 pound Male at Separator.
There are some really big fish this year and just one of those can change the perspective of a slow year.

RANCHO SECO PARK LAKE, CALIF:
It will be planted this week by the California Department of Fish and Game.

ROLLINS RESERVOIR, CALIF:
It will be planted this week by the California Department of Fish and Game.

SAN JOAQUIN/RED’S MEADOW, CALIF:
Steve Osterman of Performance Guide Service (760-934-6101) (www.performanceanglers.com) reports:
Road closed.

LAKE TAHOE:
Gene St. Denis of Blue Ribbons Charters (530-544-6552) (www.blueribbonfishing.com) reports:
The Mackinaw fishing has begun to pick up.
The Macks are running about 2-8 pounds with an occasional one in the double digit weight size.
I’ve been trolling 250-280 feet deep with Dodgers and minnows at the Tahoe City Shelf on the west side of the lake.

TRUCKEE RIVER:
The Truckee River Outfitters (775-853-7368) (info@renoflyshop.com):
Warm weather over the past week or so has sparked the run-off season.
The river spiked at 2500 CFS on the 26th of April and has been dropping steadily since. Currently most of the river is at least 700 CFS and still too high to wade. It is starting to level out and Yo-Yo up and down with changing air temps during the day and night.
The river is totally fishable in the Truckee area right now down to about the influx of Prosser Creek. That is where a bunch of tributaries are dumping in and making the flows much higher.
The good news is Run-off should not last very long this spring due to lack of low elevation snowpack.
In the next few weeks we should see some really good fish start to happen.
The water should be at fishable levels when we get some of our best hatches including Carpenter Ants, Caddis, Little Yellow Stones and Green Drakes.
Within the next couple of weeks look for some big springtime changes on the Truckee River. We should have some stellar fishing this season on the Truckee. Keep an eye on our fishing report on truckeeriveroutfitters.com for updates on conditions on the Truckee.
Flows are – Town of Truckee 383CFS, Boca Bridge 670 CFS, Farad 739CFS and Reno 758 CFS.

LITTLE TRUCKEE RIVER:
The Truckee River Outfitters (775-853-7368) (email: info@renoflyshop.com):
Flows are 235CFS. They have been in this range for over a week now and the fishing has been pretty darn good. The flows are a little higher than normal but this helps a smaller stream like the Little Truckee in a bunch of ways. Fish have many more holding lies which spread them out more.
Wading is a little tough and not as many anglers are walking where the fish want to be. The fish do not get as spooky from angler pressure.
Midges, Baetis and even some Winter Stones have been hatching especially on cloudy non-windy days.

TWIN LAKES, CALIF:
Jim Reid of Ken’s Sporting Goods Store in Bridgeport (760- 932-7707) (www.kenssport.com) reports:
The Twins fished excellent yesterday, most anglers we talked to were reporting lots of fish up to around 2 pounds.
We also had one angler bring in an 8 lb 10oz rainbow from Lower Twin, that's the biggest fish we've heard of so far. 
Boat anglers were doing great trolling with blades/crawlers, Rapalas and Thomas Bouyants.
Shore anglers did well casting lures, crawlers and Power Bait. 

VIRGINIA LAKES, CALIF:
Carolyn Webb of the Virginia Lakes Resort (760-647-6484) (www.virginialakesresort.com) reports:
Mike Stevens group from San Bernardino doing catch and release with power worms on Little Virginia. Big Virginia with 45 anglers.
Morning started with anglers getting up at daybreak to fish Big and Little Virginia.  People were happy to be here and excited the fish were biting. 
Bait used was worms, Power Worms, jigs and most anglers had already caught their limits by 8 am and a whole new group had arrived on Big. 
A few were using salmon eggs on both lakes.
Trumble Lake ice around the entire edge of the lake and the edge is very black and very thin with some water showing. The center also looks unsafe.
Little Virginia has 3 sections of water showing, 1 on the west side which is the normal inlet and another which is just overflow from the heavy melt down the creek. And the outlet is showing a lot more water. 
My boat dock area is getting thin and has some water on top the ice and it's just a matter of heat and the dock will be very slushy.
 Big Virginia has about 30 inches of ice or less, and Little Virginia has about 18 inches.  I'll measure them tomorrow.

VIRGINIA LAKES, CALIF:
Jim Reid of Ken’s Sporting Goods Store in Bridgeport (760- 932-7707) (www.kenssport.com) reports:
The Virginias were excellent yesterday! Some anglers reported catching and releasing up to 60 or 70 fish!
The ice was in pretty good shape yesterday but the reports we got were that it's probably not going to last for very much longer. If you go up there please be very careful. Crawlers and Power Bait did well up there and also jigging streamer flies and spoons did well. 


WALKER LAKE, MINERAL COUNTY, NEV:
The Nevada Department of Wildlife (www.ndow.org) reports:
No Lahontan cutthroat have been reported or seen at Walker Lake since 2009. Mineral County Road Dept. has done some work on the State Parks Launch. Launching is improved but you still need four wheel drive.

WALKER RIVERS, NEV:
The Truckee River Outfitters (775-853-7368) (email info@renoflyshop.com):
Flows are 95CFS. They dropped from 150 CFS about 4 days ago and have been steady ever since.
The fishing on the East Walker has been really good for about a month or more. The flows for the most part have been fluctuating but have had good periods of steady in between.
The fishing is usually better when this kind of pattern exists.
Look for the flows to be the same for a few days and go.
It does not matter as much what the flows are just that they have been that way for a day or two.
Nymphing with small Bead Head Nymphs in Baetis, Caddis and Midge patterns has been working well.
This is a great flow for a dry dropper set-up using a Stonefly as the dry.
Streamers have also been turning some fish in the deeper holes.

WALKER RIVERS, CALIF:
Jim Reid of Ken’s Sporting Goods Store in Bridgeport (760- 932-7707) (www.kenssport.com) reports:
East Walker – West Walker – Sceirine Ranch - Hunewill Pond:
East Walker River:
The River has been flowing at about 95 cfs for several days now.
We had great reports from down there most of this week. Most anglers were 
doing well with small Nymph and Midge patterns but we did have a few good reports on streamers. Haven't heard much about dries lately.
When the flows dropped from 125 to 95 earlier this week the fishing really got good. We've also had some very good reports from the Rosachi section on the Nevada side as well. Patterns that have been working well include Soft Emergers, WD-40's, Flashback Emergers, Silver Streaks, Zebra Midges, Zuddlers, Moal Leeches and Sculpzillas. 
West Walker River:
We only had a couple reports from the West but they were all good. Sounds like the spinner fishing was the best, Panther Martins and Mepps were the lures of choice. 

Sceirine Ranch:
The Sceirine fished excellent this week, all the clients that we had a chance to talk to after fishing had great reports and lots of smiles. Of course the great thing about the Ranch is that there is limited access so you can have some pristine water to yourself when you're down there. 


WALKER RIVERS, CALIF:
Steve Osterman of Performance Guide Service (760-934-6101) (www.performanceanglers.com) reports:
East Walker River:
Flows are  down some to 95 CFS. The river is fishing pretty well.
Nymph fishing is good with Midge emerger patterns.
On the surface most small dry flies (20-22) will work as the fish are actively feeding on Midges. Some improving Baetis activity around midday.

WASHOE LAKE, WAHOE COUNTY, NEV:
The Nevada Department of Wildlife (www.ndow.org) reports:
Washoe Lake dried up in 2004 and, although it is presently full and has been restocked, the fish population, consisting mostly of channel catfish and white bass, is small. Fishing is expected to be poor.

— Don Quilici is outdoor editor for South Tahoe Now and www.CarsonNow.org. He can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com.