As May nears, the Truckee River is flowing high on all sections and the federal water master is releasing more water from Lake Tahoe.
Pyramid Lake is fishing well again, too, after a few slow days last week. It should continue to produce fish, although you might not see as many big fish as came out earlier this year.
Biologists say the perch die-off earlier this month at Wildhorse Reservoir could help the trout population there, as they don’t have as much competition for food now.
The lakes and streams in the Eastern Sierra around Bishop open to trout fishing on April 30. Meanwhile, flows on the East Walker River should be excellent for the opener, and the bite is good since it has been closed all winter.
Here is this week’s fishing report, as compiled from various sources:
LAKE DAVIS: Shore fishing at Mallard Cove is good. Lake level is at 60% of capacity. Honker Boat Ramp is almost usable. The dock is not in the water until early May. At Camp Five Boat Ramp, the west side road has a couple of places where there still are snow berms. If you follow the previous ruts in the road, you will make it OK. The ramp itself is almost usable. The dock is not in the water until early May. The Lighting Tree Boat Ramp is high and dry and probably will not be available this year. Info from J&J’s Grizzly Store and Camping Resort, 530-832-0270.
FRENCHMAN LAKE: Almost the entire lake is open, and fishing around west cove by the dam is producing fish. PT nymph under indicator is doing well. Mountain Hardware, Truckee 530-587-4844.
TRUCKEE RIVER: Snowy weather and cooler temps helped slow the early runoff on the Truckee from its highest point of flows in the canyon, dropping from over 1,000 CFS to around 850. The water master is letting more water out of Lake Tahoe, increasing from 70 CFS to 200 CFS, creating more consistent flows along the entire river.
The smaller bugs will become increasingly effective again, especially from Tahoe City to Glenshire Drive. Have a good selection of baetis nymphs in sizes 16-20 and midge larvae in an 18-22, in addition to larger attractors such as brown stoneflies in 8-10 for a Skwala imitation, worm patterns, eggs and crawdads when nymphing. With the larger flows, make sure you have ample split shot on your line to get your flies in front of the fish and slow down your drifts; this is probably the single most common mistake we see from anglers when fishing this river.
The streamer bite remains steady during this time and larger olive sculpin patterns remain king, but expect only a handful of grabs over the day and be on it when they happen, as it will likely be a bruiser, and don’t fish anything below a 2x. As days get longer and temps begin to warm up, look for the morning bite to get better. An earlier start can be advantageous to ensure you’re the first one presenting flies to any given fish that day. From Miles and crew at Trout Creek Outfitters in Truckee, 530-563-5119.
Winter’s not over: Storm could drop 3 feet of snow at Tahoe; travel hazards likely
LITTLE TRUCKEE RIVER: There was another bump in flows, up to 150 CFS. This is great news for the rainbow trout spawn. As expected with the increase to 100 CFS last week, there have been many reports of fish starting their spawn up here. During this time, we highly encourage you to fish elsewhere to give these fish space. If you are still opting to fish here, please do your part to familiarize yourself with the behavior of spawning trout and be sure to avoid these fish at all costs to ensure future populations of wild trout. From Miles and crew at Trout Creek Outfitters in Truckee, 530-563-5119.
PYRAMID LAKE: The bite seemed to slow initially last week due to the drastic temperature change, but as the weather warms back up and the barometric pressure remains low, expect some good days out here. While you may initially think that Pyramid always fishes well during stormy weather, this time of year can be different and these big shifts in weather patterns can throw the fish off for a few days, but once settled in, the bite will resume as normal.
We are in the spawning time out here and the fishing will typically slow for the month of April, but there are certainly still fish to be had, and with the thinning crowds this is a great time to get a little breathing room, while still finding some decent fishing. Although it’s rare to see larger fish this time of year, the numbers can still be there. Stripping streamers will become effective over the next month as well as using midges under an indicator in 3-8 feet of water, depending on the drop off you are fishing. Trout Creek Outfitters in Truckee, 530-563-5119.
SPARKS MARINA: Powerbait off the bottom is typically the best go-to fishing method at the western community ponds. When vegetation covering the bottom is an issue, try using salmon eggs on light lines under bobbers. Spin-fishing can be excellent with small spinners in most of our larger ponds and lakes. The general rule of light-colored lures on bright days and dark-colored lures on dark days will help keep your lures visible. Fly-fishing can be fun in the smaller community ponds. Dry-fly fishing with small terrestrials insects can often entice fish to the surface all day.
The hatchery trucks are out, which means that many of the community ponds in the western region have received one round of trout this season. As weather and water conditions allow for it, they’ll continue to get fish supplemented as needed. NDOW
WILDHORSE RESERVOIR: On April 8, NDOW received reports of numerous dead fish at Wildhorse Reservoir in northern Elko County. After surveying the area, NDOW biologists confirmed that a die-off event occurred, impacting mainly yellow perch and a few channel catfish and trout. The lake was mostly ice-covered earlier in the month on April 3. Due to increased air temperatures and high winds, the reservoir was completely free of ice. Biologists believe the rapid loss of ice, coupled with high winds, led to a turnover, depleting oxygen levels in the deeper water areas the yellow perch occupy.
This could actually help the fishery by removing some of the perch from the lake as it continues to lose capacity due to the ongoing drought. It could help the trout fishery as they compete for the same food source and the number of trout in the reservoir is controlled through stocking, while the perch are able to reproduce naturally in the lake and had started to overpopulate it. NDOW biologists will continue to monitor the situation. In spite of the fish die-off at Wildhorse Reservoir, fishing for trout has been good. It is expected to continue to be good. NDOW.
BOCA: The boat ramp is still closed, but you can launch on the east shore. Anglers trolling for trout should use spoons, worms with a dodger, or Rapalas. Anglers shore fishing can find the best bite off the dam using Powerbait. Currently at 45 percent capacity. Mountain Hardware, Truckee, 530-587-4844
ILLIPAH RESERVOIR: The lake is ice-free. The reservoir is at approximately 60 percent of capacity and fishing has been good. Anglers will do well with a variety of nightcrawlers, Powerbait and spinners. For bait anglers, nightcrawlers and rainbow, Powerbait are the best bet. Small spinners, spoons and Kastmasters in gold for those throwing hardware should work. For fly rodders this time of year, chironomid patterns (midge larva) are recommended as they can make up as much as 80 percent of the trout’s diet in the spring in our high desert reservoirs. Black or olive wooly buggers and black, olive or wine-colored leech patterns may also entice trout. NDOW
CROWLEY LAKE: Opening day of trout season in the Eastern Sierra is April 30. Docks are in at Crowley and fishing should be good at the usual early-season areas. Sierra Drifters, 760-935-4250, sierradriftersgs@gmail.com.
HOT CREEK: The road to the canyon parking lots is completely clear and both sections of the creek are fishing best in the late mornings and early afternoons. Good bug hatches are making for plenty of surface activity on most days. Blue Winged Olives, caddis and midge imitations on the surface are getting fish. When fishing nymphs, try unweighted midge patterns, scuds, SD crawlers, #20 Flashback Pheasant Tails and caddis larva and pupa patterns. Look for open runs and pockets along the weed lines and fish any water that looks deeper than the surrounding river bed, as they tend to hold more fish. Sierra Drifters, 760-935-4250, sierradriftersgs@gmail.com.
Jim Krajewski covers high school and youth sports for the Reno Gazette Journal. Follow him on Twitter @RGJPreps. Support his work by subscribing to RGJ.com.
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