Joe’s Fishing Hole: Reservoir waters warming up | Lifestyles

With air temperatures averaging five to 10 degrees above normal, surface water temperatures in the area are climbing quickly both in the reservoirs and in our streams. This is slowing down the trout bite, but improving the bass fishing. With little or no precipitation and a poor snowpack, stream flows and lake levels in most areas are below normal. The combination can cause stress in trout who prefer cool, well oxygenated water.

With afternoon surface water temperatures starting to approach the 70s at area reservoirs releasing trout becomes problematic. When fighting the fish in a reservoir they end up in the warmer, less oxygenated surface waters. The stress from the exertion of fighting the line, combined with the stress due to lack of oxygen and the heat, doesn’t allow them to recover and many of those fish die even if released.

If you catch a fish during the heat of the day, either use heavy enough tackle to get it into the boat quickly, so it can be released quickly or keep the fish. The chances that a fish will survive during this period is low.

The best time to fish if you are a catch and release angler is early in the morning. If after trying to revive a fish before releasing and it doesn’t aggressively swim from your hand, you should probably keep it. The same goes for our streams, though most of the trout in our smaller waters are small enough that they can be landed quickly.

Please limit your catch and release fishing to the cooler parts of the day (early morning) and land the fish quickly if you are going to release it.

Surface water temperatures have moved into the 70-degree range and algae is growing and staining the water. With the warmer surface water temperatures, the trout are moving into deeper water so anglers need to change their tactics if targeting them. Anglers report fair to good fishing for trout from boats or float tubes, while shore anglers report fair fishing in the mornings but slow fishing the rest of the day. First thing in the morning they can still be caught fairly close to shore, but by about 9 a.m. they start heading to deeper cooler water. Bass fishing is good and a few wipers have been showing up in the creel. Perch fishing is slow. For trout, the same fly patterns continue to work as fly fishermen are having some success with black or wine colored leech patterns as well as wine or red chironomids. Damselflies and Mayflies are hatching so damselfly nymphs and dries are working as are Mayfly patterns such as Adams, blue winged olives and pale morning duns. Wooly buggers, PT nymphs, gold ribbed hares ears and damsel fly nymphs are also producing fish. For bait anglers try fishing an inflated worm a few feet off the bottom using a slip sinker in deeper water. Another option would be to roll some PowerBait to make a bell shape and fish it in a similar fashion to the inflated worm using a slip sinker and it will float up a couple of feet above the bottom. Make sure to dip the PowerBait in the water for a few seconds after it is on the hook to “gel” it up so it doesn’t come off the hook when casting. For bass, dark colored soft plastic grubs and crankbaits are working. Smallmouths are now legal to keep. The limit is one black bass and one white bass hybrid with a minimum size of 15 inches.

Afternoon surface water temperatures have moved into the low 70s and fishing for bass has been good while trout fishing has slowed a bit as they move to deeper water. With the warmer temperatures and sunny days, the algae and the weed beds at the south end of the lake are growing. Fishing has been fair to good for 15-to 20-inch trout for spin, bait and fly rodders from boats or float tubes but slow to fair for shore anglers. The bests time to fish from shore is between sunup and 9:00 am when the water closer to shore is cooler. Wiper fishing has been fair to good with a few nice fish in the six to 10 lb. range being taken. Bait anglers seem to be having the best luck with worms floated off the bottom about 30-40 feet from shore in deeper water. Fly fishermen report that fishing has also been fair to good for trout. Damsels are hatching and damselfly nymphs and dries are catching fish. Black or red snow cones with a white bead and contrasting red or black wire ribbing, fished under an indicator have also been working. Black, olive or purple wooly buggers and leech patterns are other patterns to try. Mayflies are hatching so the usual Mayfly patterns such as pale morning duns (PMD’s), Adams, light Cahills and blue winged olives should work. Spin fishermen should be using gold-colored spinners or lures for trout. Bass are taking dark soft plastic baits with sparkles in colors such as blue, motor oil, purple and dark green. Crankbaits are also working for bass as are poppers in low light still water conditions. Anglers also report catching wipers trolling the same soft plastic baits. South Fork was stocked with 500 wipers and 10,000 catfish last month. Both smallmouth and largemouth bass may be kept. The limit is one black bass and one white bass hybrid with a minimum size of 15 inches.

Anglers report fair to good fishing for chunky 13-to-16-inch trout and good fishing for smaller bass as the surface water temperatures climb higher to around 70 degrees. The best trout fishing is from a float tube or a small cartop boat or canoe as the boat ramp is unusable. Shore anglers are having the best luck in the canyon by the dam as the water is deeper and cooler here. Fly fishermen seem to be having the best luck using leech, wooly buggers and chironomids. Damselfly nymphs are working as well. Mayflies are starting to hatch so pale morning duns (PMD’s), Adams and other Mayfly dries and emergers should start working. Bass are active and showing up in the creel though mostly smaller fish are being reported. Anglers should use the same presentations, colors and techniques that are being used at South Fork Reservoir – dark soft plastic grubs and crankbaits. Poppers can be effective during low light still water conditions. Wilson was planted with approximately 12,000 trout this spring.

Little or no change at the Refuge. With the warmer temperatures the bass bite at Ruby Lake NWR continues to be good, though it is taking approximately 10 bass to catch a keeper. Minimum keeper size is 10 inches. Many anglers report catching as many as 50 bass days per angler but limits of 10 bass per angler are hard to come by. Soft plastic grubs in blue, black or purple seemed to work the best. The bass aren’t hitting until about mid-morning when the sun is higher in the sky and warming the surface. Best fishing seems to start about noon. Fishing conditions in the collection ditch have been fair to good recently for 13 to 18-inch trout depending upon the day and location. The wind is also playing a part in the fishing. Best days seem to be when there are light to moderate winds to break the surface up, but not so strong as to interfere with casting. Chironomid patterns such as zebra midges, Yankee buzzers, chromies and ice cream cones should work. Other flies such as leech patterns, balanced leeches, crystal buggers, #14-16 hare’s ears, and #16-18 PT nymphs fished under an indicator are recommended. Stripping damselfly nymphs is also effective and damsel dry flies have taken a few large fish. Dry flies are also working. Size 12 to 18 elk hair caddis, blue winged olives (size 14 to 18), ants (size 12 to 16) and Griffith’s gnats (size 14 to 18) should all be effective and hoppers are out. Spin anglers should be using small spinners in black or olive with contrasting yellow or red colors.

JAKES CREEK/BOIES RESERVOIR

The water level is low as water is being drawn out for irrigation. Surface water temperatures have hit 70 degrees and the weeds are growing making shore fishing difficult. With the warmer water the bass have become active and fishing for eight to 12-inch bass is good using soft plastic dark colored grubs and spinnerbaits. Worms seem to be the presentation of choice for trout, though small spinners should also work for those who want to throw some hardware. Fly rodders should be using chironomids, PT nymphs, hare’s ears, small black or olive buggers and leeches. Dry flies are working as well. The usual dries such as Adams, Griffith’s gnats, PMD’s and damselfly dries are all working.

Anglers can expect to catch hatchery size, 8-to-10-inch rainbows. Fishing for Largemouth Bass is slow because the drawdowns over the last few winters but there are a few bass left in the reservoir. NDOW will continue to work to rebuilding the Largemouth Bass fishery with augmentations this summer.

Cave Lake is lowered to minimum and unfishable. Fish stocking will resume once the dam repairs are completed. Cave Lake is closed to fishing due to shorelines that are very soft and dangerous due to the complete saturation of the soil as the lake is drained. By draining the lake, it should shave a couple of years off the re-building of the dam and cut costs tremendously. It will also make the project much safer for those performing the work. For more information on Cave Lake, please contact the NDOW Ely Field Office.

Surface water temperatures are in the low 70s and fishing is fair to good for trout and good for bass. With the warmer temperatures, anglers should be fishing deeper for trout. Nightcrawlers have been working for trout though anglers have also been doing well using PowerBait. Black or olive wooly buggers and black, olive or wine-colored leech patterns are also productive for trout and bass. Damselflies are hatching and both damsel nymphs and dries should work. Bass fishing has been good and they are hitting on soft plastic worms and grubs in a variety of colors as well as swimbaits and lures. Northern Pike fishing appears to be picking up in recent weeks, with a handful of 20-to-24-inch pike being caught. Spinning tackle has produced the best results for pike. Anglers please note that NDOW has placed radio tags in several Northern Pike. These pike will have an orange Floy tag near their dorsal fin and a small antenna (~ 7 inches long) coming from their stomach. Please return these fish to the water for research purposes. All other pike should be humanely dispatched. There is no limit on the pike. The lake has been stocked with approximately 14,900 trout this spring.

Surface water temperatures are approaching 70 degrees and fishing has been fair to good for eight-to 10-inch stocked trout with an occasional larger carryover fish. With the dry conditions, irrigation is ongoing and the water level at this reservoir is continuing to drop. Anglers will do well with a variety of night crawlers, 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. Black or olive wooly buggers and black, olive or wine-colored leech patterns are catching trout. Dry fly patterns are also working. Brown trout are in the creek above the reservoir. Anglers should fish deeper as the trout move down in the water column to find cooler oxygen rich water.

Anglers continue to report good fishing for both rainbow and tiger trout on small black or olive crystal or wooly buggers as well as black leeches. Chironomids, pheasant tail nymphs, gold ribbed hare’s ears and soft hackles under an indicator or dry fly should also work. Dry flies are also productive. Popular patterns include parachute Adams, black gnats, yellow stimulators and grasshoppers, Spin fishermen should try small gold or silver spinners. Bait anglers should have some luck with worms under a bobber or PowerBait fished off the bottom.

The high mountain lakes have opened up for fishing and this is a great place to beat the heat. Fishing should be good using sub-surface presentations such as small spinners, worms and small crystal buggers and leech patterns as well as dry flies. Anglers report good fishing at both Liberty and Favre lakes using Adams, Griffith’s gnats and other mayfly patterns. Fishing at Lamoille and Island Lakes have been fair to good. Robinson Lake fishing has been good for brook trout averaging nine inches with a few fish pushing 12 inches. The further you get from the trailhead the better the fishing. Nymphs under an indicator or dry fly are also effective. Look for overhanging brush, large submerged boulders and where snowmelt runs into the lake for trout.

Stream flows in most streams in northern Nevada have dropped but are fishable, while central Nevada stream flows are low making fishing difficult. Lamoille Creek is now at good flows for fishing. With the poor snowpack and the unusually warm spring, anglers should take advantage of early summer conditions while they can. Expect very low stream flows later this summer. The river above South Fork Reservoir has been slow fishing while below the reservoir fishing is better. Flows below Wildhorse Reservoir are down from last week but still high and is fishable in spots. As of July 15, the East Fork of the Owyhee was flowing at 130 cfs, the Bruneau River is down to a very low 10.2 cfs, the Jarbidge at 13.6 cfs, Salmon Falls Creek down to 34.5 cfs, Lamoille Creek at 23.8 cfs, the South Fork of the Humboldt down to 10 to 15 cfs and well below the median of 90 cfs for this time of year, Cleve Creek at a very low 1.49 cfs, Steptoe Creek at 2.18 cfs and Kingston Creek at 2.81 cfs. Cleve, Steptoe and Kingston Creeks are very low for this time of year and fishing is difficult except in the pools.