I should be a TV weatherman! My prediction for ice on Wildhorse was way off. In fact, the surface water temperatures rose a bit this week back into the low 40s and there is very little ice on the lake. Of course, this prediction was based on weather predictions that were also off. Even with lows well below freezing Thursday night, the winds were also a factor in keeping ice from forming on the lake.
That being said, if the weather prediction for the next week is correct, expect to see ice forming on the lake late next week. Of course, whether we are talking about South Fork or Wildhorse, don’t expect to see safe ice before New Year’s.
Speaking of South Fork, with the way fall has gone, if temperatures continue to be above average don’t expect safe ice at South Fork this year. If there is safe ice, it will probably be for only a very short time.
On the positive side, the water year has gotten off to a good start and as of Thursday, December 9th, the basins in northeastern Nevada are above 100% of median for precipitation. On the flip side, the snowpack water equivalent is very low, though the storm front that moved through midweek raised it from single digits to 20-40% of the median. Hopefully the front moving through early next week will help bring more of the much needed moisture.
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With the wind and warmer than predicted temperatures, Wildhorse is still mostly open water. However, with much colder temperatures forecast for next week, expect the lake to start freezing over. Famous last words. LOL. Last weekend as the front moved through, anglers were having good luck catching trout both in the lake and the tailwater below the dam. A variety of flies, lures and baits were working. With a front moving through again early next week, and if the open water lasts, this may repeat itself this weekend. Be prepared for cooler temperatures and windy conditions. Chironomids, leech patterns and wooly buggers are still the best bet for fly anglers but the usual nymph assortment of copper Johns, hares ears, and pheasant tails should also work. Bait anglers have been catching fish with worms or rainbow or sherbet PowerBait. Small spinners have also been effective. The lake level is still holding at 50% capacity. Wildhorse was stocked approximately 50,000 trout this fall. Stocking is done here for the year.
No ice on the lake itself, but in the backwaters above the lake, the moat area on the west side and some of the slack water of the river, a little ice has formed. Surface water temperature at the main boat ramp was 42 degrees Thursday afternoon. Trout fishing has been fair to good depending upon the day. Low light conditions (early morning and late afternoon) seem to be working the best. Those fly fishermen that were catching fish report that they have been catching nice fish with a variety fly patterns including wooly buggers, leech patterns, red copper Johns, hare’s ears and chironomid (midge larva) patterns. Ice cream cones, red butt buzzers, red and silver zebra midges, red brassies and frostbite chironomids should all be working. Anglers are also having some success with spinners, worms and PowerBait fished from shore. The dock is out of the water at the main boat ramp. South Fork was stocked with approximately 39,000 trout this fall. Stocking is done for the year.
No recent report, but expect similar conditions as at South Fork. For the bait anglers, worms seem to be working better than PowerBait for trout. Fly rodders should have some success with leech and wooly bugger patterns. Nymphs include blue copper Johns, hare’s ears, PT’s and chironomids. This lake often has similar conditions to South Fork and the same techniques and presentations often work. Expect ice to start forming the road to be muddy once the day warms up. The boat ramp is out of the water and is unusable.
Trout fishing has been fair to good in the collection ditch though ice is forming. There is some ice in the south marsh and the dock is out of the water. Leech patterns, balanced leeches, crystal buggers, #14-16 hare’s ears, and #16-18 PT nymphs and chironomids under an indicator are probably the best bet for the collection ditch. Other flies working include the usual small nymphs, olive soft hackles, red or blue copper Johns, and prince nymphs. Egg patterns should be working at this time. Some of the best fishing reported has been on the days that were cloudy and windy. Spin anglers should be using small spinners in black or olive with contrasting yellow or red colors. On warmer cloudy afternoons if there appears to be a hatch, blue wing olive flies in smaller sizes may work.
JAKES CREEK/BOIES RESERVOIR
No recent report. A couple of weeks ago the lake was mostly covered in ice, but with the warmer weather and winds, that has probably changed to more open water. If you can find some open water along the shore the usual worms and PowerBait, as well as small spinners, rooster tails, and panther Martins should work for trout. Fly rodders should be using black or olive wooly buggers or leech patterns, hares ears, PT nymphs and chironomid patterns. Expect the lake to freeze completely early next week with unsafe ice. More than likely it will be unsafe until after New Year’s.
Cold Creek Reservoir was salvaged last month so that water control structure could be fixed to prevent leaking. When the control structure is fixed, the reservoir will be filled and NDOW will begin rebuilding the fishery in spring or summer of 2022 depending upon water conditions.
The water levels continue to drop at Cave Lake in an anticipation of renovation efforts on the dam in 2022. NDOW conducted a fish salvage last week and moved some very nice brown trout ranging in size from eight to 25 inches into Comins Lake. 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.
Comins Lake was about 60% ice covered last week and conditions are similar this week. There was some open water along the north and west shorelines for fishing, but trout fishing was just fair due to the cold water temperatures. Anglers can expect to catch Rainbow Trout in the 16-to-17-inch range but shouldn’t be surprised when they hook into fish that are over 20 inches. Water temperatures are in the mid 30’s. Next week’s colder forecast should see this lake ice covered with very unsafe ice. Expect the ice to remain unsafe until sometime in early January. Construction of a brand-new boat launch and shade structures was completed early last month. 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 coming from their stomach. Please return these fish to the water for research purposes. If the pike doesn’t have the transmitter tag, please humanely dispatch the fish. Do not put it back in the lake. Comins Lake was stocked with approximately 14,000 trout this fall along with brown trout salvaged from Cave Lake. Stocking is done for the year.
Illipah Reservoir is sitting at a water capacity of about 50% and ice forming on the lake. There may still be some open water this weekend for shore fishing, but that will probably end any day. Anglers will do well on nightcrawlers, mealworms, a variety of jigs, wet flies, and powerbait. Surface water temperatures are in the upper 30s to low 40s. The best flies right now are leech or wooly bugger patterns. Fly rodders will also do well on bead head pheasant tails, wooly buggers, chironomids and parachute Adams. Spinners, PowerBait, and nightcrawlers will do well for the spin casting angler. Don’t expect safe ice until after New Year’s.
The road to Angel Lake is closed for the winter and the lake is ice covered and there will be no more fishing reports until late spring or early summer depending upon snowfall this winter.
Alpine lakes are frozen over and there will be no more fishing reports until late spring or early summer depending upon snowfall.
With the colder weather stream flows continue to trend down and many stations are starting to show ice instead of flows, but there is still open water for fishing. With colder water temperatures expect stream fishing to be slow and to find ice on the rocks and shorelines. As of December 10, the East Fork of the Owyhee is still showing ice expect flows between 10 and 15 cfs near Mountain City, the Bruneau River at 12.6 cfs, the Jarbidge at 5.7 cfs, Salmon Falls Creek at 43 cfs, Lamoille Creek at 6.8 cfs, the South Fork of the Humboldt at 8 cfs, Cleve Creek at 4.3 cfs, Steptoe Creek at 1.8 cfs and Kingston Creek at 1.1 cfs.
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