Fishing Report: Snowfall great for fishing, both winter and in the upcoming warmer months
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Sat, 02/26/2022 - 10:15am
Hello fellow anglers. I took a drive over the hill a couple weeks ago to fish the Consumnes River south of Jackson CA. It was culture shock to see rolling green hills and people out mowing their lawns, with temperatures in the mid 70's by 11am in the morning.
Then I came home to cold bitter temperatures, and now with snow once again on the ground in the valley's. It is a welcome sight to see that we are finally getting some of our much needed precipitation, both down here and up on top where we really need it.
This is what we need to fill up our reservoirs for a strong spring and summer season. This week I have a small fishing report due to our recent storms.
SILVER LAKE: The lake had a couple feet of ice on it. There were many anglers fishing right in front of the boat ramp. Our recent storm put a foot or so of snow on top of that. Use cation on Silver lake, Once you get over Carson Pass, the weather has a different climate and can take the ice off the lake very fast.
CAPLES LAKE: The lake had 2-3 feet of ice as of last week, with now a foot or so of fresh snow on top of that. The temperatures have been in the single digits over night rising to the mid 30's during the day. Fishing was rated fair last week with angler fishing down by the spillway. No reports form the dam area. The report is closed until mid to end of May.
RED LAKE: Last report was 2 feet of ice on the lake, with a foot or so of new snow on top of the lake. Fishing has been rated slow to fair for anglers. Small gold kastmasters or scented night crawlers have been most productive.
INDIAN CREEK RESERVOIR: The lake level is down a little, which makes it easy to drive over to the dam side to shore fish. The lake is free of weeds but has a lot of slime on the bottom. A few anglers did very well last week using powerbait. Renee and I fished over the weekend and got one bite before the wind blew us off the lake. The campground is closed for the 2022 season. But I am happy to report the eagles are doing fine. We watched an adult and three youngsters cruise around the lake. The paved road still has snow on it and can be dangerous, so drive slowly. The dirt road was open last week. But I feel now it has a few inches of snow on it.
TOPAZ LAKE: The lake level has come up a foot over the last week. NDOW has planted 1300 lbs of Tiger trout this last week. Fishing was fair for boaters using Rapalas or flashers. Shore angling has been hit and miss. The county ramp is open with some construction going on. Topaz Landing Marina is open for boat launching and mooring. For more information call 775-266-3550.
BRIDGEPORT RESERVOIR: Fishing is closed and will open on April 30th. I spoke with Chase from the Bridgeport Marina to get a perspective of what opening day might look like and will the resort be open for launching. His words: "I am not savvy on how many cuts of grass the farmers are going to try to water this season. But there should be enough snow pack to float the docks for at least half the season. We hope". The water level is calculated by the amount of water that is allotted for the farmers downstream, and how much they need to irrigate their fields. I may be off on my exact wording, but this is how the water master decides on how much is released each year and how much can be stored. For more information call 760-932-7001.
EAST AND WEST FORK CARSON RIVERS CALIFORNIA SIDE: The rivers are open to catch and release with artificial lures or flies with barbless hooks. No fishing reports this week. If you fish the rivers, use caution around the rocks with our recent snowfall. For more information stop by the Carson River Resort.
MONITOR PASS AND EBBETS PASSES: Closed due to snow.
Please use caution on all frozen bodies of water. Many of our urban ponds and rivers have iced over in the valley's, but they are extremely dangerous to venture out on. I do not want to have to report on any more tragedies from people falling through the ice.
Good luck on your next fishing adventure, and don't forget to set your clocks ahead in two weeks. I
f you get a picture of your catch. Send it to kelsey@carsonnow.org . Hope to see you on the waters soon.
Good fishin' and tight lines.
