Fishing report through Dec. 6

Here is this week's fishing report from Nov. 30 through Dec. 6, 2011. This report covers rivers, streams and lakes in Nevada, the Sierra, Northern California and Southern Oregon.

BISHOP AREA, CALIF:
The fishing season for the Bishop area is closed.
 
BRIDGEPORT RESERVOIR, CALIF:
The fishing season for Bridgeport Reservoir is closed.

CARSON RIVER, CALIF:
East Carson River: The fishing season for the East Carson River is closed upstream from Hangman’s Bridge.
West Carson River: The fishing season for the West Carson River is closed.

COMINS LAKE, WHITE PINE COUNTY, NEV:
The Nevada Department of Wildlife (www.ndow.org) reports:
A few bass have been showing up, but no trout due to the pike infestation.
Pike fishing has also been poor. There are few if any trout left in the lake also due to the pike infestation.

CONVICT LAKE, CALIF:
The fishing season for Convict Lake is closed.

CROWLEY LAKE, CALIF:
The fishing season for Crowley Lake is closed.

EAGLE LAKE, CALIF:
Brian Roccucci of Big Daddy’s Guide Service (539-283-4103) www.bigdaddyfishing.com reports:
That's a wrap!!! Eagle Lake 2011 is in the books. We left the fish on the bite, my final trips of this season found good action on fish in both the middle and south basins.
Orange grubs were the hot bait and 7 feet was the key depth.
The last few days were spent beating up the fish found on the south east side of the middle basin, north of the Youth Camp. There were plenty of fish in there to keep the rods bent.
Last week I did venture down to the south end of the lake to fish, in an effort to get some relief from the big south wind. The results were well worth the trip, as we managed fish from Gallitin to Wildcat and just about everywhere in between. As I mentioned before orange grubs were the only baits we ran scented with Pro-Cure's Freshwater Shrimp Oil.
Several small storm fronts in the last week have done a great job at keeping the water from freezing over, last year at this time there was 4 inches of ice in the Spaulding Marina.
As long as we don't get a big blast of cold air from the north the waters should remain open and the fish on the bite. I'm looking forward to what I hope will be a good wet winter and another increase in Eagle's water level, every little bit helps.
I will be running a few trips on Almanor over the course of December and January, weather permitting. If you are interested contact me for availability.

FALL RIVER, CALIF:
The fishing season for Fall River is closed.

FREMONT LAKE, CALIF:
The fishing season for Fremont Lake is closed.

FT. CHURCHILL COOLING PONDS, LYON COUNTY, NEV:
The fishing season for the Ft. Churchill Cooling Ponds is closed.

HAT CREEK, CALIF:
The fishing season for Hat Creek is closed.

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

HINKSON SLOUGH, LYON COUNTY, NEV:
The fishing season for Hinkson Slough is closed.

HOBART RESERVOIR, WASHOE COUNTY, NEV:
The fishing season for Hobart Reservoir is closed.

HOOVER WILDERNESS AREA, CALIF:
The fishing season for the Hoover Wilderness Area is closed.

HOT CREEK, CALIF:
Steve Osterman of Performance Guide Service (760-934-6101) (www.performanceanglers.com) reports:
Water flow at 12 CFS. Nymph fishing is the best bet right now. Try small WD-40's Miracle Nymphs and Pheasant Tails. Some surface action mid-day with BWO's.

HOT CREEK, CALIF:
Kent of The Trout Fly and Troutfitter (760-934-2517) (www.thetroutfitter.com) reports:
Water Conditions: Great. Flows at 27 CFS as of 11/27.
Fishing Conditions: Excellent. The fish are getting into that winter feeding pattern where the bite window is only from maybe 10 am until 2 pm but they all feed at once and are not very choosy! Start with Midges, then go to Baetis Nymphs and dries if they start sipping on the surface.
Once the action gets going you can go "big and buggy" and they'll gobble flies they wouldn't even look at in summer.

JUNE LAKE LOOP, CALIF:
The fishing season for the June Lake Loop is closed.

KIRMAN LAKE, CALIF:
The fishing season for Kirman Lake is closed.

MAMMOTH LAKES BASIN, CALIF:
The fishing season for the Mammoth Lakes Basin is closed.

MARKLEEVILLE CREEK CALIF:
The fishing season for Markleeville Creek is closed.

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

MASON VALLEY W.M.A., LYON COUNTY, NEV:
The fishing season for the Mason Valley W.M.A. is closed.

OWENS RIVER, CALIF:
Steve Osterman of Performance Guide Service (760-934-6101) (www.performanceanglers.com) reports:
Upper Owens River: Current water flow is 76 CFS. Fishing is closed below the Benton Crossing Bridge. The river upstream is open to fishing all year. Barbless artificials only. Zero limit. Fishing is slow with winter now upon us. Nymphing is the best bet. Try standard Nymph patterns like Pheasant Tails or Hares Ears.
Lower Owens River: Water flow is 199 CFS. Flows are finally at fishable levels.

OWENS RIVER, CALIF:
Kent of The Trout Fly and Troutfitter (760-934-2517) (www.thetroutfitter.com) reports:
Upper Owens water conditions: Good. As of 11/27 flows are stable at 76 CFS above the Hot Creek confluence. You can still drive all the way up to Long Ears as latest snow melted quickly.
Fishing conditions: Good to Excellent. Small Midge dries around mid day, with bigger Midges subsurface. Some bigger fish have been caught above Benton Crossing this week but they are probably on the move so don't be glued to any one spot.
Owens River Gorge:
Water conditions: Great. Flow: 45 CFS.
This is a permanent flow required to be maintained by LADWP
Fishing conditions: Excellent.
Lower Owens:
Water conditions: Excellent. They (LADWP) finally have dropped the flows down and are a sweet 201 CFS as of 11/27. It has been shirt-sleeve weather down there midday. No one told Bishop it is winter yet.
Fishing conditions: Good. The flows have been changing downward steadily every day so the fish have not completely acclimated yet but some major hatches are coming off so once it stabilizes it should be stellar.

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

POORE AND SECRET LAKES, CALIF:
The fishing season for Poore and Secret Lakes is closed.

PYRAMID LAKE, WASHOE COUNTY, NEV:
George and Carla Molino of the Pyramid Lake Store (775-476-0555) (www.fishpyramid.com) reports:
Fishing, overall, for the boats is improving in sizes and numbers. Not that many big fish but we had a report of a 13 pounder. The shore fishermen and fly guys are doing OK.

ROOSEVELT AND LANE LAKES, CALIF:
The fishing season for Roosevelt and Lane Lakes is closed.

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

SILVER CREEK, CALIF:
The fishing season for Silver Creek is closed.

LAKE TAHOE:
Gene St. Denis of Blue Ribbons Charters (530-544-6552) (www.blueribbonfishing.com) reports:
Mackinaw trout fishing has been a little slow but its getting better, especially in the early mornings.
I’ve been trolling with Dodgers and minnows at the north end of the lake.
We caught a Mack in the 15-pound class.
I also got a 10 pound rainbow while top lining along the east shore.
We caught a 16 and 19 pounder Tuesday at Camp Richardson shelf.

TOPAZ LAKE:
The fishing season for Topaz Lake is closed.

TWIN LAKES, CALIF:
The fishing season for Twin Lakes is closed.

VIRGINIA LAKES, CALIF:
The fishing season for Virginia Lakes is closed.

WALKER LAKE, MINERAL COUNTY, NEV:
The Nevada Department of Wildlife (www.ndow.org) reports:
No fish have been reported or seen at Walker Lake so far this fishing season.
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, CALIF:
Kent of The Trout Fly and Troutfitter (760-934-2517) (www.thetroutfitter.com) reports:
East Walker River water Conditions:  Good. Flows steady for two weeks at 25 CFS as of 11/27.
Fishing Conditions: Good. Fishing has really picked up and good reports are coming back from guides and clients. Some big Browns in the mix.
These sunny days as soon as the water temp comes up a couple of degrees the baetis start hatching in quantity and it gets good quickly.
Midges early as usual.

WALKER RIVERS, CALIF:
Steve Osterman of Performance Guide Service (760-934-6101) (www.performanceanglers.com) reports:
East Walker River: 
Most recent flow 25 CFS. No change here. Water is low and cold and fishing is tough. Try red or gray Midge pupa.

— Writer Don Quilici is the Outdoor editor for Carson Now and South Tahoe Now. He can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com.