FISH

OK Gang, it’s almost time to have fun in the High Sierras once again. In just 10 days on April 30, the 2011 fishing season will open for applicable lakes, reservoirs, streams, creeks and rivers in the State of California, plus all of the applicable waters in Inyo and Mono Counties. That season will then remain open until Tuesday, Nov. 15.

If you’re new to the area, here’s some information that can be useful if you would like to try your hand at fishing on that Opening Day or Weekend:

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Here is this week's fishing report for Northern and Western Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of April 20-27.

ALMANOR LAKE, CALIF:
Brian Roccucci of Big Daddy’s Guide Service (539) 283-4103 www.bigdaddyfishing.com reports:
The Brown Bite Continues! More Browns are beginning to move in to areas along the east shore following the Pond Smelt.
On recent trips we have seen pretty solid numbers of Browns, some days having to cover more water than on others, but the fish are there.

By the California Department of Fish and Game
The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) recommends that people not handle any young wild animals they see in the outdoors.

The improper handling of young wildlife is a problem in California and across the nation, most commonly in the spring, when many species are caring for their offspring.
People frequently encounter young wild animals they think need assistance or have been orphaned. However, in most cases neither assumption is true and the animals should be left alone.

Here is a list of the most recent fish plants in the western part of the Silver State done by the Nevada Division of Wildlife:

April 11: West Walker River in Lyon County: 2,009 rainbow trout: 10.1 inches in length.
April 12: Wilson Common Pond in Washoe Valley: 499 rainbow trout: 10.1 inches in length.
April 12: Davis Creek Pond in Washoe Valley: 504 rainbows: 10.5 inches.
April 12: Liberty Pond in Churchill County: 672 rainbows: 10.1 inches.

By Joe Doucette
In late March, Donald Lee Scarrow Jr. and Roger Lynn Sievers, entered a plea agreement for one count each of unlawful possession of big game animal (mule Deer), a gross misdemeanor as defined by NRS 501.376(4) and NRS 501.376 (5).

The two men had 2009 mule deer tags for hunt units 071-079,091.

A picture was obtained by Idaho Game and Fish of Scarrow posing with the Trophy class mule deer buck that he had harvested.

This photo was circulating on the internet in November of 2009.

By Beth Waterbury / Idaho Department of Fish and Game
The return of spring signals the return of osprey from their wintering grounds in Central America.
The Salmon River corridor from North Fork to Stanley supports about 40 nesting pairs of these large brown and white birds of prey.

As they are in much of the state, most of their nests are built on artificial nesting structures, which provide the visibility, security from predators, and proximity to water that ospreys need.

By the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
The first tiger muskies ever raised in Utah will soon be swimming in six waters in the state.
Fertilizing the eggs from a Northern pike with milt from a true muskie creates a huge fish called a tiger muskie.
The tigers will be only two to three inches long when they're released. But they won't stay that size for long.

By Don Quilici
Mark your calendars for April 24-26 for the highly-popular John Riordan Invitational Fishing Derby. John is the Assistant General Manager for the Carson Station Hotel and Casino in Carson City, and this will be the 14th version of his annual, fun-filled, fishing event at Topaz Lake.
His derby is traditionally co-headquartered at the Topaz Lake Marina and the Topaz Lake Lodge at Topaz Lake, which lies along the Nevada-California state line about 40 miles south of Carson City.

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CARSON CITY — Here is this week's fishing report for Northern and Western Nevada, Northern California and southern Oregon. This report is for the week of April 13-20:

ALMANOR LAKE, CALIF:
Brian Roccucci of Big Daddy’s Guide Service (539) 283-4103) www.bigdaddyfishing.com reports:
It is Game On at Lake Almanor. How fast things can change with a break in the storms and a little sun. A week ago the fish were in a solid winter pattern and now the weather has them acting like spring.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife has recently completed several fish plants in the northern and western part of the state. Here are the latest plants:
April 5: Sand Harbor at Lake Tahoe: 4,244 rainbow trout: 10.1 inches.
April 5: Cave Rock at Lake Tahoe: 2,091 rainbows, 10.1 inches.
April 6: Squaw Creek Reservoir in Northern Washoe County; 3,036 rainbows: 10.0 inches.
April 6: Mountain View Park in Lyon County: 468 rainbows, 10.0 inches.
April 8: Topaz Lake: 6,780 rainbow fingerings: 5.0 inches.

By the Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce
The Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors bureau would like to remind everyone that there are just a few weeks left in the new Winter Classic Trout Derby.

Thanks to grant funding provided by Inyo County, the Chamber has contracted with Inland Aquaculture to purchase and plant specially tagged Alpers Trout in Pleasant Valley Reservoir and Lower Owens River.

By the Idaho Department of Fish and Game
This is a second reminder that April is not just tax month; it's also the month to apply for Idaho moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat hunts.

Applications for these controlled hunts will be accepted from April 1 through April 30.
Hunters may apply at Fish and Game offices, license vendors, and with a credit card by telephone or over the Internet.

This week’s feature is about a long time friend, Gene St. Denis, Captain of Blue Ribbon Charters at South Lake Tahoe, Calif. He offers daily fishing trips for Mackinaw, rainbow and brown trout on his sport fishing boat, “The PT-109,” at Lake Tahoe.

Mackinaw trout in the double digit class (10 pounds or more) in weight are not that uncommon on those charter trips. In fact, in the last two years, each time Elaine and I have fished with “Gino” she has caught a double digit “Mack” in weight.

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Click here for this week's fishing report and here for more outdoor stories.

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Two years ago, her Mack weighed 20-pounds, 9-ounces (37.5 inches long) and it was the biggest fresh water fish that she has ever caught.
Last year, her fish checked in at just over 10 pounds.

Here is the Northern Nevada, Northern California and Sierra Fishing Report
For the week of April 6-13:

By the Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce
The Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors bureau would like to remind everyone that there are just a few weeks left in the new Winter Classic Trout Derby.

Thanks to grant funding provided by Inyo County, the Chamber has contracted with Inland Aquaculture to purchase and plant specially tagged Alpers Trout in Pleasant Valley Reservoir and Lower Owens River.

By the California Department of Fish and Game
California Department of Fish and Game Wardens, County Sheriffs, scientists and community volunteers saved hundreds of mature trout from dying near Big Bear Lake in Northern Los Angeles County this week.

Here are the most recent fish plants in the western part of the Silver State by the Nevada Department of Wildlife:

By the California Department of Fish and Game
Scientists working on the recovery of endangered coho salmon in northern California appreciate success even if it comes in small doses.

Field biologists from the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) are reporting the largest number of coho returning to spawn in Sonoma County tributaries of the Russian River in more than a decade. 

By the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Anglers can look forward to another promising steelhead season on the Columbia River and its tributaries this year, based on a forecast released recently by a team of state, federal and tribal biologists.

The sky was gradually beginning to get light in the east when I very quietly began to row my small, inflatable raft away from the Cave Rock boat launch on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe.

Just moments before, Elaine and I had neatly stowed our lunch, drinks, fishing poles, reels, tackle box, net, battery-operated fish finder and video camera into the bottom of the raft.

If you like to fish in the State of Nevada, you might be interested in entering the 2011 Ormsby Sportsmen’s Association (OSA) fishing contest.

This annual contest is inexpensive, you can have fun fishing during the year and you might even win some nice cash, just before Christmas.

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Click here for this week's fishing report and here for other outdoor-related stories.

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If you’re interested, here is all kinds of information on that contest:

By the Idaho Department of Fish and Game
Idaho Fish and Game will auction furs, hides, antlers, traps and miscellaneous hunting and fishing equipment on Saturday, April 2, at the Clearwater Regional office, 3316 16th St., in Lewiston.

Anyone interested may view the items beginning at 8 a.m., with the auction beginning promptly at 10 a.m.

Auction items include furs, whole carcasses, antlers, and skulls of elk, moose, deer, black bear, mountain lion, otter, beaver, bobcat and fox.

Here is the weekly fishing report for Northern and Southern Nevada, Northern California, Eastern Sierra and Southern Oregon rivers and lakes. This report runs through April 5.

ALMANOR LAKE, CALIF:
Brian Roccucci of Big Daddy’s Guide Service (539) 283-4103) www.bigdaddyfishing.com reports:
The winter trout bite at Lake Almanor continues to be pretty solid....when you can get to the lake!

Here is the latest fish plant news as reported by the Nevada Department of Wildlife:
March 23: Liberty Pond in Churchill County: 800 rainbows: 10.8 inches.
For information, call NDOW Headquarters in Reno at (775) 688-1500 during regular business hours.

Here is the fishing report for Northern Nevada, Northern California, Southern Oregon and the Sierra for the week of March 23 through March 30:

By the Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management-Nevada (BLM) announces the spring meeting of the Sierra Front-Northwestern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council (RAC), which will meet on Wednesday, March 30, 2011, 8:00 a.m., at the BLM-Carson City District Office (CCDO), 5665 Morgan Mill Road, Carson City, Nev.

By the California Department of Fish and Game
A 28-year-old man has been arrested for impersonating a California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) warden in Tulare County.

Joshua Adam O’Daniel, a Terra Bella resident, was sought by law enforcement for allegedly claiming to be a game warden making a field contact with a mother and daughter.

On Dec. 30, 2010, the mother and daughter were parked along Blueridge Road in rural Tulare County when O’Daniel stopped his pickup nearby and approached them.

Here are the most recent fish plants in Western Nevada by done by the Nevada Department of Wildlife:

By the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission has set the 2011 sport halibut seasons for the Oregon Coast.

Oregon halibut anglers will enjoy slightly more fishing opportunity in 2011 thanks to a 12 percent increase in the harvest quota set by the International Pacific Halibut Commission, according to Gway Rogers-Kirchner, ODFW marine fishery manager.

(News Release) — In a lakewide study, a team of scientists lead by University of Nevada, Reno limnologist Sudeep Chandra has found a considerable decline in native fish species density at Lake Tahoe since 1951. In their final report, they are recommending establishing and implementing a management plan to protect the nearshore zone habitat, which is critical to native fish.