Hello, fellow anglers. Oh, am I ready to do some camping. We have a little over a month until the California opening of fishing season on rivers and streams.

This year, the rivers are going to be running a little higher than usual. Now as a note, all the little pools and hot spots you learned last year. You are going to have to change that thinking this year. The reason is that the course of some sections on the East Carson River in Alpine County have changed from last year. Yes, many areas will remain the same, but we will have more opportunities to fish new areas this year that were high and dry last season.

Also a reminder that local kids fishing derbies will be coming up in the first two weekends in June — the Sawmill Pond Kids Derby in South Lake Tahoe and the Kids’ Fishing Derby at Lampe Park in Gardnerville. I will give you more information as we get closer to that time.

Now for our local fishing report:

LAKE TAHOE: Fishing has been rated as excellent. Anglers have been fishing the Tahoe City area to Carnelian Bay or the Cal Neva area. Anglers have started at 120 feet of water and move out to 250 feet as the sun gets higher. You need to get your presentation right on the bottom within a couple of feet. Flashers or a dodger with live minnow have been most productive. Many limits have come in from 3-8 pounds, with a few in the 9- to 19-pound range. The Cave Rock launch ramp is open from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Toplining has been fair near the Logan Shoals area. One angler reported catching a 5-pound brown and a 3-pound rainbow with an F11 rainbow pattern Rapala. That, to me, would be a good day. Other toplining areas have been Eagle, Rubicon and Deadman Point. The Emerald Bay area has also been productive. Call Blue Ribbon Fishing Charters at 530-544-6552 for more information or to set up a fishing charter.

CAPLES LAKE: The snow is melting, but there is still too much ice on the lake to do any ice fishing. The last report I received was over five feet of ice.

RED LAKE: I have not received any reports in the last few weeks from anglers fishing or attempting to ice fish the lake. The last report I have was two feet of snow with six feet of ice.

INDIAN CREEK RESERVOIR: The lake level has come down a little, the water has cleared up. I received a report from a couple of anglers that fished last Monday. They used green and orange Gulp and caught 11 small rainbows. They were fishing on the dam side from shore. I spoke with fellow angler, Lew Souder, who fished the lake this week and he was using spoons on the camp side of the lake with little action. For those who are familiar with the lake, the water level is within foot or so from the fallen tree that is near the tent camping area. There is ample room to shore fish on the dam side. If you plan on fishing near the dam, you will have to walk in, as the water is to high to drive to as of last week. The paved road is now open to vehicle traffic or you can use the dirt road off Diamond Valley Road. It is a little rough but passable.

TOPAZ LAKE DERBY: In Week 10 results, Terry Ryan of Fallon took first-place with a 4.8-pound, 23-inch long rainbow. Terry also took second-place with a 3.15-pound, 21-inch long rainbow. For Week 11, first-place went to Sergei Anufiev from Milpitas, Calif., with a 4-pound, 22-inch rainbow. Second-place went to Jeff Porras from Gardnerville with a 4-pound, 22-inch rainbow. The difference between first- and second-place was decided on who brought in their catch the earliest in the week. Seven tagged fish have been brought in during the derby. Contact the Topaz Lodge at 266-3338 for more information on the derby. The derby ends on April 16 at 6 p.m.

TOPAZ LAKE FISHING REPORT: I fished with Tom Blotter of Minden a couple weeks ago and we had good success with Rapalas or needle fish. I tried a Dick Slammer in a green and red pattern and had very good success for the smaller 10- to 17-inch class rainbows. I was also blessed with a 2.2-pound tagged rainbow. I fished this week with Geary Ness of Minden. We started out — Geary, 4 fish, and Doug, zero fish — while toplining Rapalas on the north end. After eight hours, we had caught and released many fish and kept two that weighed in at 2.10 pounds and 3.8 pounds. The fishing has slowed down a little with the full moon and the warmer weather. Many anglers were using flashers and night crawler with good success. The best area was on the north end of the lake. One angler I spoke to at the ramp told me they fished right down the middle of the lake and had very good luck. They were using flashers.

NDOW FISH PLANTS: Sparks Marina, Rye Patch Reservoir and Hinkson Slough.

Good luck on your next fishing adventure. If you get a picture of your catch, send it to dprice@recordcourier.com. if you have a question or a fishing report in our local area, call the Naw line at 267-9722. Hope to see you on the waters. Good fishin’ and tight lines.