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Even with great fishing, make sure you only use one stringer

Doug Busey

Hello, fellow anglers – fishing is good all over. But one important message for you all:

When you are out on your favorite place to fish, remember one important thing. You can only have your catch on one stringer, meaning you cannot share a stringer with your partner, even though you may have only kept three fish. If there are seven fish on your stringer, you could possibly receive a fine by a game warden. So keep separate stringers and on some lakes, boats that have live wells must have a separator in the live well to identify each angler’s catch. Just a little tip to pass along to you. Best to be safe than embarrassed.

Now for the fishing report.



South Lake Tahoe: Action is great. Mackinaw are in 80-150 feet of water using dodgers with a live minnow. Kokanee action is also good in 40-80 feet of water. Best areas are Camp Richardson area. For Macs, the best action has been Meeks Bay or Sugar Pine Point. For more information, or to hook up with a professional guide, call The Sportsman, at (530) 542-FISH.

Caples Lake: Action is hot, hot, hot. One couple fished for four days and caught and released 70 rainbow trout. They were using flasher blades followed with a night crawler. They were trolling in the top 5-10 feet of water. Another angler Tuesday was trolling a needlefish in 50 feet of water and caught and released 30 rainbow in one afternoon. As of Tuesday there was a plant of 2,000 rainbow. Heck, with that many fish in the lake, who could launch a boat? Ha Ha! For more information, call the Caples General Store at (209) 258-8888.



Woods Lake: Recently planted with rainbow trout, this lake is one mile north of Caples Lake on state Route 88.

Red Lake: Fishing has been fair for rainbow trout. Best action has been from a small boat casting small spinners.

Carson Rivers East and West: Waters are very low, but for those who do not mind a good hike, action has been good. Night crawlers topped with a salmon egg have been very productive. For more information, call the Carson River General Store at 694-2229.

Blue Lakes: The lower lake has been planted with rainbow trout. Rainbow or sherbet power bait has been most productive.

Indian Creek Reservoir: Watch out for extreme weeds, but if you get out over the weed line fishing has been good. Last Wednesday I fished from 8 to 10 a.m. and came home with my limit of rainbow trout, all 15 inches long with the exception of a 2-1/2-pounder using red, white and blue power bait.

Topaz Lake: During the week, Monday through Friday, limits are coming in from shore and from trollers using flasher blades and night crawlers or from shore using inflated night crawlers. For more information, call the Topaz Marina at (775) 266-3550.

Now let’s find out about our fly-fishing world.

Summer is in full swing and the fly fishing has been great! It looks like we might be in for a tough second half of the summer though, the water levels in our rivers are getting pretty low as we speak. Float tubing will be the answer for those who want to continue with their success from the spring. Stillwater fly fishing opportunities abound all summer long with Caples Lake, Red Lakes, and Spooner Lake leading the way. It’s time to sharpen your stillwater skills!

Some of our great fly fisheries at this time are the East Carson River and the main Truckee below the town of Truckee (see flyline.com for a great report on the Truckee area). The East Carson should be fished below Hangman’s Bridge down to the state line, which is all catch and release. The farther you hike the better the fishing will be. Another thought is to fish above the bridge, which gets less pressure from the fly fisherman, for the same fish as below the bridge but they see less flies and are usually more receptive to the fly and easier to catch. Dry fly patterns that are working well at this time are Caddis Emergers, Little Yellow Stones, BWOs and a bit of Hopper activity as well. For the Nymph fisherman, I would throw Caddis Pupas, PT Nymphs, Small Stone Fly Nymphs, Micro Midges and or Streamer Patterns. Fish early and or late for best results!

The West Carson Rivers has been stocked full of fish and can be a lot of fun with the fly. For the best results, try fishing with a Nymph and Indicator set up. Drift a small PT Nymph or Hares Ear Nymph (about the size of a pellet) through the fish that you can see and hang on! Otherwise, fishing with Wooly Buggers will be your best bet. Try the Backcountry Lakes for an exciting, uncrowded fly fishing experience! This is the timeto access the lakes and small creeks in the backcountry for some of the season’s most beautiful and exciting fishing. The flies you will need are Terrestrials, Damsels, Black Gnats and small Streamers! Take a hike and enjoy!

For further information on these fisheries or any other in our vicinity, give the boy at Tahoe Fly Fishing Outfitters a call. We are offering guided fly fishing trips every day of the week. And for a special treat, try a trip to our private fishery, East Peak Lake, high atop Heavenly Ski Resort at 8600 feet. This private fishery is chalked full of Big Rainbow Trout and only offered through our shop. Tahoe Fly Fishing Outfitters is located at 3433 Lake Tahoe Blvd. (across from Safeway and next to the Timbercove Lodge). You can reach us by phone at 530-541-8208. Please remember to Catch-and-Release ALL of YOUR Wild Trout!

I hope you have a great experience on your next outing, and if you get a picture of your catch, drop it off at the Tahoe Daily Tribune, attention: Mac-The-Naw. If you have any questions or comments you can call the Naw line at (775) 267-9722.

Good fishin’!


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