Hello fellow anglers. I am so excited we get to turn our clocks ahead this weekend.  I now get to fish an hour later in the day. As I was scanning the fishing world last week, I ran across a story in the montanaoutdoor.com. website about an angler named Robbie Dockter from Conrad Montana. Robbie was fishing the Marias River in Montana and caught the new state record Brown trout. The official weight was 32.43 pounds. That record has not been broken since 1966 and then weighed in at 29 pounds and was caught by EH Peck Bacon in Wade Lake. I believe there are browns just as big in our local area here in Nevada and California.

Fishing right now is a little slow in our local area. But we have more opportunities now with the opening of the rivers and streams in California.

CAPLES LAKE: The lake had 2-3 feet on ice as of this week. But with our recent storms, you can count on a lot of snow to cover that ice. Which means a little more effort on our part to get to the fish below. Anglers have been fishing the dam and the spillway area with fair success. Most have been using night crawlers. One other bait that is not usually used a lot, but has been successful is small freshwater shrimp from your local grocery store. Kastmasters or small spoons have been the best bet for anglers jigging.

RED LAKE: Plenty of ice and fresh snow on the lake. Anglers have been fishing closer to the shore with Night crawlers or salmon eggs. I personally like fishing 5 to 10 feet of water. But change up your area if the fish are not biting, sometimes you just have to venture out farther.

BLUE LAKES:  The road is closed at the first gate.

CARSON RIVER  WEST FORK CALIFORNIA: The water level is very low. When you can get out between weather events. Fish downstream from Hope Valley in the Canyon area. There are some deeper holes that are holding some good fish from last year. be careful while winter fishing, hypothermia can happen in an instant if you fall in or start wading around.

EAST FORK CARSON RIVER CALIFORNIA SIDE: There are some good holes up above the Carson River resort that are holding good fish. I would recommend salmon eggs or a small jig.  Patience is a must this time of year. trout will be very lethargic this time of year and will sit right on the bottom.   The road was open up to the intersection of Monitor Pass  and highway 4.

MARKLEEVILLE CREEK: The water level is too low to fish, I would wait for a month  to fish.

WOODS LAKE: CLOSED.

BURNSIDE LAKE: Closed.

MONITOR AND EBBETS PASSES: Closed

EAST FORK FROM HANGMAN'S BRIDGE CALIFORNIA. River is fishable, but access right now is a little hard with local weather. Fishing is open for artificial lures or flies only. There is now a new catch and keep limit of 2 fish that are 14 inches are bigger.

EAST FORK CARSON RIVER DOUGLAS COUNTY NEVADA: The NDOW has planted the river this week with catchable rainbow trout. I would fish right above the dam downstream just past the bridge.

UPPER TRUCKEE, TROUT CREEK, TAYLOR CREEK:  Close to fishing until the Saturday preceding Memorial day.

INDIAN CREEK RESERVOIR: I would recommend to use the dirt road for access. The paved road is open but has some areas of excessive snow drifts with one lane plowed in many areas. I have not received any report and have not fished the lake for a few weeks. The water level was still up on my last journey and pretty much weed free.

MASON VALLEY WILDLIFE REFUGE: located in Yerington Nevada. Anglers are allowed to fishon Hinkson Slough ( with  gear restrictions),  North Pond, Crappie Pond, Bass Pond and the Cooling Ponds have no gear restrictions.

TOPAZ LAKE: The lake level has leveled off and has not risen for a couple weeks. The Nevada Department of Wildlife has planted about 10,000 trout over the last month. Fishing has been spotty due to the recent weather events.

NDOW FISH PLANTS: Wilson Common Pond, Mitch Pond, Seeman Pond, Paradise Pond, Baily Pond, Sparks Marina.

The new California freshwater fishing regulations are now available online at CDFW. You can download the Nevada fishing APP at FishNV. Good luck on your next fishing adventure. Don't be surprised if you see me fishing this weekend at Topaz or Indian Creek Reservoir. It may be snowing now as I write this, but the weather is supposed to clear up for a good weekend. If you have a picture of your catch, send it to [email protected]. Good fishin' and tight lines.