Fishing report for week of September 20

Big brookies at Kirman Lake

LAKE ALMANOR: No report.

LAKE ALPINE: No report.

BLUE LAKES (UPPER AND LOWER): No report.

BOCA RESERVOIR: Dick "Father" Murphy of "Fishing with Father Murphy" advises fishermen to troll for Kokanee salmon from the boat ramp to the dam. Most of the salmon are in front of the dam. Troll at a depth of 25-35 feet. The Kokes are 11-13 inches. Boca is low and the water level is dropping daily. This is his last report for this year.

BRIDGEPORT RESERVOIR: Rick of Ken's Sporting Goods Store reported, "The water level is very low. Launching small boats is difficult. Best action for boaters anchored and stillfishing on the bottom in the Buckeye Creek area."

CAPLES LAKE: No report.

CARSON RIVERS (EAST AND WEST) IN CALIF.: No report.

CRATER LAKE (Near Kit Carson Pass): No report.

CONVICT LAKE AND CONVICT CREEK: David DeSurra of the Convict Lake Resort reported that The Diawa fishing contest ended on Sept. 15. The top three winners were rainbows that checked in at 7.51, 6.46 and 6.44 pounds.

Convict Lake: The largest trout of the week were a 6.44 pound Alper's rainbow taken on an nightcrawler at the outlet, a 5.03 pound Alper's caught while trolling with a Rapala lure on the north shore and a 3.24 pound Alper's on a Thomas Buoyant lure at the inlet.

Convict Creek: No report.

CROWLEY LAKE: No report.

DAVIS LAKE: No report.

EAGLE LAKE: Dave Meserve of the Eagle Lake Marina said, "Fishing continued to be very good last week. Shore fishing from the jetty at the Eagle Lake Marina continues to be good with nightcrawlers under bobbers. Average size of the trout is 2-4 pounds. Many fish being caught in the 4-5.5 pound range. Trolling with nightcrawlers, Needlefish lures or flies is very successful."

FRENCHMAN RESERVOIR: According to Wiggin's Trading Post at Chilcoot, Calif., "A stringer of fish weighed 8 pounds with the largest rainbow weighing in at 3.25 pounds. They were caught from shore with nightcrawlers. Another 1.5 pound rainbow was taken while bank fishing with nightcrawlers. Fly fishing has been fair."

FROG LAKE: No report.

HEENAN LAKE: No report.

HOBART RESERVOIR: No report.

HOOVER WILDERNESS AREA (West of Bridgeport): Was reporting slow fishing, basically everywhere. Primarily due to the full moon, windy conditions and reduced numbers of fishermen.

INDIAN CREEK RESERVOIR: No report.

JUNE LAKE LOOP (GRANT-GULL-JUNE-SILVER LAKES-RUSH CREEK):

Grant Lake: No report.

Gull Lake: No report.

June Lake: No report.

Silver Lake: No report.

Rush Creek: No report.

KIRMAN (CARMEN) LAKE: Andrew Sears of Ken's Sporting Goods Store in Bridgeport reported that fishing is really beginning to pick up for fly fishermen using Scudd patterns. They are catching and releasing good numbers of Eastern brook trout, up to about 4-5 pounds. This is a 2-mile, walk-in lake, very popular with fly fishermen.

LAHONTAN RESERVOIR: No report.

LUNDY LAKE: No report.

MAMMOTH LAKES AREA:

George Lake: No report.

Mamie Lake: No report.

Mary Lake: No report.

Twin Lakes: No report.

Mammoth Creek: No report.

MARKLEEVILLE CREEK: No report.

NORTH POND: No report.

OWENS RIVER:

Benton Crossing (Up): No report.

Benton Crossing (Down): No report.

POORE-SECRET-ROOSEVELT-LANE LAKES: No report.

PYRAMID LAKE: Is now closed until Oct. 1.

RED LAKE: No report.

SACRAMENTO RIVER: According to Kirk Portocarrero of Redding. Calif.,

"Anderson: Seeing about a fish per rod on a good day. Salmon ranging in size from 18 to 35 pounds, averaging 25 pounds. Last week produced fish in the 40-45 pound class. Using Flatfish lures wrapped with sardines.

Redding to Anderson: Fishing for rainbow trout is productive, most days. Having 10-20 fish days. Spin and fly gear being used. Glo-Bugs, Wee Warts and Flatfish lures are producing the fish."

SILVER LAKE: No report.

SHASTA LAKE: No report.

SOUTH-NORTH-INTAKE 2-BISHOP CREEK (WEST OF BISHOP): Gary Olson of the Bishop Creek Resorts checked in with this report: "The weather is turning warm again. On Friday, the wind began to come up and by Saturday, it was howling. The lakes were pretty well blown out but the creek fishing was fine."

South Lake: Fishing was great until the wind came up. The best action was for boaters trolling with Kastmaster or Rapala lures. Bait fishing was good for those people using nightcrawlers or Power Bait. The fall colors are really beginning to show now.

North Lake and Intake No. 2: Fishing was tough due to the wind but some anglers reported nice stringers of fish. The best action was with nightcrawlers, salmon eggs or green Power Bait.

Sabrina Lake: Fishing was tough because of the wind. The lake was closed to fishing on Saturday due to a wedding ceremony.

Bishop Creek: Was stocked with Alper's Trophy Rainbow Tout on Friday. The largest trout of the week were a 5-pound, 8-ounce Alper's rainbow taken on a gold Mepps spinner and a 3-pound, 8-ounce rainbow on a nightcrawler. The fall colors on the creek are fabulous.

Back Country: Still lots of hikers in the back country. They reported that the wind was howling and they had to hunt for protected areas, in which to camp.

STAMPEDE RESERVOIR: Dick "Father" Murphy of "Fishing with Father Murphy" advises fishermen to troll at a depth of 30-45 feet from the east end of the island to the dam. The Kokanee salmon are 14.5-16 inches and starting to show their spawning colors. This is his last report for this year.

LAKE TAHOE - North Shore: Mickey Daniels of Mickey's Big Mack Charters reported, "We're catching mostly Mackinaw trout with an occasional rainbow. The Macks are running up to about 10 pounds. We are tagging and releasing the smaller ones. We've been trolling 250-550 feet deep in the area in front of Carnelian Bay and King's Beach. We are using Herring Dodger flasher blades with either live minnows or pearl Apex lures."

LAKE TAHOE - SOUTH SHORE: Rick Mueller of the Sportsmen's Sporting Goods Store at South Lake Tahoe checked in and said, "Mackinaw fishing is rated as very good right now. Limits of nice Macks, up to 7-8 pounds. Best areas are in front of Ski Run and Al Tahoe. This is an early morning bite. The Macks are being caught by trolling 120-180 feet deep with silver Herring Dodger flasher blades and minnows or by vertically jigging with 3-4 ounce Crippled Herring jigs.

Kokanee fishing is also very good right now. Limits are the rule, but the fish are a little bit smaller than last year. They are running up to about 11 inches. The best area is in front of Taylor Creek, where the Kokanee are beginning to bunch up for their spawning run."

TOPAZ LAKE: The Topaz Marina gave this report, "Not many fishermen, not much action. Mostly speed boats, jet skis and water skiers. The lake closes to fishing at the end of the month."

LOWER TWIN LAKE: No report.

UPPER TWIN LAKE: Jan Carlson at the Twin Lake Marina boathouse reported, "Norm Annett of Mono Village planted 50 German brown trout, 3-7 pounds. A 5-pound rainbow was caught while trolling with Power Bait, a 4-pound, 3-ounce German brown was taken on a Hot Shot lure and a 2-pound, 14-ounce rainbow fell for green Power Bait. The wind picks up in the afternoons and then calms back down. The best fishing is in the early morning hours or just after dark."

VIRGINIA LAKES AND VIRGINIA CREEK:

Virginia Lakes: No report.

Virginia Creek: Very low and clear. The fall colors of the Quaking Aspen trees are breathtaking. Some of the leaves are already beginning to come off the trees.

WALKER LAKE: Bob Tompkins of the Walker Lake Guide Services said, "Fishing has picked up. Nothing red hot but it is definitely better. They are catching some nice fish, up to about 6 pounds, between Sand Point and The Cliffs. The boaters are trolling with black/white striped, red/black dot or yellow/black dot TOR-P-DO lures. They are also trolling or jigging with live or frozen minnows. Shore fishermen are scoring with minnows at Sand Point and in The Cliffs area. George Barber of Bishop, Calif. caught a 6-pound, 8-ounce Cutt on a Yo-Zuri Minnow lure. He was trolling in front of the cliffs at a depth of 35 feet.

WALKER RIVERS (EAST-WEST-LITTLE):

East Walker River (Nev.): Bob Tompkins of the Walker Lake Guide Services reported, "The "Elbow" area is still pretty good good for rainbows and an occasional German brown on Panther-Martin or Roostertail lures or with Power Eggs or nightcrawlers."

East Walker River (Calif.): Seeing lots of action by spincasters and fly fishermen. Best for "Fly Guys" using tiny Midges for German browns, up to 25 inches.

West Walker River (Nev.): No report.

West Walker River (Calif.): Low and clear. Continues to be good for bait fishermen and spincasters. Lots of average sized trout. Best with salmon eggs, nightcrawlers or small spinners.

Little Walker River: Low and clear. Good fishing for small rainbows and brookies on worms near the U.S.F.S. Obsidian Campground.

WEBER RESERVOIR: Bob Tompkins of the Walker Lake Guide Services reported, "Access to the reservoir is still closed."

WILDHORSE RESERVOIR: Dennis Dunn of the Wildhorse Resort said, "Fishing is excellent. Everybody is catching fish, mostly on nightcrawlers. Lots of rainbows and some German browns.

Nothing over 4 pounds. The weather is fabulous and the fall colors are beginning to change. This is a nice time of the year to visit us."

WINNEMUCCA LAKE: No report.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK: No report.