Hello anglers, We just took a trip over the hill to Valley Springs Ca to visit family, and yes there was fishing involved. But what a shock it was. We took highway 88 to Jackson Ca, then south on 49 to highway 26 and headed west. There we saw bright green pastures for as far as the eye could see, with trees with leaves on them. I felt I was just propelled to the month of June.

One of the biggest things to adjust to was humidity. Over there they are having record temps in the 80's and 90's with humidity in the 78% range. Here at home in Minden Nv we have mid 80's with 10% humidity. But I will tell you one thing. If you enjoy scenery and taking the most beautiful photo's. You need to take a journey over for a weekend. Little country towns stretched about 10 to 15 miles apart.

But don't forget the sunscreen and be prepared to sweat a little. Within a few mile any direction was a lake or a river. One funny, but dangerous thing was. It was so hot that everyone was going to the rivers to cool off for the day. But then realized that the water temps were a little cold. Those rivers are the runoff from the Sierra snow melt. Even the local news was warning people to stay out of the rivers due to hypothermia. Always be aware of your surroundings to keep yourself safe. Even from innocent things like trying to cool off on a hot day. As we came back home we saw that our fields were not so green and the leaves are just starting to bud out. But give it time we to will flourish with greenery.

Heck, spring starts this Friday. I also checked out many of the lakes up and over the hill, which you will see the results in your report. Now one nice thing about spring time is that the Nevada Department of Wildlife has started to plant our local urban ponds, as you will see in this report. If it sounds like I am getting spring fever, your right. I am ready to get out and do some camping and fishing around our local area. Just think, it is only 35 days to opening season for many lakes and streams.

LAKE TAHOE: Mackinaw fishing has been a little slow.  Best areas have been Dollar Point or the Tahoe shelf using a dodger and a live minnow. Some anglers have been trolling F9 Rapalas in a black and silver pattern. Note: use a little smelly jelly lightly on the back end of your lure. Not to much or you take away the action of the lure. Fellow angler and friend Jason said he started throwing tube jigs in 15 to 30 feet of water for rainbows and browns. Action has been good. He caught and released a few browns up to 8lbs and a few rainbows up to 4 lbs. For more information go to rubyjeancharters.com or call 775-233-5055.

NDOW FISH PLANTS: Hinkson Slough-North Pond, Mitch Pond, Wilson Common Pond, Seaman Pond Baily Pond, Davis Creek Park Pond, Fort Church hill Cooling Ponds

CAPLES LAKE: The lake now has some open water around the dam. Please stay off the lake until it has thawed. But by all means, take advantage of the thaw by casting some Powerbait or small spinners in that open water along the shoreline. Those fish are hungry and fishing will be good in those open areas. For more information go to capleslakeresort.com or call 209-258-8888.

SILVER LAKE: The lake still has a few inches of ice left on it. I would recommend to stay off the ice.

WOODS LAKE: The road is still closed.

BLUE LAKES, BURNSIDE LAKE, SUNSET LAKE, TAMARACK LAKE,HIGHLAND LAKES, WOLFE CREEK: The roads are still closed.

RED LAKE: the lake is still covered in ice and looks like you could walk on it. but please stay off the ice. It will thaw soon enough to shore fish.

INDIAN CREEK RESERVOIR: Airport road entrance is still closed as of this week. But is scheduled to open soon. The campground is still closed and will be for the season due to the wildfire.

WEST CARSON RIVER ALPINE COUNTY: The river is running perfectly through the Hope valley area. It is open to catch and release with artificial lures or flies with barbless hooks. The Woodfords canyon area is still running a little fast and dangerous.

EAST FORK CARSON RIVER ALPINE COUNTY: The fishing has been doing good over the last couple weeks. Richard Scwall from Fallon was up fishing and caught a nice 3lb rainbow trout. Of course it was released because until April 25th. You can only use artificial lures or flies with barbless hooks and catch and release. For more information go to carsonriverresort.com or call 530-694-2229.

TOPAZ LAKE: The lake level keeps coming up a little each day. For those that love to do a little bass fishing. Get your bass down there. The smallmouth and largemouth are on their beds starting to spawn. Small hair jigs in an orange pattern have been most productive. The trout are starting to become active in the early mornings in the shallows or on the drop offs. Rapalas in various colors top lining or running deep have been most productive. Some anglers have done fair with flashers and a worm.

BRIDGEPORT RESERVOIR, TWIN LAKES: Closed until last Saturday in April.

Owens river above benton crossing: As a reminder this section is barbless flies and lures only, catch and release, open all year. So far it’s just myself out there until some upcoming guide trips and therefore no fish photos since my goal is to release fish within 10 to 20 seconds while keeping them in shallow water.

I was able to access the Longears area via the East side road up from Benton Crossing starting March 3rd and now can use Owens River Road to come in from the West side. Initially I was getting into Rainbows 18” to 20” during their late February/March run up from Lake Crowley along with 8” to 16” Browns and Rainbows. It’s slowly thinning out each trip going from a mix of 4 to 5 of those fish to 2 or 3. Still loads of fun with near perfect weather conditions. Most of those were caught with a Yellow Spot Nymph below an indicator 5’ to 6’ deep. Other good bets include Flashback Pheasant Tails, Zebra Midges, San Juan Worms, and Egg Patterns. The few times I’ve tossed Wooly Buggers have also worked. There’s been a consistent bit of surface feeding by 6” to 12” Browns and Rainbows each day starting about 1:00 in some but not all of the slower moving bends so that’s the time to break out Caddis and Mayfly Patterns. I tell ya, it’s such a joy to be fishing the Upper in March with no snow cherishing the memory of it all year long. Also as a note, Both Monitor and Ebbetts passes are open to through traffic.

Good luck on your next fishing adventure. I hope to see you on the waters soon. Good fishin' and tight lines