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The prospects of a drought this year are rapidly dissolving with the accumulation of up to 146 inches of snow on the higher peaks of the Sierra Nevada. With the arrival of cold, snowy weather, many northern California and Nevada lakes are now icing over, bringing with them the arrival of the ice fishing season. The creme-de-la-creme of the ice fishing prospects is Wildhorse Reservoir in northeast Nevada. It's located 62 miles north of Elko on State Highway 225. It's about a six hour drive from Reno and a 8-1/2 hour drive from Sacramento, according to Dennis Dunn at the Wildhorse Resort. However, this lake is worth the drive since it offers good ice fishing prospects for a variety of species, including rainbow trout, German brown trout and the popular yellow perch. The ice is now one foot thick and offers great conditions for ice fishermen. "Your best bet for both trout and perch is to fish with nightcrawlers," he advised. "Fish the nightcrawler on a white crappie jig or put it on a worm hook, with the worm sandwiched between two pieces of corn or two salmon eggs." |
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The trout average 2 pounds each and measure anywhere from 14 to 22 inches long. About one out of every 10 trout is a German brown; the biggest one caught on December 30 weighed 4-1/2 pounds." The perch average 9 to 11 inches long. Because of low water conditions, the perch aren't as numerous as they were last year, because the pelicans and cormorants took a big toll on the perch this year. The hot spots for perch and trout include Penrod Creek, Goose Island, near the dam and the Sho-Pai Trailer Park. Although the lake is home of the Nevada state record smallmouth bass and lots of big catfish, Dunn hasn't seen any of these fish pulled through the ice at Wildhorse during the winter. If you like to ice fish, the resort, will be sponsoring its Presidents Day Trout Derby, in conjunction with the Elko Chamber of Commerce's Winter Festival. The derby organizers will be planting two tagged trout, worth $5,000 each, in addition to offering $600 in daily prizes for the first, second and third longest trout. In California, Red Lake off Highway 88 near the summit of Carson Pass was the best bet for ice fishing at press time. Two young anglers fishing through the ice brought in some beautifully colored brook trout while fishing nightcrawlers with their grandfather over the weekend, according to Dave Kirby at Woodfords Station in Woodfords. Caples Lake off Highway 88 is another solid ice fishing prospect, since this lake has a wide array of brook, brown, rainbow and mackinaw trout swimming in its cold waters. However, Kirby cautioned anglers that there is a lot of snow on the ice, so proceed with caution. Other lakes that normally offer ice fishing this time of year include Frenchman, Davis, Prosser, Boca and Stampede reservoirs. However, these lakes were either not safe to ice fish yet or difficult to access because of heavy snowfall at press time. Hopefully, we'll hear some more information on these areas with a break in the stormy weather.
If you're new to ice fishing, Dennis Dunn has a "six step program" for fishing success on the ice:
For more information on fishing Wildhorse, call the Wildhorse Resort, (775) 758-6472. Woodfords Station, (530) 694-2930, provides ice fishing information on Caples, Red and other Carson Pass lakes. Mountain Hardware in Truckee, (530) 587-4844, is the main source for information on Prosser, Boca and Stampede lakes. Wiggin's Trading Post in Chilcoot, (530) 993-4683, offers the latest scoop on Frenchman Lake ice fishing conditions, while Gold Rush Sporting Goods in Portola, (530) 832-5724, has information on Davis Lake. |
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