Some towns are known as football towns, others are feverishly devoted to basketball. I hear that in Tennessee, there's an entire community dedicated to country music. In Tahoe, we're especially proud of our world-class skiers and snowboarders, and if you work in the casinos (or try to say anything bad about them in public) you can be damn sure that this is one of the most frightening of American subcultures, the company town. These incarnations are relatively recent, though. Long before the first ski-lift or slot machine, this was a hardscrabble boom-and-bust western frontier community, and one of the biggest booms has always been fishing. From the late 1800's, when Lake Tahoe supported a large-scale commercial fishery for thirty-pound native Tahoe Lahontan cutthroat trout (now extinct), to today's highly regulated and managed fisheries, the species and the rules have changed, but the obsession remains.

I tend to obsess about fishing year round, but there's something about springtime that gets under the skin of even the most jaded anglers, and it drives those new to the sport absolutely nuts. Or at least it drives their wives nuts. For those fanatics waiting for the high lakes to thaw, or for the April 27 season opener on California streams, you'll have to play with your tackle a little longer. Carson Pass area lakes are still frozen solid, but the blue tint showing through on the surface of Caples and Silver Lakes means that ice-fishing is no longer safe and the frozen cap will be breaking up in a few weeks. Freestone streams such as the East and West Carson Rivers are swollen with snowmelt and will still be high and off-color on opening day.

If you just can't wait for nature's pace, try the man-made trophy fishery off Airport Road outside Markleeville- Indian Creek Reservoir. This shallow, murky lake sits at a lower altitude and is ice-free at this time. Alpine County has already begun stocking it with rainbow trout, including some in the five to seven pound range. The lake also grows holdovers at an astounding rate, due to its fertility and rich forage base. Many of the trout grow fat on snails, and if you squeeze the lumpy belly of a fresh-caught fish, you can hear the shells crunching like gravel. Fly-fishing from a float tube is productive here, pulling woolly buggers on a sinking line, just remember the cliché "a snail's pace." An even slower pace was enjoyed by my friend Brad Brosman recently, as he spent an afternoon shorefishing Indian Creek from a lawn-chair, catching only one trout, an obese three-pounder. Burned-Out Hippie Carpenter Tip: "They say the color of your Powerbait doesn't matter," opines Brad, "and they're right. Any color works at Indian Creek, as long as it's green." I have also found this to be true, but if you'd like to support our troops overseas through your Powerbait choice, Captain America (red, white, and blue) also works.

For those anglers with a little more ambition, though, there's no shortage of early season opportunities at our challenging wild-trout fisheries, and no lack of local experts willing to show you how it's done. On a recent day when I was unable to go fishing myself, I decided to bother three trout-fishing guides, to hear about their fishing trips and take the edge off my own spring fever. Each guide uses a different method on a different water, and each enjoys sharing what they know- they have graciously allowed me to pass on these reports to Fish Sniffer readers, so here you go! Enjoy, and then shut down your computer and go fishing!

Lake Tahoe: This lake has been hot and cold for me lately. The last three trips I caught only two fish, trolling from my canoe. It helped that they were beautiful wild brown trout, and that one of them weighed six-and-a-half pounds. Yes, the German bruisers are still in town, in the shallows- just ask the guy at the liquor store. I caught my fish on threaded nightcrawlers, trolled behind a small set of flasher blades in 25 feet of water off east shore. Thanks to Jimmy T., of wormthreader.com, for letting me try his quality products!

Thanks also to Captain Chris Ziegler of First Strike Sportfishing for his Tahoe report. Chris tells me that topline trolling off the lake's west shore has been decent lately as well- he likes to use jointed plugs, trolled at 2 to 3 MPH, to entice rainbows and browns that average three pounds, but can go much larger. Chris should know- he's had a few ten pound browns over the years on Tahoe. Not that he'd tell you if you didn't ask, though; he's not the type to start a website or join a club devoted to the pursuit of monster browns (yes, casual anglers, there really are such things). He just quietly goes about his business, earning a living from this freshwater sea- one of the many interesting characters you meet in a fishing town.

He's also a fan of deep jigging for mackinaw, and reports that he's had to move around the lake quite a bit lately to put his clients over fish. I say 'over' because that's exactly what you do. Look at your depthfinder and find these lake trout, usually near the bottom in 100 to 300 feet of water. Get directly over the fish, then drop a heavy jigging spoon down to them. Sounds easy, and it is- when a master guide finds a group of active fish for you. Chris tells me that the ones he's been spooning up off south shore have been smallish, averaging two to three pounds, but that his spots at Tahoe's northern end have been producing good numbers of mackinaw averaging four to seven pounds. Guide Tip: Chris likes to spool up with a superline, such as Gorilla Braid, then add a mono leader to his line for deep jigging. Dropping spoons as deep as 200 feet at times, he has found that straight monofilament has too much stretch, resulting in less sensitivity to bites and less powerful hooksets.

Donner Lake: Keith Kerrigan of Sierra Anglers Guide Service is another hard working member of our hard-fishing community, and he has been taking clients out on Donner recently for some phenomenal mackinaw action. Though just a fraction of the size of Tahoe, this lake supports an excellent population of large lake trout; Keith sometimes employs deep-jigging techniques from his boat, but many of his best fish come while topline-trolling plugs in the spring. He usually hooks up at least one over ten pounds per trip at this time of year, with some fish going fifteen to twenty pounds. Keith also visited Stampede Reservoir recently, trolling plugs in the shallows to catch a three pound rainbow and some brown trout in the four pound range. This 3,000 acre reservoir north of Truckee also has a good mackinaw population, some of the best kokanee salmon action in the state, and a growing fishery for smallmouth bass. Sounds ideal, doesn't it? Not to Keith; he sometimes guides on Stampede, but he knows you don't leave fish to find fish- "I love Stampede," he told me, "but it's really hard to leave Donner when these huge macks are up and the water-skiers haven't started in yet." Guide Tip: Keith tells me that he likes to let the big ones go, and that for monster fish, he trolls plugs as large as # 22 Rapalas- these are nine-inch-long tuna lures, and he's using them for trout. Did I mention I love this town?

East Walker River, Nevada: If you just can't reconcile the image of trolling a lure larger than the average stream-trout, you're not alone. This fishing village has many tribes, and Victor Babbit of Tahoe Fly Fishing Outfitters can show you some of the more traditional native practices. His fully equipped shop offers all the best equipment, an excellent guide service, and plenty of free advice for that unique fishing subspecies known as the 'fly-angler'.

Victor reports that the Rosachi Ranch section of the East Walker is fishing quite well at this time. This portion of the river is open all year for catch-and-release fishing only, using single, barbless hooks. Three important insects for imitation right now are midges, baetis, and Skwala stoneflies; nymphs will take fish throughout the day, and there are also excellent dry fly opportunities- just remember to get that new prescription for eyeglasses filled. Midge flies are commonly tied in sizes 18 to 26; picture the period at the end of this sentence with a little hook on it.

This is an incredibly productive stream, and the rich insect life combined with the no-kill regulations mean that every good hole and riffle is packed with rainbows, browns, whitefish, and even a few cutthroat trout. A tailwater river, it does not 'blow out' in the spring from snowmelt like the area's freestone streams. Flows from Bridgeport Dam are currently 48 cfs and fluctuating frequently; this is quite low for the Walker, and at this water level it fishes like a small creek... a small creek with five pound trout. There are also a few ten to twenty pound carp, so good polarized sunglasses are also a must, to avoid heart palpitations and endless casting over that 'monster brown' in the slack water! Victor tells me that from the success of his guides and clients so far this year on this portion of the river, he expects an excellent opener on the river's California section. Guide Tip: "Watch for cloudy skies to bring out the best midge and baetis hatches." Victor says. Another good tip for anglers using flies size 18 or smaller is to bend the hook to offset the hook-point slightly; this will increase your hook-up ratio.

Until next time, remember, never stand in a canoe!
Mark Wiza
Email Me!