Northern CA Freshwater Fishing Report

Silver Lake kicks out a trio of monster macks Trout still good at Lafayette Reservoir Western Outdoor NewsPublished: May 09, 2012

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BY PAT YOUNG WON Staff Writer KIRKWOOD — Silver Lake on Carson Pass is known to hold some trophy-sized Mackinaws, but rarely if ever do you hear of one boat scoring more than one big fish let alone three monster macks. John and Danielle Stafford of Gardnerville, Nev., friends of guide Mike Nielsen of Tahoe Top Liners, hit the jackpot this last weekend when they landed three big double-digit Mackinaws. When WON called Nielsen on Sunday morning for a Lake Tahoe report, he mentioned that a couple of his friends were planning on fishing Silver Lake that day and if they did any good he’d call this writer back with a report. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the kind of report I received from Nielsen later in the afternoon, when he called to inform me that his friends had caught 14-, 17-, and 25-pound Mackinaws while trolling AC Plugs in the newly thawed lake.  “I got a text message from John Stafford telling me to check my Facebook page where he had posted the pictures of the big macks he and his wife Danielle had caught that day at Silver Lake,” Nielsen said. “I was pleasantly surprised to see they had landed three monster macks. From the picture I could see they were using big AC Plugs.” Silver Lake was drawn down to about 6- to 8-percent of capacity this last year to do some dam repairs and there was some concern that the large population of fish concentrated into such a small volume of water would suffer some ill effects.  At least when it comes to the Mackinaws, they appear to have done quite well thank you!! Trout still good at Lafayette, catfish coming on strong BY JIM JONES WON Staff Writer LAFAYETTE — Even if you didn’t make it out to the recent trout derby at Lafayette Reservoir, there is nothing to worry about — those extra heavy plants mean that lots of trout are still available for the catching.  The main issue in hampering fishing success last week was the strong North wind that came up over the weekend driving boaters off the water. Aside for Mother Nature’s interruption, catfish were waking up from their winter doldrums, and bass fishing was good, once again.  “The catfish are hitting big time,” Irene Baker of Lafayette Recreation Area said.  Nightcrawlers and chicken livers are working well.” While fishing from a boat has been producing some nice catches of catfish, fishing off the docks has been good, too, especially when it’s windy. As usual, the south end of the lake and East Cove have been the best spots for trout, when the wind isn’t too bad.  Bass fishermen were scoring on weightless Senkos tossed into structure near the shoreline. Ripbaits, swimbaits, and crankbaits were effective early and late. Stripers on the bite at New Hogan Reservoir By RON WILSON WON Staff Writer VALLEY SPRINGS — The striped bass bite is getting good at New Hogan Reservoir with 3 to 4 fish per angler a day average. The average would be better, but stripers have hard mouths and a few strikes end up unsuccessful. Dennis Miszklevitz of Galt and his longtime friend Charlie Peroks of Acampo fished with guide Monte Smith of Gold Country Sportfishing recently and were greeted with overcast skies and a nice breeze on the water.They missed a few fish, then landed a 3½ pounder, and ended with 7 fish in the box while rolling anchovies and shad. There is a launch ramp, but no operating marina at the reservoir, and the nearest gasoline is at Valley Springs. The lake is rising and grasses are floating all over the lake surface. The water temps were around the 65-degree mark early morning, and later in the day it was hovering around the 68-degree mark. That will vary on where you are fishing, as up the river it will be a few degrees cooler.