Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3823 Oct 25-Nov 8 | Page 19

VOL.38 • ISS. 23 Sacramento River Map Facts Licenses: Any person, 16 years of age or older, must have a valid California or Nevada sport fishing license to fish in Lake Tahoe. Surrounding lakes and streams require a license for the state in which the person is fishing. Seasons: Fishing on Lake Tahoe is open year round for mackinaw, brown, rainbow and Lahontan cutthroat trout and kokanee salmon. Live Bait: No fish may be used for bait or possessed for use as bait in Lake Tahoe, Fallen Leaf Lake or Donner Lake unless taken from that lake. Live bait in these lakes are limited to the following: Lahontan redside shiner, Tui chub, Tahoe sucker, Lahontan mountain sucker, Piute sculpin and Lahontan speckled dace. Chumming is illegal. Information: Direct specific fishing regulation questions to: California Department of Fish and Game(916) 355-7040, 2019/2020 Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations Handbook Nevada Division of Wildlife, (775) 688-1500, 2019/2020 Fishing Regulations Charter Boat and Guide Services: Tahoe Sportfishing, South Lake Tahoe, 900 Ski Run Blvd #101, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150,, (530) 541-5448, (530) 541-5448, https://tahoesportfishing.com Mickey’s Big Mack Charters, Captain Mickey Daniels, 5146 N Lake Blvd, Carnelian Bay, CA 96140, (530) 546-4444, mickeysbigmack.com Blue Ribbon Fishing Charters, 1398 US-50, Glenbrook, NV 89413, (530) 544-6552, www.blueribbonfishing.com California/Nevada Border El 6240 Agate Bay El 6232 Carnelian Bay Tahoe Vista El 6245 Washoe Lake Incline Village El 6269 Squaw Valley Kings Toiyabe National Carson Forest City Mickey's Beach Big Mack El 6245 Charters El 6235 Tahoe City El 6240 Alpine Meadows El 6600 Lake Tahoe National Forest El 4687 Limits: The daily limit for Lake Tahoe is 5 trout, but no more that 2 mackinaw. Most other lakes and streams in the Lake Tahoe Basin have a limit of 5 trout. El 5820 Hours: Fishing in Lake Tahoe is legal one hour before sunrise to two hours after sunset. In all other bodies of water in the Tahoe area (Sierra District) fishing is legal one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset. Lake Tahoe Truckee I-80 To Sacramento 17 Oct 25 - Nov 8, 2019 MAP FEATURE El 6229 Tahoe Homewood El 6235 DESOLATION Meeks WILDERNESS Bay Blue Ribbon Charters El 6259 Fishing Notes Summer: This is a great time to visit the lake. The mackinaw will be suspended under schools of kokanee and can be taken using a variety of methods. Rainbows and browns will be in the shallows and can be taken on 4 inch minnow plugs. Fall: This is a wonderful time at Lake Tahoe. The mackinaw will be concentrated on the bottom, making jigging a great option. Browns and rainbows will be aggressively feeding along the shoreline as they prepare for winter. Winter: This is the toughest season at Tahoe. For the best success target mackinaw in 200 to 300 feet of water with rigged minnows trolled behind dodgers. Patient, methodical anglers will achieve the best success. Spring: This is the time to target big mackinaw, brown and rainbow trout in shallow water. Large rainbow trout pattern minnow plugs trolled far behind the boat are your gateway to success. Toiyabe National Forest Genoa El 3800 Emerald Bay Tahoe Sport Fishing El 6240 South Lake Tahoe Cascade Lake El 6464 Fallen Leaf Lake Stateline Tahoe Keys Marina El 6250 To Sacramento successful with this effort alone.” of Lake Tahoe, the average fish weighs 2 “On the other hand, the kokanee have to 3 pounds. been very successful in Tahoe. There can “The biggest mackinaw caught while definitely be coexisting fish, even if all I’ve been out fishing was 26 pounds, of the fish are being predated upon by the while the largest I’ve caught personally lake trout. Lake trout will eat anything, weighed 12 pounds,” Readinger stated. including a rainbow, brown or kokanee, “A couple of my buddies caught macks but numbers of kokanee are higher this weighing 14 and 16 lbs.” year than in long time,” he said. Whether the original strain of Tahoe Reflecting on this year kokanee season, cutthroat will again thrive or not in Tahoe Gordon said he found the bite that we is a big question. enjoyed that day in Emerald Bay over “Is Lake Tahoe poised to become 2-1/2 weeks ago. Pyramid Lake South with ladders lining “I think they just got trapped there, the shoreline in the hopes of catching they got lost. The rest are in Taylor Creek monster-sized trout? We may be about to getting ready to spawn or spawning. find out,” the CDFW stated. I’ve seen this happen one other time I guess we will. – five years ago. Catching Dan Bacher, Michael Romero, Dixie Romero and another angler hold up their limits of 50-plus fish per kokanee salmon caught during an afternoon trip aboard the Hopper 1 on Lake Tahoe with day that late in Captain Donny Readinger of Tahoe Sportfishing on Sunday, October 6. season unheard Photo by Captain DONNIE READINGER, Tahoe Sportfishing, South Lake Tahoe. of,” he noted. Now that they are finished While nothing close to record-size has around and go directly to the marina. kokanee been caught since 2013, Readinger noted “The fast-growing, prehistoric strain fishing this that one angler landed a 22 inch kokanee of Lahontan cutthroat trout are native to aboard one of their boats this year. Lake Tahoe but disappeared long ago as a year, the boats On the same weekend that we went result of overfishing and land use changes. will continue targeting kokanee fishing, the U.S. Fish and Their reintroduction to nearby Pyramid mackinaw. Wildlife Service introduced introduced Lake in Nevada has turned Pyramid into Fishing is 3,000 tagged Pilot Peak strain Lahontan a worldwide fishing destination with productive cutthroat trout into Lake Tahoe for hook-ups of 10- to 20-pound-plus trout year-round, but the first time as part of the festivities almost routine,” according to the Cali- the mackinaw surrounding the annual Fall Fish Fest fornia Department of Fish and Wildlife. action is best at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center on The hatchery also released 2,000 Floy in the winter Highway 89. The service has made a tagged Lahontan Cutthroat Trout at Sand when angling number of plants of other Lahontan Harbor on Oct. 7th in support of the cutthroat strains into the lake before, but Nevada Department of Wildlife’s research pressure is the lightest and they have not been successful. on lake movement and use of tributaries, I thought about going to the fish according to Lisa Hecki, project leader for the fish are the most active. plant on noon on Sunday before I went the hatchery. While huge fishing, but a nightmarish line of cars In respect to the plant, Zach Gordon, mackinaw roam Michael and Dixie Romero of Monterey each hold up a couple of kokanee in horrible traffic on Emerald Bay the manager of Tahoe Sportfishing, said, the clear waters contrasting the different stages of the spawn that the fish are in. Boulevard prodded me to turn back “I don’t think the reintroduction will be Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff.