Hot weather this summer has definitely put the brakes on hard for a lot of traditional trout fishing opportunities, and with rivers like the Truckee going to a hoot owl schedule and the East Walker River pretty much being off limits due to its super low flows and 70 degree plus water this might have you looking for other opportunities.

Good thing that plenty of opportunities exist, you just have to look past your normal waters…or normal species. Carp are abundant in our area waters, so are Bass (Largemouth, Smallmouth, White, and Wipers). One of our favorite summer species to chase are smallmouth bass, and rightfully so. These hard hitting and strong fighting fish, considered the “gamiest of all game fish” by many. You can find them in Prosser Creek Reservoir as well as sections of the Carson River in rather decent numbers. Top water poppers are great way to find them in the Carson and the same for Prosser, however they are deep more often than not on Prosser so you will have to chase them with patterns in brown, black and green (Hint: They LOVE crayfish). As far as Carp go, you can find them in the South Meadows area of Reno, Boynton Slough, Eastern Truckee River, Carson River, and Bridgeport Reservoir…carp ticklers, carp candy, and small crayfish imitation nudged along the bottom with patience and stealth can be rewarding. Make sure you are sized up on your rods and rigs for them, they are tough and fight for quite some time.

Plenty of high mountain lakes have good trout fishing, you just have to break open the topo map and stretch your legs to get to some of them. Hobart is always a blast, and we are about a month away from the opener at Marlette. If you want some great info on some high mountain opportunities I will defer to Ken’s Sporting Goods in Bridgeport http://kenssport.com/fishing-reports.htmlas they have all the good word in that area. In the case you still want to hit the Truckee, just make sure to take a temp before you go in and get off by or before noon. Feel free to reach out to us if you want to know more about the Smallmouth opportunities in our area!

Tight Lines!