Fishing Report
Pyramid Cutts & Tahoe Macks biting!
Pyramid Lake cutthroat trout fishing remains really good and we’re seeing a fair number of fish over 10 pounds each week. The fish are in spawn mode now and when they get down with that in the next several days, they will really be hungry!
Late April and all of May are typically outstanding fishing here!
Tahoe mackinaw fishing has also been solid with limits every day out lately. The fish haven’t been huge but there have been good numbers of them.
Rainbows and browns are also showing up in the shallows.
Pyramid Cutthroat going strong!
It’s been a great couple weeks at Pyramid Lake, where trophy cutthroat have been jumping on our lures in good numbers. The amount of 3-6 pounders is simply amazing and we’re seeing some nice fish up to 15 pounds!!
I’ll be here though April so be sure to get on the schedule if you’d like to get in on this epic fishery!
Salmon Season Postmortem
Well salmon season sucked this year in the Sacramento Valley. We used to have robust runs and I was able to guide for salmon 5 months a year.
No more!
It’s down to a few weeks now and this year was the worst I’ve ever seen.
Sorry to be Debbie Downer here, but just reporting the facts.
Anyway, due to COVID’s surge and the fact that I’m going to see family over the holidays, we are going to shut things down for the next few weeks.
Tahoe and Pyramid trips begin in January!
King Fishing Remains Slow
Well it’s been the worst king salmon season I have ever experienced on the Sacramento Valley Rivers!
However, I’m still holding out hope that some fish will be pushing in late because we had such an unseasonably warm October, and thus, water temps were pretty inhospitable for salmon.
The water temps are good now and we have a bit of a chance for some weather this weekend. If that doesn’t stir things up, there’s probably no more fish coming. Time will tell!
Despite it all, we have seen some nice fish lately…
Sac River king fishing: tough!
The first week of salmon fishing down here on the Sacramento River has proved to be an up and down affair and mostly down.
With the hot weather, the fish don’t seem to be moving upriver in big numbers and thus the action is scratchy at best. We have been getting a few nice kings to 28 pounds while trolling and just continue to hope that as water temps come down, the fish will come up.
Great weather, fishing in Tahoe!
The first week of October has presented us with spectacular weather along with really nice fishing on the big lake!
Mack’s have been in the chew (and kokes too believe it or not) and as the weather cools, we’ll be back onto the rainbows and browns as well.
Next up: I’m headed for the Sacramento Valley to chase after king salmon until sometime in November. Then it’s Tahoe and Pyramid all winter!
Tahoe Macks still going!
The smoke has cleared up substantially and the lake is getting more quiet from a traffic standpoint as fall gets closer…and the mack bite remains strong!
We have been mixing it up with some trolling and jigging and have found some solid fish in the 8-pound class this week.
I’ll be jumping over to salmon on the Sacramento River I’m early October so stay tuned for that as well.
That’s a Wrap: 2020 Alaska season was epic!
Well I just concluded my 2020 guiding season in Alaska and the fishing was awesome! We caught crazy numbers of chrome coho salmon on all kinds of gear, including my favorite: Topwater poppers…
In addition to the beautiful silvers, we found some incredible rainbows and char!
Mix in some pike on topwater frogs and you’ve got a seriously fun mixed bag!
If you’d like info on the 2020 king or silver salmon seasons let me know!
Rainbows, Macks on the chew at Tahoe
Fishing has been very good on “Big Blue” this week and we have been seeing good scores of mackinaw — and rainbows.
The rainbows we have been catching by trolling up shallow while the macks have been deeper on the jig.
Kokanee fishing is good one day and then funky the next but should improve all through Aug.
Tahoe Fishing is good!!
It’s been another good week of fishing on Lake Tahoe — and the variety has been excellent. We’ve been seeing plenty of mackinaw, along with some gorgeous rainbows and browns too.
Kokanee fishing is also solid and the fish have been running 12-14 inches, with the occasional 18 incher in the mix.
While it’s been hot down in the Valley, the weather here at the lake has been fantastic — mostly high 70’s to low 80’s.
Great Multi-Species action on Tahoe
The fishing on Tahoe has been very good of late — regardless of the species you prefer. Between mackinaw trips, I have been mixing in some light tackle shallow water rainbow and brown fishing and those guys have been running 3-6 pounds.
Speaking of mackinaw, the bite just keeps on getting better and we have been seeing fish this week to 27” on jigs and trolled minnow lures.
The kokanee bite is also heating up along the south shore and the fish are getting bigger. Most are now 12-14” and will continue to get bigger and more plentiful as the summer progresses.
if you’d like to escape the heat and come on up, we’d be happy to have you!
Right now, private parties can bring up to 6 but I’m maxing out the loads at 4 for mixed groups to ensure social distancing.
Tahoe Macks heating up!
The inconsistent June mack bite seems to be turning to a more steady summer pattern and we have been seeing some really nice fish lately, including this 17 pounder taken on Father’s Day.
July usually marks the beginning of the kokanee season as well so we have that to look forward too. Fishing should be solid all Summer!
Tahoe Macks Up & Down
We got out fishing this week (woohoo!) and it was awesome to be out on the water again!! The no-as-awesome part was the mack bite was consistently inconsistent, with good fishing one day and severe funkiness the next.
There are tons of fish stacked up in the south but again, one day they bite and the next they are a little more tricky to dupe.
This is a June deal and will pass soon. Once the bite kicks back in, it’s going to be amazing!
We are OPEN!!!
At loooooong last, we got back out on the water today on Tahoe for a shakedown cruise and caught a couple fish just messing around. It was so good to be back and with casinos and the rest of town opening up, I’m pleased to say WE ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS!!!
Back to Fishing July 1?
While everything seems to be changing daily, it’s looking like we may be able to get back to work on Lake Tahoe July 1. Sounds like tourist business like hotels and guide business will get the green light by then (hopefully sooner?).
I am working on the big new 26-foot hard top River Wild fishing boat we bought last fall and are rigging it up for Tahoe. It’s going to be so sweet!
In the meantime, I have been doing a little solo fishing on Tahoe and some of the other local lakes and it’s been pretty good action. Can’t wait to get back out on the big lake!
Start making plans for fishing up here in July…the fish should be snappy since they haven’t had any pressure on them for months!
Still waiting...
Well, we are still waiting for the Gov. to open things back up and allow us to get back to running fishing trips here on Lake Tahoe. At this point, the earliest we can hope for is June but July is also a possibility. I’ll keep ya posted!
In the meantime, I have been getting out in a small boat for a little solo action in the mornings and have been getting some beautiful trout. It’s been mostly browns lately and some have been up towards 7 pounds.
I can’t wait to get back to work and get you all on the water! Keep patient and stay safe — we’ll get through this and be back in action soon!
—JD
Fishing Charters again…soon!?
Well it seems like we are flattening the curve here in CA so hopefully we’ll be back to running fishing trips soon! There are plenty of stripers in the Sacramento River and Tahoe trout fishing is heating up!
Speaking of Tahoe, I have been getting some fun solo fishing in on the mornings lately and there’s been a nice mix of browns, rainbows and cutthroat. Can’t wait to get out there and be able to take you guys on the lake as soon as the “non-essential” business thing is lifted. Stay tuned!
Fishing Trips on hold…
Well, it’s Striper season….BUT…with the current COVID-19 situation, we have opted to suspend trips out of concern for the safety of our clients.
We will be reassessing the situation every week and updating you here. Until then, please be safe everyone and I’m looking so forward to seeing you all again on the boat soon!
Until then, you can catch me live every Friday night on FishWithJD TV, which airs at 6 pm on my FishwithJD YouTube and Facebook pages.
This week I welcome Scott Leysath to the show to talk cooking! Should be fun!
That’s a Wrap on Steelhead. Stripers next!
It was a great final week of steelheading on the Northern California Coast, where we had some really nice weather and excellent fishing for chrome bright fish!
I’ll be putting the driftboat away now and getting back into the power boat for some striped bass fishing into April. At that point, it’s all Tahoe all the time.
STRIPERS COMING UP!
It’s hard to believe that we are almost into Striper season again but it is indeed about that time again! I am currently gearing up for the spring run and will begin fishing in March and all of April.
As per usual, we’ll be targeting these guys with light gear and stuff like Topwater lures, Swimbaits, live bait and jigs.
While we let the big bass go (they are typically girls and we need them spawning), it’s okay to keep some of the schoolie size males…which make fantastic tacos!
Call me direct to inquire about dates. 916-952-1554