Doug Busey on a fishing trip along the Consumnes River this year downstream from the Electra Fire south of Jackson, Calif.
Hello fellow anglers.
I started out the year with high hopes. This is the first year I have been able to see Mount Shasta on our trip to Oregon without smoke filled skies. You know how hard it is to drive by a mountain peak that is over 14,000-feet tall and not be able to see it because of smoke.
We were almost there this year with clear skies, until last week driving home down Highway 395 in the Carson Valley, and there was that awful reminder — a long plume of smoke as it came from the southwest and was traveling north. Just a couple months ago, I was fishing the Consumnes River in California just south of Jackson. I only hope my next trip will not be filled with burned trees and foliage.
We all need to be aware of our surroundings while enjoying our natural resources. Stay on designated roads, campfires “IF” allowed, only in designated campgrounds, No smoking outside of your car while in a forest or wooded area. Most of all, do not shoot off fireworks around an already drought-stressed area full of oak trees. Some things like lightning we cannot control, but we can be mindful of ourselves and what we do while enjoying our great outdoors. Speaking of outdoors.
I would recommend staying away from the Alpine County area today because of the annual Death Ride. From 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. Highway 4 over Ebbett’s Pass will be closed and from 5 a.m. to noon, Monitor Pass will be closed to vehicle traffic. The cyclists will also be traveling over Highway 88 from Woodfords to Carson Pass, but the road will not be closed. If you need to travel Highway 88, please slow down and be cautious of the cyclists. I would plan ahead and use an alternate route.
For more information on the Death Ride, contact Alpine County Chamber of Commerce at 530-694-2475.
For your fishing report, I ventured down to Topaz Lake last week with fellow angler Tom Blotter. We were on the lake by 6:30 a.m. and off by 11:30 a.m. We trolled the east and the northwest shores with Rapalas. We caught and released about 18 trout all in the 1.5-2.5-pound category. For those who want to do some bass fishing, the smallmouth were hitting well on the west shore in the early morning in the shallows. They averaged 12 inches to a couple of pounds. I would recommend a green or chartreuse winnie or a small crawdad pattern mudbug right off the bottom. I will have a full report next week after the dust settles in Alpine County. Reminder to stay away from the lake and out of the water at Indian Creek Reservoir. The blue green algae is at a dangerous level and is extremely harmful to all people and pets.
Good luck on your next fishing adventure. If you get a picture of your catch, send it to sports@recordcourier.com. Hope to see you on the waters soon.
Good fishin’ and tight lines.
