Little Camas Reservoir Grows Nice Trout.

Little Camas rainbow on a Prince nymph

Thankfully, I have continued to dodge most of the blustery days on Little Camas and in general have paddled out during some ideal afternoon or morning fishing. The transition to late spring fishing is well underway now and I rarely find trout right off the shore but I am still catching most of my trout in 3 to 4 feet of water.  So far this spring has proved windy and cold, which is great for this lake as it promotes the trout fishery and delays warming. Sadly Little Camas is rumored to go dry this year (2013). Update: the lake was drawn down to a level that only small mouth bass survived, it will need several good years of water to return to the awesome trout fishery it has the potential to be. On the up side, the cooler weather at nights means we might get an extra week or two out of Camas before she heats up or goes dry...

Whats working: Flip just about any submerged rock over at Camas and you'll find leeches. I have had great luck with black and olive green leech patterns. Fish are hitting about 1 of 10 casts in the morning and evenings. I've tried numerous nymphs in tandem and the 14-16 Prince seems to be the snack of choice if nymphs are your fly of choice.. All my trout have been caught in 4 feet of water or less with a moderate smooth retrieve rate. Wading or float tubing has been great. I have enjoyed wading more lately as the 360 degrees of fishing, offered by floating, is overwhelming at times. I recommend wading out about mid-thigh deep and cast parallel to the shore or 30 degrees into deeper and shallower water. I caught 6 fish in knee deep water, only about 10 feet from shore this evening. I netted no fish over 15 inches but all were football shaped and fat. Local business owner and friend told me 22 inchers are lurking in the reservoir. I you want first hand knowledge of fishing activity and Little Camas try these links: https://www.facebook.com/LittleCamasInn


I also found a great link to an article about Pyramid Lake, for those dreaming of a monster cutthroat: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/24/us/lahontan-cutthroat-trout-make-a-comeback.html?hp&_r=2&