Fishing Lake Tahoe

   I have been going to Lake Tahoe for as long as I can remember.  I fly fish the rivers around the area and have caught some really nice fish.  But I want to catch some fish out of the lake.  Does anyone have experience with fishing this lake?  I will be staying in Kings Beach.  I have heard that right in front of Cal Neva is a place to fish. Are there any better areas you can recommend?
I will probably start out trolling flashers.  I will be at Lake Tahoe the week of July 17 if anyone wants to join me fishing.

Jarod

Try trolling the shore w/ broken back minnow lures. Better yet bring a minnow trap. The earlier the better. Deep 200' + with jigs.
 Randall

An old family friend caught the record for the lake back in the 1960's I think he was dead drifting a minnow.  How would I get a minnow down to 200' without a down rigger?

Thanks for the advice.

Jarod

Jarod, if you want to topline, you better fish early or late.  once the sun hits the water the fish start heading down deep.

tahoe macks are generally deep - 130' - 300'  Trolling that depth would be very difficult without an electric downrigger, especially since you need to adjust the depths quickly since there is random structure.

my favorite way to fish tahoe (from the boats and kayak) is to jig.  2-4oz gibbs minnow type jigs tipped with lahontan redside minnows.  you would be better off with electronics to find where they are holding.  they will generally school up in certain areas.  the fish normally hug the bottom.  the guide i go with says drop the jig to the bottom, reel up 5 cranks and do short (<12 inch) vertical hops.  you'll miss a lot of bites but don't worry - that's gonna happen at that depth with those short striking macks.

because of the depth you should fish braid with an approximately 5-10 foot 15lb fluoro topshot.

you can trap your own minnows in tahoe but don't buy them and bring them in - i'm pretty sure that's against regulations.  set traps in 10-20' water in rocky areas with dog food as bait. 

as for areas i've only fished the south end of the lake and the west side near meeks bay.  I also fished once last year off the north end - beautiful.  there's fish just about everywhere in the lake.

you can also hire a guide for a day to learn the techniques and areas.  plenty of them up there. they charge around 100-150 bucks/person

Great stuff Ben!!!  Need to head up there and give it a try!  Maybe end of July...

Thanks for the Info. I have a FF on my boat so I will try jigging and trolling for fish.

I will let everyone know how I do.

Thanks again. 
Jarod

Jarod,

I have a place at South Lake Tahoe.  My next door neighbor is Don Sullivan, who wrote a book titled "Kayaking Tahoe, The Unofficial Guide."  The book has info on launch sites and a whole section on fishing.  The book costs about $12-$15.  My copy is several years old and I don't know if there is updated version.  Here is Don's contact info:

[email protected]
530 577-0848

Good Luck,

Doug

Doug,
Thanks for the info about the book.   I will try to find it.

Jarod

I love fishing Tahoe, When we go out in the boat we troll (not much help to you) but generally a silver or or silver and green like salmon and striper jig always produced maks. Just watch for the dropoff shelves that look like         _______  on the FF
                                                                                                                                     /
                                                                                                                           ______
                                                                                                                          /
generaly produces right at the drop off.


HOpe it helps,
Mike

Do they do mussel inpections up there?

Do they do mussel inpections up there?

they are supposed to do mussel inspections on all watercraft, but non motorized is supposed to be free.  not sure how they enforce it without a sticker attached to a non-motorized craft though. maybe some sort of paperwork or receipt?

i wonder if they use the vessel inspection as a way to prevent two stroke motors as well. anyways, enjoy!

http://www.trpa.org/default.aspx?tabid=351

"Non-motorized watercraft (canoes, kayaks, etc.) must submit for a free Aquatic Invasive Species inspection and do not require a Blue Boating sticker."