Hello fellow anglers.  I think we are all looking forward to the new year to begin. January 1st will be a welcome sight, so we may begin a new year. At 6:32 AM, Topaz Lake will officially open for the 2021 fishing season. The lake level has been coming up slowly, but is still very low compared to last year on this date. I took a ride up last weekend to see the water level myself. The Douglas County boat ramp will be usable and open. The middle boat dock is at the lowest level it can go. The end of the concrete ramp is right at the end of the dock, which will still give you plenty of room to launch.The water temperature was in the low 40's and a small storm is due in on the 31st. Make sure your vessel is checked and double checked before you launch.  This would include charging the batteries, check life jackets, electrical, fire extinguisher and make sure you put your plug in the boat before you launch. Please do not put the plug in before you leave home, it is a ticketable offence by law enforcement to drive with the plug in your boat. 

I stopped by the Topaz Marina,  The water level was too low for launching as of last weekend. I am hoping the water level rises for the occasion. The Nevada Department of Wildlife has planted over 20K pounds of trout over the last couple months. I am hoping for a good opening day and looking forward to seeing familiar faces. 

One other new surprise for anglers, A gift from the Nevada Department of Wildlife. It is called FishNV. It is a tool you can use to locate any body of water in the state of Nevada. The APP will tell you what species are in the lake, or if you are looking for a specific species to fish for. You can look for a lake , stream or urban pond. You can look up by county. A great tool to plan your next outing and find new adventures. To get a look at this APP, you can look up FishNV on your home computer, it will give you a youtube video of how the APP works. Thank you Nevada, you have given us fish and a new tool to find them.

Now a reminder to all to check your fishing license. In California your license is good per calendar year Jan 1st to Dec 31st ( until the new bill is passed). In Nevada, your fishing licence is good for 365 days from date of purchase. On Topaz Lake either state fishing licence is valid on the lake. reminder that the Topaz Lodge will not be holding their annual derby this year. but have news that next year the derby will continue. See you on opening day at Topaz lake. It may be a new year, but we all have to remember to practice social fishtancing. We are not out of the Covid woods yet, but we are on the right path. If you get a picture of your catch. Send it to sports@recordcourier.com. Wishing you all a Happy Naw Year.  Good fishin' and tight lines.