Lake is Ice Free

South Fork Reservoir - Elko, NV (Elko County)

Four year old Jane Hemmert caught her first fish while fishing on South Fork Reservoir in late March with her father Anthony and his friend Les. The trout measured a nice 18 inches and weighed in at 2.5 lbs. A beautiful first fish. Way to go Jane!
Photo Credit: Courtesy of NDOW

by Nevada Department of Wildlife
4-1-2021
Website

The lake is ice free and surface water temperatures are in the high 40’s pushing the 50-degree mark.  The dock is in at the main boat ramp and the water level is good for launching a boat here. However, the boat ramp at Jet Ski Beach is not useable due to a dropoff at the end of the ramp which will get your trailer tires stuck.  Anglers are having success with both worms and PowerBait with fish averaging 15 to 18 inches and a few over 20, though the catch rate is fair.  Fish have moved closer to shore, with trout being caught 20 to 30 feet from shore.  Flies that have caught fish include leech patterns, wooly buggers, hares ears and midge patterns. Midges are starting to hatch with this warm weather and can make up almost 50% of a trout’s diet on our high desert reservoirs.  Fly rodders should start fishing midge patterns for success.  On windy days with the waves stirring up the muddy bottom, fly fishermen should do well fishing the edges of the mud plumes with chironomids (midges).   Fishing at Jet Ski Beach has been fair to good depending upon the day.  Cloudy, windy days seem to be best for catching, while calm, bluebird days seem to be the best for fishing.  Fishing in the river below the dam and above the reservoir has been slow with very low flows. The long term mean flows for this time of year are around 100 cfs and current flows are only around 10 to 12 cfs. 





More Reports

Nevada Department of Wildlife Reports
for Thursday, April 1st, 2021

Cave Lake: Expect Soft Muddy Shorelines
Cold Creek Reservoir: Water Level is Low
Comins Lake: Comins is Ice Free
Illipah Reservoir: 75 Percent Covered in Ice
Jakes Creek Reservoir (Boies Reservoir): Almost Ice Free
Jiggs Reservoir (Zunino Reservoir): Ice Free and Low Water Levels
Ruby Lake NWR: Fishing Has Been Fair