Oh my! The Coronavirus has been such an issue on everything. Schools canceled, sporting events canceled or postponed, churches closing for a while, little groceries and paper products on the shelves. Even my annual Shaver seminar has been postponed until May. Even though there are not many options for fun currently, there is fishing.
If you are uncomfortable with a friend going, because he or she may be a carrier, grab the boat and head for the clear and crisp air of Shaver. Fishing has not been very good, but the sanctuary of the lake, a hot cup of coffee from your thermos, and a chance to catch a fish could put a stop to your 4-wall phobia. No, fishing has not been good. Most report 2 to 4 mixed fish per boat. But, we are very close to the beginning of the DF&W plant season.
The allotment for Shaver is very good. The best in a few years. We will have a plant of approximately 34,000 catchable sized rainbows, 2,500 large plants in the 2 pound and above class by DF&W. In all, There are 10,000 brown trout that were planted last winter at 5 inches. They currently are about 10 inches and DF&W says they should be of catchable size by mid summer.
The Shaver Lake Trophy Trout Project will again make a plant of trophy sized rainbows, mostly 3 to 4 pounds this year. On a negative note to the SLTTP plant, the SLTTP planting guru, Bob Bernier, reports that the Caliveras Fish Farm in Snelling lost much of their fish due to an increase in temperature of the water. This year the SLTTP’s allotment from Caliveras will be about 1,400, down about 400 fish from previous years. Ouch!
Well, the rest of the picture looks promising, and I doubt that half of each year’s SLTTP plant is still out there. Of course there will be very few third year kokanee due to DF&W not planting two years ago. But some nice 14 to 15 inch lake spawned kokanee have been caught this year.
You will never know if that trout you were fishing for ends up a third year koke until you bring it up. Today, at this writing, it is snowing with a mixture of rain and snow for sure tonight. No one is on the lake, so no new reports will be available today.
I open my charter season this year a tad later due to an April scheduled surgery. My first reservations are for June 3rd and 4th and takes off from there for my 15th season of chartering. I think I am going to fish into October this year due to the abundance of trout plants. The fall is always good for trout fishing up in Stevenson Bay.
If you are interested in making a reservation for fishing with me, contact Debby at Shaver Lake Sports, 841-2740.
This year Diane, my bride of soon to be 54 years, has limited me to Monday through Friday, with weekends off. My guess is by the end of March the first plant of DF&W will take place. Only a guess!