“You are going to see lots of nice trout being caught. Pine Flat is going to be a slam-dunk. Guys who are serious trout trollers are learning how to go after those bigger trout. Guys are starting to target bait balls instead of just fishing on the depth finders and are doing really well.”

Most exciting for trouters this spring is the resurgence in the brown trout population of the high mountain lakes east of Fresno.

“We are seeing a ton of browns coming out of Edison and Florence. Things look good for this spring,” Huth said. “Guys can’t believe the number of browns that they caught in 2006. The numbers are way up.”

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
There will be changes in store for the greater Southern California region this year, mainly in San Diego County, where the county has chosen not to plant trout in San Vicente, Murray and Miramar. These waters have attracted San Diego County residents for decades. This lack of opportunity will force more anglers to fish Jennings, Poway, Dixon, Wolford and Morena.

If you’re looking for pure numbers rather than big trout, fish April and May at Lake Jennings. By that time, more than 25,000 trout will be planted into the dinky 160-acre lake.

“Trolling is a slam-dunk in April,” says Hugh Marx of Lake Jennings. “Usually the springtime is when our fish really turn on. I think as the water starts to warm and the trout have overwhelmed the amount of shad in the lake, the bite gets good. There isn’t as much food as there is early in the season, so they need to bite.”

Willard Lepley, of Lake Cuyamaca in the hills above San Diego County, predicts his lake will get more attention than ever.

“City Lakes isn’t going to stock trout, so we thought about stocking Alpers and we are going for it,” Lepley added. “It’s going to make our lake a much higher-quality trout fishery for Southern California.”

Alpers are privately raised trout that actually look wild, pure and have vibrant colors. They are far superior to the Mount Lassen trout that are stocked by most lakes — and more expensive, which is why more lakes haven’t gone down that path.

“We are going to see stellar fishing in Lake Tahoe due to high water levels from the past year. The fish are going to be chunky, fat and full of spunk,” said guide Mike Nielsen, who has broken the lake’s brown trout record two years in a row.