Collins Lake

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2,000 lbs. of  Trophy Trout scheduled for Collins Lake this week will pick up some enthusiasm for the weekend fishermen.  Trout are the main target although some bass have been spotted as well. James & Mitch limited out on Bass just yesterday using worms and catching them anywhere along the east side from the dam to the bridge they said.  Dave Callison caught & released 17 Bass yesterday also and he was using live crickets bait. Both Bassbusters agree the BASS  are getting ready to spawn, which is their favorite time to catch them as the fish are “on the move” and quite aggressive and shallow too.  Johnny Z of Placerville caught the biggest BASS this week, a handsome 5 lb. 4 oz. Largemouth using a pumpkin colored plastic senko worm off the rocky point.

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Don Trimmer started the week with a BANG by reeling in his 8 lb. 8 oz. Rainbow Trout which he caught by trolling a gold Rapala near the marina.  Cordelia, Grace, & Bobby of Grass Valley limit out on Trout trolling orange Cripplures real shallow.  Young William Cordoza caught 2 hefty Rainbows trolling by the dam on Rapalas. Mikaila Ives caught the biggest Trout in her group, a 3 lb. 8 oz. Rainbow on a Rainbow colored Rapala by the beach.

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Remember Rick Best from two weeks ago who caught a trout plus 2 nice cats and they were his 1st fish catch ever at Collins Lake? Well, his wife Myrla had to “see it for herself” and came camping with him.  They sat  for hours with no luck and right when Rick said “OK are you ready honey, a fish is going to hit any minute now” they both got a HIT and both got fish! OK this is getting a little creepy, it’s like he has special powers. He just came back today, I can’t wait to hear his next fishing story!

Last weekend was the Poolman’s Derby and it turned out to be one of the best years ever for their group. Great fishing combined with great weather hit the spot. I guess they caught & released over 50 Bass and caught twice as many Trout.  Doug Belcher decorated and named his boat “The Collinater” in the spirit of the catch!

CIFF (California Inland Fisheries Foundation) is sponsoring a derby which will be open to the public

on April 17th. To register online go to www.kokanee.org &

click on even calendar to find Collins Lake’s event and sign up.

The Noll Family caught fish during their stay and for their sons Jake & Josh it was their 1st fish ever. They used chartreuse powerbait in front of their campsite.  Little Sarah Lucchesi of Woodland caught a BIG Trout that weighed 3 lb. 4 oz. She had caught a smaller one earlier and outdid herself and the “whole family”.

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Ryan Barella & his son Cory of Windsor had their annual father-son camp out and caught some beautiful Rainbows. Steve Gladden & his son Connor from Yuba City had some bonding time as well and fished by the bridge and captured 4 nice Rainbows together.

Larry Renshaw of Antioch showed off his 8 lb. Rainbow Trophy sized Trout which he caught by the dam on a live minnow.  Scott Bartosh of Grass Valley had a great day, taking home a 4lb. 3 oz. & a 3 lb. 4 oz. Trout which he caught on a Gary spinner. Jeffery Gore of Rio Linda netted a 4 lb. 1 oz. Rainbow he caught on a broken back Rapala.

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Last week we saw some fly fishermen tackle the top water fly trolling and did amazingly well. The Fly Guys included Al, Jeff, & Dave all from Grass Valley and their biggest catch of the day was a 3 lb. 4 oz. Trolling Rapalas worked well for Roy, Howard,  & Judy who took a gorgeous stringer of Trout home.  Colby Amarol of Grass Valley trolled Rapalas and caught his Trout by the buoys going towards the bridge.

A Fish Story sent from Robert– Our family visited Collins on 3/14 and caught a total of three fish and kept these two.  One fish was 3.25 lbs and the other was 3 lbs.  We caught two fish at a secret spot using multi-colored Power Bait.  We live in Newark, CA (Bay Area) and we always look forward to making the three hour drive b/c the fishing and the ice cream are great.  Our names are Robert, Gali, and Alexa (Robert and Alexa are in the picture).

Captain Bob  and Tibbits of Sonoma caught a 2 3/4 pound trout and a 2 pound trout both on a orange dodger with a worm on Sunday March 14th 2010,  After a wet, cold, weekend of fishing!!

All in all fishing has been steady with very little pressure and will only continue to escalate in the next few weeks to come. This is especially true of shore fishing which is at it’s PEAK this time of year through the end of May.  Then the Trout will dive down deeper but the good news in when the Trout go down, everything else comes up!! The Bass, Catfish, Bluegill, and Crappie will be plentiful throughout the summer and “night catches” for Trout work great.