Collins Lake

We have to lead out Seth Salas of Roseville who was fishing the point out by the rental dock with a lonely nightcrawler on a lovely October day when this monstrosity of a catfish took a look, then took the hook! We didn’t get a weight on it but it sure looks like a sleek and solid catch!

That wasn’t the only big catfish we’ve seen as summer has turned to fall- Camiyah caught an 11.5lb catfish using part of a hotdog and Annaleah caught a 9 pounder, her first fish, down by the dam using lunchmeat!

Trout have been a difficult target although it you know where to look they are still catchable. In early September Shaun Hansen of Grass Valley managed to bring in a limit of trout by trolling Speedy Shiners at a good depth all over the lake. His largest was 3.5lbs for the day.

Shaun returned 10 days later for another four trout and then at the end of September he helped Lilyanne and Conner catch a pair of trout still using Speedy Shiners.

As the surface temperature continues to drop we’ll see more trout activity and even anticipate better shore fishing. There are still a few lightning trout to be caught out there but in just a few weeks we’re hoping to boost those numbers.

Sedona caught this beautiful rainbow trout using night crawlers by the marina!

Collins Lake’s fall/winter planting schedule should have the first private trout plant of 2000lbs before October 21st as long as conditions permit. The plan right now is to include 500 pounds of lightning trout. Weekly plants are scheduled through the end of November then a couple plants in December with a more frequent schedule resuming in January. We had good success with the extended planting season last year and the hope is to keep pumping trout in up to May when the surface temperatures will put things on hold again.

Ethan, Allana and Adrian reeled in a triplet of trout while fishing with dark green Powerbait.

There is still some bass activity as well with quite a few catch and releases reported spread all over the lake, even in open water.

The lake is in good condition for this time of year, only 26ft below full. Surface temperature is currently around 72°F and most days around here have been breezy but not windy. It’s perfect kayak & paddleboard weather!