Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3911 May 2020 | Page 12

12
May 2020
Map Feature
VOL.39 • ISS. 11
Collins Lake not only features top-notch trout fishing, but it offers excellent fishing for spotted bass, black bass, redear sunfish, black
crappie, bluegill and channel catfish.
Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff.
C
Collins Lake Will Feature Great
Trout and Bass Action When It Reopens
ollins Lake, located on Dry
Creek, a tributary of the Yuba
River, features 12 miles of shoreline
located in the beautiful Sierra Nevada
foothills. The popular lake will feature
excellent trout, black bass, channel
catfish and panfish action when it
reopens after being temporarily closed
during the coronavirus emergency.
“In response to Gov. Newsom’s
Statewide order to shelter in place,
Collins Lake is temporarily closed
for camping and day use until further
notice.,” said Lincoln Young of the
Collins Lake Resort. “For now, reser-
vations until May 3rd 2020 will be
cancelled and any payments credited
on account at Collins Lake without any
cancellation fees. The
length of this closure
is unknown and
will be reviewed in
the coming weeks
if it extends into
May or later. For
questions, email
reservations@
collinslake.com.”
More than
50,000 rainbow trout are planted in
Collins every spring and fall, meaning
that Collins Lake has the largest private
planting program north of Sacramento.
Thousands of these trout are trophy-
sized, planted at 3 to 8 pounds and
growing even larger.
The resort, in cooperation with the
CDFW, Kokanee Power and CIFFI, has
also sponsored a successful pen-rearing
program to enhance the trophy trout
fishery at the reservoir.
The CDFW puts the trout in the 12
floating pens at a size of 2/3 lbs. each
November. When they are released in
increments between mid-March and
the end of April, they range from 2-1/4
to 3 pounds. This year the net pens
will be filled on November 19 by the
CDFW, assisted by lake staff and local
volunteers.
“They’re beautiful fish with full fins
that look much more like native or
holdover trout,” said Lincoln Young,
manager of Collins Lake Resort. “Since
they’re already
acclimated
to the
lake’s
waters,
they’re
brightly
colored,
their
The Tinsley Family – Aniyah, Fred, Tisha and Sabrina – reported catching a total of 22 trout
during the two days of the 2019 NTAC Collins Lake Tournament of Champions. They caught
their rainbows while trolling with broken back Rapalas. Tisha Tinley came in ninth in the
adult division with a 4.56 lb. rainbow, while Aniyah Tinsley captured eighth place in the youth
division with a 1.63 lb. trout.
Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff.
flesh is firmer and they fight harder than
recently planted trout.”
The CDFW planted brown trout in
previous years, but they haven’t stocked
browns for over 8 years.
Trout grow big and fat in Collins,
feeding heavily on the lake’s abundant
threadfin shad and other forage. Rich
Moore set the lake rainbow record of
14 pounds, 3 ounces in May 2009. The
lake brown record, set in 1991 by Bill
Clutter, is 9 pounds.
The top-notch trout fishing
available at Collins Lake
was highlighted on
November 3, 2019,
when Rob Cetinich
of San Jose won first
place in the adult
Moises Blanco won first place
in the youth division of the
Collins TOC in November 2019,
as well as second place in the
youth division at the Collins
Lake TOC in April 2019. He was
bait fishing from shore with his
dad.
Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish
Sniffer Staff.
division of the two-day NorCal Trout
Anglers Challenge (NTAC) event at
Collins Lake by landing the largest fish,
a 7.92 lb. rainbow trout.
He caught his fish, one of three over
7 pounds landed by participants in the
event, while trolling in the middle of the
lake with Speedy Shiner lures at 30 feet
deep. Fishing with him were his brother,
Eric, and his grandfather, Bob Schmidt.
“My brother told me he had never seen
a trout caught while trolling. Well, ten
minutes later, the big fish hit my lure and
he netted the fish. It popped out of the
net once, but he scooped it back in,” said
Cetinich
Not only did Cetinich catch the biggest
fish, bit he won a 14-foot Tracker boat,
Mercury motor and trailer package from
Gone Fishin’ Marine in Dixon during a
drawing of the top 10 adult winners.
“This was perhaps the most exciting
Tournament of Champions we have
had over the past 6 years,” said Vince
Harris, President of Angler’s Press
Outdoors. “We never have seen such big
fish caught at a championship event, let
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