Bacher: Spotted Bass, Panfish and Trout Top Winter Catches at Rollins Lake

COLFAX − Rollins Lake, located on the Bear River in the Sierra Nevada near Colfax at 2,100 feet, has undergone a big transition from one fishery to another over the decades, as many lakes in California have.

The big transformation of the Nevada Irrigation District reservoir took place in recent years when it transitioned from a smallmouth and largemouth bass fishery to one where Alabama spotted bass predominate in the catches.

When I first fished Rollins 53 years ago, Collins was known for abundant but small and mostly undersized smallmouth and largemouth bass, along with rainbow trout, bluegill, crappie and a sleeper quality wild brown trout fishery.

My first-ever trip to Rollins with a friend in June of 1971 produced a “potluck catch” of smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, bluegill and rainbow trout. We caught most of the fish while drifting nightcrawlers in the coves from his rowboat.

Since then I have made many trips to Rollins Lake, most of them while bank fishing for trout. Fishing can be great here if you hit the lake just right. The lake features cold water flows from the Bear River, good habitat and an abundance of Japanese pondsmelt for gamefish to feed upon.

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My most memorable trip to the lake was during the winter when I found top-notch fishing in wonderful solitude. I hooked over 30 rainbow trout, keeping my limit of five fish in the 12 to 16-inch class and releasing the others, while casting out orange/gold Cripplures and Berkley PowerBait from shore.

The lake was planted with rainbow trout the week of January 7-13 by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife — and Cal Kellogg of fishhuntshoot.com decided to check out the trout fishing several days later.

“I got on the lake in my kayak at 8 a.m.,” he said. “I had six bites early, but the fish didn’t get hooked up. However, after the surface water temperature rose from 45 degrees to 46 degrees, the fishing turned on.”

“I caught and released a total of 11 rainbow trout. The first couple were square-tailed holdovers in the 13 to 14 inch rest and rest were planters,” Kellogg said.

The biggest fish he saw was a 16 inch brown that an angler fishing with worms from his boat caught while tied up to the boat dock.

“The fish were shallow; the best depth was only two feet deep,” said Kellogg. “I caught all of the fish on Trigger Spoon Juniors and Disco Minnows while trolling at 1.8 mph. Everywhere I went I got fish. I fished a triangle between the Orchard Springs Marina, Long Ravine Marina and the peninsula between the Bear River and Greenhorn arms.”

Kellogg also reported a great trip on his kayak last June when he went out looking for trout. He worked the mouth of the Greenhorn arm at 15 feet deep with one of his spoons. He hooked and released six bass, including both post-spawn spotted and smallmouth bass from 2 to 3 pounds.

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On another previous trip, he reported even better action.

“I caught over 50 fish, a mixture of bass and crappie,” said Kellogg. “I hooked 24 bass, all spotted bass. About half were 12 inches long or over and the other half were undersized.”

“I caught bass up to 2-1/2 pounds while throwing the smallest Pop-Rs in the North Fork. I caught a number of fish on the edge of the shoreline and others out in the middle of the lake where they were breaking on the surface of the water. I also landed over 20 bluegill, mostly hand-sized, during the trip.”

The rainbow trout fishery, provided by once frequent plants by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, offered an excellent opportunity for shore anglers and boaters to battle trout in a scenic Sierra Nevada setting.

Unfortunately, trout plants have become less frequent by the CDFW in recent years. The good news is that the bass fishery is coming on really strong after the introduction of Alabama spotted bass to the lake and the panfish, including crappie and bluegill, are really thriving also.

Rollins Reservoir is like two different bodies of water, depending on whether you fish it during the summer or fall, winter and spring.

In the summer, the lake is a maelstrom of personal watercraft, water skiers and recreational boaters. Fishing for the lake’s rainbow trout, German brown trout, spotted, largemouth and smallmouth bass, bluegill and channel catfish is best during the early morning and late afternoon hours due to the heavy boating traffic during the day. Concentrating on the more peaceful 5 mph coves is also highly advisable.

In contrast, during the fall, winter and spring, the lake is known as a place to find decent fishing for rainbow and brown trout, as well as black bass and panfish, amidst solitude. Bank fishing and trolling are both effective methods for pulling out trout at this time of year.

With the cold water conditions, now is a good time to target browns at the reservoir. For browns, you can troll with stick baits like Rapalas in the Bear River arm 200 to 300 feet behind the boat from now through spring.

While rainbows can be taken at the reservoir year-round, the months of April and May when the water has cleared up from winter storms that often muddy the water, are some of the best to target trout here.

The lake also features a sleeper population of black crappie measuring 12 to 14 inches long and sometimes bigger. Anglers fishing with small jigs off the points and structure pick up the slabsides year round.

Trophy crappie are always a possibility here. Just ask Richard McGuire, who landed an 18 inch crappie at Rollins several years ago. Another angler also caught a 20 inch crappie at the lake.

Channel catfish offer a solid summer and fall fishery for shore anglers and boaters, particularly at night when the whiskered leviathans go into the shallows to feed.

For more information about Rollins Lake, contact Long Ravine Campground at 530-346-6166 or visit https://www.nidwater.com.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Spotted Bass, Panfish and Trout Top Winter Catches at Rollins Lake