Lower Bear River Reservoir offers big rainbows, mackinaws: Fishing Column
PIONEER - Scenic Lower Bear River Reservoir, situated in Eldorado National Forest in the Central Sierra Nevada at an elevation of 5850 feet, is the first reservoir to open every spring along the Highway 88 Corridor because it is located at a lower elevation than Silver and Caples lakes further up the highway.
The Bear River Resort and boat ramp opened for the 2023 season on May 16. The Caples Lake Resort is scheduled to open this year on June 30, due to the high amounts of snow around the lake.
The big event at Bear River Lake Resort every year is their trout derby, held on the second weekend of June. This year the derby took place on June 10 and 11.
The resort stocked 1,000 pounds of trophy trout averaging 6.9 pounds in the lake prior to the popular event. A total of 89 anglers participated in the derby, braving rain at times over the two days.
Jeremy Titsworth of Escalon won first place in the derby this year with a 7.8 lb. rainbow trout, winning $700. Justin Lee Jr. placed second with a 7.3 lb. trout, winning $500. Wayne Schoffler placed third with a 7.2 lb. trout, winning #200.
“Both shore anglers fishing PowerBait and boat fishermen trolling with lures and nightcrawlers hooked trout during the derby,” reported Mike Raso at the Bear River Resort Campground.
In addition to the 1000 pounds of trout planted by the resort on June 8, PG&E planted 750 pounds of rainbows on May 31 and 750 pounds of rainbows on June 5, according to Raso.
While the majority of fish that anglers catch are rainbows, mackinaws and brown trout also swim in the lake’s clear waters. Mackinaw trout grow big and fat at the reservoir. Chris Quimby set the lake mackinaw record of 30.4 pounds on June 17, 2005. His huge fish measured 40 inches long.
Lower Bear River Reservoir offers an array of fishing options, ranging from trolling for big mackinaw and brown trout with plugs, spoons and nightcrawlers to shore fishing for planted and holdover rainbows.
The reservoir features 727 surface acres and a shoreline of about 9 miles when full. It is located on the Bear River, a tributary of the North Fork of the Mokelumne River, south of Highway 88.
I have both fished both from shore and boat at Bear River, but I’ve experienced my best action while trolling. My most memorable trip to the reservoir was in May 2007 when Fred Solari of Lodi and I hooked and released 20 rainbows while trolling threaded nightcrawlers on lead core line along the face of the dam for a couple of hours in the late afternoon.
While most anglers use big minnow and trout imitation plugs on downriggers to target big mackinaw, Rich Spears, former resort manager, slow trolls with nightcrawlers behind big Ford Fenders on 17 colors of lead core line for the trophy macks.
The best time to fish for the trophy macks is in the spring right after ice out or in the late fall just before the lake ices over, but huge macks are caught throughout the season.
The lake also hosts a healthy brown trout population, a combination of wild fish and holdovers from CDFW plants. Donna Schlageter set the lake German brown record of 15-1/2 pounds while trolling on June 30,1991.
The CDFW, PG&E, and the Bear River Lake Resort all stock rainbow trout at Lower Bear. The sizes of fish stocked include fingerling, sub-catchable, catchable, and trophy-size fish. Information: (209) 295-4868.
Fingerling and sub-catchable trout are stocked under a put and grow management strategy, while catchable and trophy-size trout are stocked under a put and take management strategy, according to Ben Ewing, District Fisheries Biologist for Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, and Lake Counties, in his report on the lake in May 2020.
White Pines Lake rainbows: The only lake accessible to anglers at this time in the Highway 4 corridor is White Pines Lake near Arnold at this time, due to this year’s heavy snowpack.
“Fiy fishers are catching and releasing lots of rainbows while fishing Parachute Adams and mayfly patterns in the evenings,” said Bill Reynolds of Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods in Arnold. “Bank anglers using PowerBait are also catching trout, but not with the same regularity as the fly casters.”
“The North Fork of the Stanislaus River is running higher than normal due to snow melt and can be very dangerous,” noted Reynolds. “Big Trees State Park is now open for camping and the road is open to the river and Beaver Creek.”
“The road to Spicer Reservoir has not been plowed and opened,” he added. “They were due to start plowing on May 30. They were expected to assess the road this past week and make a decision as to when they would begin the clearing process. We still have not heard when they will start.”
Lake Alpine still has snow and ice, but it is slowly breaking up and is 80 percent ice at this time. Highway is now open all of the way to Markleeville, noted Reynolds. Information: (209) 795-1686.
San Francisco Bay halibut: The halibut and striper fishing has improved significantly over the past few days as we enter a period of smaller tides and clearer water.
“Today was another great day on the bay,” reported Mike Rescino, Captain of the Lovely Martha on Saturday, June 10. “Our private charter of 19 anglers caught a total of 60 fish. landing 34 striped bass, 25 halibut and 1 leopard shark.”
On Sunday, the 20 anglers aboard the boat landed 25 halibut and 22 stripers while drifting live anchovies. Information: (650) 619-6629.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Lower Bear River Reservoir offers big rainbows, mackinaws: Fishing Column
