It provides a put-and -take fishery for rainbow trout, as well as a wild brook trout population. The Department of Fish and Game stocks this natural lake with 1,000 pounds of catchable rainbows, according to Dennis Redfern at the American River Fish Hatchery. This year the DFG stocked the lake four times, with the season's last plant prior to Labor Day weekend.

When I fished the lake for the first time on August 30, I was impressed by the excellent, well-maintained U.S. Forest Service facilities. I parked in the Woods Lake Picnic Ground Day Use area. There are 8 sites, mostly shaded, where a reservation is not usually required. Vault toilets and piped water are both available. The site is fully accessible for wheelchairs.

The campground features 25 units, 2 double units, wheelchair accessible vault toilets and picnic tables. A trail surrounds the lake, offering anglers good access down to the water.

When I got to the water's edge around 8:30 a.m., I saw a half-dozen anglers fishing around the lake. I decided to try a spot near the picnic ground where the water is deep right next to shore and cast out Power Bait on a sliding sinker rig. I tried to set up another rod with a water bubble/nightcrawler combination, but before I could finish, I had to grab my other rod as a fish took the bait. I set the hook and reeled in an 11 inch rainbow.

After catching that fish, I finished rigging up the other rod, tossed it out, and then hooked another rainbow. I saw two anglers hooking some fish on the south side of the lake and went over there to give it a shot.

Roy Kanazawa and Joe Rubio of San Jose experienced excellent catch and release action on rainbows while tossing out green nymphs. Kanazawa also nailed a gorgeously-colored wild brook trout. Meanwhile, I landed one more rainbow while fishing a Cripplure, as well as catching a wild brookie on a nightcrawler.

Laura and Kevin Erlandson of Rocklin landed 6 trout while fishing green and orange Power Bait from the bank. I also saw some float tubers hooking fish; no motorized craft are allowed on Woods Lake.

The bite slowed down around noon. Since I had already caught four trout, I decided to try to fill out my limit with a big brook trout or Lahontan cutthroat at Red Lake.

Woods Lake serves as the trailhead for the 1.5 mile hike, rated as "easy to moderate," to gorgeous Winnemucca Lake. This natural lake produces Kamloops-strain rainbows to 7 pounds for anglers fishing fly, bait and lures. However, if you want to catch fish in the lake's clear waters, you need to get here at first light, advised Dave Kirby at the Woodfords Station.

Red Lake is located at 8200 feet in elevation. In contrast to Woods, it has few trees along the shoreline and is surrounded by a predominately volcanic watershed. The water has a pea-green tint to it and is nutrient-rich, providing an ample forage base for the lake's cutthroat and brook trout.

Unlike Woods Lake, Red has minimal facilities. There is plenty of public access near the dam, but the lake has no picnic sites, improved camp grounds, or toilets. However, anglers frequently park their rvs and set up camp around the lake.

Red Lake has recovered from last year's bureaucratic snafu, where the lake's water level was lowered after a DFG hatchery truck mistakenly put 2,000 pounds of catchable browns in the lake. "It was the result of a miscommunication," said Dennis Redfern. "The lake was supposed to get brooks and they got browns instead."

The DFG didn't want to have the more aggressive browns competing with the brook trout and Lahontan cutthroat for forage and space, so they lowered the lake, hoping that the browns would be forced down into the West Fork of the Carson River.

The Department doesn't want browns in Red Lake for good reason: it is maintained as a back up lake to - Lake, the state's brood stock fishery. Every year, the DFG plants adipose-clipped subcatchables and brood stock in the lake to provide another source for Independence Lake-strain cutthroat if a die-off occurs on Heenan.

Blessed with abundant precipitation and a full lake level, the trout fishery has come back this year at Red Lake. The DFG planted 5,000 pounds of catchable brook trout in the lake this spring. They also stocked 3,000 fin-clipped Lahontan subcatchables averaging 5 inches each and 220 brood stock Lahontans averaging 2-1/2 pounds each, according to Redfern.

When I tried to fish Red Lake after leaving Woods Lake on my recent trip, the wind was beginning to howl. Bank anglers were having a hard time casting out - and seeing bites on their rod. Red is located in a very windy glacial cirque, so don't be surprised if you get blown off the lake.

However, the anglers who got on the lake before the wind came up found decent brook trout action. A husband-wife fishing team landed five fat 14 inch brookies while fishing Power Bait from the bank.

John Doremus of South Lake Tahoe caught one brook trout on Power Bait. "I usually find pretty good shore fishing for brookies here, but it's been slow the past few days," he noted. Nobody I talked to reported catching any cutthroats.

Trolling for brook trout can be great at Red. Mark Wiza, fishing guide and www.fishsniffer.com columnist, finds success at Red while trolling small Rebels and Rapalas, flies and nightcrawlers behind small dodgers. On his latest trips, he and his clients reported catching limits, as well as releasing a bunch of brookies.

Red is one of the most readily-accessible ice fishing lakes in the Carson Pass area. The paved east entrance road is plowed all season, since it is the location of a Cal Trans facility.

For guided trips on Red Lake, call Mark Wiza at (530) 541-6551 or at Tahoe Fly Fishing Outfitters, (530) 541-8208. For fishing information on Woods and Red lakes, call Woodfords Station, (530) 694-2930. For lodging, camping and facilities information, call the Alpine County Chamber of Commerce, (530) 694-2475.