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By Dan Bacher

September 13, 1999

Nestled in the thick pine forest of Plumas County, Round Valley Reservoir at first glance appears to be a prime spot to cast a lure for brook, brown or rainbow trout. However, this pretty 350 acre lake, set at 4600 feet in elevation, is instead a warm water fishery where anglers catch big numbers of largemouth bass, bluegill and channel catfish every year.

It is the abundant bluegill at Round Valley that draw many families from throughout northern California to camp and fish here. This is a lake where "catching," rather than just "fishing," is the norm, so it is an ideal spot for a father and mother to bring their children to fish.

To better manage the lake's bluegill population, the Round Valley Lake Resort and Indian Valley Chamber of Commerce have held a bluegill derby for children for the past four years. The largest number of young anglers in the event's history, 102, participated in the fourth annual bluegill derby on Saturday, June 26.

When my cousin, Tom Mulderrig, and I arrived at the resort early on Saturday morning, dozens of children and their parents were already bank fishing along the shoreline, as well as fishing from boats. The lake is characterized by large areas of lily pads, stumps and standing trees that offer excellent habitat for bluegill and bass. As Mulderrig tried his luck fishing crickets and worms off a point near the dam, I surveyed some of the aspiring derby winners.

Fourteen-year-old Josh Gay and Chris Driscoll were having fun casting a variety of worms, little tube baits, flies and small Rapalas. "I caught a 1-1/2 pound bass and a bunch of bluegill," said Driscoll. They, like the other anglers, were trying to bring the day's five largest bluegill to the weigh in table by 3 p.m. to win the derby. Jacob Colagrossi of Escalon and his friend, Raymond Haman of Greenville, were also busy catching fish, as were others ringing the area near the dam.

I went over to the weigh -in area at the boat docks and saw Daniel Wren nail a fat, 7-1/2 inch bluegill. An hour later, Katie Rahmeyer landed the largest bluegill taken that day, an 8-1/2 incher, also while fishing off the dock.

After the last fish was weighed in just before the closing time, over 2,000 bluegill had been weighed in by the contestants.

Travis Crossley took first place honors with five fish weighing 2-1/16 pounds. Daniel Wren and his brother, Erik, took second and third place each with 2 pounds each. Each of them received a Daiwa spinning rod/reel combination.

The fourth through twelfth place winners were Ehren Bentz, Chris Driscoll, Steven Schewemer, Russell Garrigan, Rebecca White, Josh Gay, Lionell Portillor, Jeffrey Hile, Austin Pillsbury and Chelsea Phillips, who took weights ranging from 1-5/16 pounds to 1-3/16 pounds. They also received Daiwa spinning rod/reel combos.

The thirteenth through sixteenth place winners were Jason Draper, Jason Simmons, Jeremy Crossley and Kaley Lamattina. For their efforts, they all received Fish Sniffer subscriptions. The seventeenth through nineteenth place winners, including Jeremy Bronow, Chris Crossley and Jesse Leiss, received spinnerbait combo cans or T-Shirts. Katie Rahmeyer received big fish honors for her monster 8-1/2 inch bluegill, taking home a T-shirt.

In between taking photos, I managed to catch some bluegill and, surprisingly enough, the only documented black crappie ever caught at the lake! The combined efforts of Mulderrig and I produced approximately 40 bluegill, with the average fish going 6-1/2 inches long. The fish hit redworms, crickets and small spinners at the edge of the weedbeds north of the dam.

The derby has a two fold purpose (1) to introduce the kids to the joys of fishing and (2) create larger-sized bluegill by culling out the sunfish population.

"The average size fish brought in during the derby has gone up about a quarter-inch a year," noted Bob Carter, owner of the Round Valley Reservoir Resort. "Also, we weighed in our largest bluegill ever last year, an 11-1/2 inch fish going 1 pound before the derby."

Although bluegill are the most abundant fish, the lake has an excellent population of largemouth bass. In fact, Round Valley held the state record of 14 pounds, 8 ounces, set in 1948, until Florida-strain largemouth bass were introduced to the state.

During the derby, one of the grownups, Dana Boyd of Reno caught and released a 5 pound largemouth bass while using a Fluke from a rental boat. "The fish are in their post-spawn mode now," noted Boyd. "Two weeks ago the fish were still on their spawning beds."

Bass are caught here year round, but October is generally the best time to fish, according to Carter. Spring, when the water warms up after ice out, is also a good time to fish.

The resort has for the past three years planted 750 channel catfish, including some large brood-stock fish, in the hope of establishing a self-sustaining population, said Carter. Anglers are encouraged to release any channel catfish that they catch to allow the population to grow.

Brown bullheads are abundant in the lake now. For maximum success, anglers should toss worms, clams, mackerel and other baits off the docks at night. "The best month to night fish for the cats is August," noted Carter.

The lake ices over some years. When it does, the lake usually ices out by the end of February, according to Carter.

Round Valley, built originally to provide water for mining operations, is now a water supply for the town of Greenville, so no swimming or water contact sports are allowed.

The Round Valley Lake Resort features camping, boat rentals and mooring. The bait shop and store has worms, nightcrawlers, cold soda and some camping supplies. The resort is open from May through October, depending upon weather conditions.

Each camp site includes a table, fire ring and its own trash receptacle. There is no electricity, but water is available at most sites. The campground features clean restrooms and hot showers. The camping rates are $16.00 per night for 2 people and $7.00 each for each additional person and $2.25 each child. Day use guests pay $2.00 per day.

Because of the remote location, the resort does not receive normal phone service. However, the resort has a cell phone/voice mail/paging system at (530) 258-7751. For more information about fishing and camping at the lake, you can leave a message with your name and phone number.

Directions: Take Highway 89 from Greenville. Go South on Round Valley Road 3 miles to the lake and then left one mile on a paved road.

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