At this year’s annual family camping trip to Collins Lake June 17-19, we mixed water sports with fishing for three fun days at the modest-sized reservoir. With limited fishing time, we managed to boat five different species of fish, topped by a nice lightning trout.
Each summer, my family participates in a large camping trip to Collins Lake. The lake is only about an hour from my driveway in the Sacramento Area, which makes for an easy summer getaway. The cozy 1600-acre lake, which is northeast of Marysville, features trout, panfish, catfish, bass fishing, plus a sand swimming beach, playground, and other amenities. It’s a balanced blend of die-hard fishing and other activities.
This year, my family was joined by our two nieces in a cabin near the marina. The location is walking distance to the nearby store, swimming beach, and just uphill from the marina where I had the boat tied up. I’ve rigged up a makeshift rope attachment to my downrigger rail. It serves nicely for tubing and wakeboarding behind the outboard motor which is normally only used to power us to the next fishing hole.
After dinner on our first day at camp, my son Adam and I motored to some underwater islands near the center of the lake. I had noticed fish blowing up on bait, so I tied some Heddon Super Spook Jr. topwater baits onto our lines. I don’t do much bass fishing these days, but I spent enough time bass fishing back in the day to know a few things.
After reaching our spot, I deployed the electric motor, and we started fan casting. Suddenly, I heard some commotion on the surface of the lake. “Dad, look!” Adam exclaimed, and without hesitation I whipped my lure inside of some rings on the water’s surface.
Pop-Pop-KASPLOOSH! A good-sized spotted bass had sucked my topwater bait out of sight and the fight was on! After quickly releasing the fish, I cast it to a different blowup and landed another spotty. Adam was still getting the hang of how to master the ‘walk-the-dog’ motion of the stick baits, so I moved off to a location along the shoreline.
After pulling a largemouth bass out of a submerged tree, it was getting dark, so we headed back to our slip. To our surprise, the boat docked next to us at the marina was employing a green underwater fishing light. The gentleman shared that he catches crappie, and sometimes even trout and large catfish under the lights. While an impressive bait ball formed after some time, no crappie showed up. He did, however, land a small trout and attracted some other fish that he was unable to coax into biting.
The next morning, I headed out before dawn while the others slept in. I trolled Rapala F9 Floating Minnows for trout and was able to land three nice rainbows in a few hours of fishing. I was hooking trout at about thirty feet deep using downriggers, but it was time to head back and set up the ski rope.
We had a great time tubing and wakeboarding behind the boat, while some of our crew lounged at the beach enjoying snacks and sodas. I put the old Yamaha 115 to the test in an attempt to fling my tube riders over wakes. They were able to catch some pretty good air on some of the jumps, and I even strapped the wakeboard on for a lap or two. Right at noon, we killed the motor for a swim break near one of the submerged islands. Adam was casting the topwater lure again when something violently crashed the surface.
“It’s a big one!” he shouted, and I could see the rod doubled over. I used my gripper to avoid the treble hooks and pulled the big spotted bass into the boat. I explained to him that it was nice-sized for a spotted bass, as they are smaller on average than the Florida-strain largemouth that we have in Northern California. After we released the fish, he was able to land several more before it was time to fire up the main engine for another round of wakeboarding.
By late afternoon we were beat and retreated to the cabin for some chips and tacos. Adam was eager to get back to fishing, so I promised we would go back out for bass after dinner. There was a light wind creating a chop on the water that made topwater fishing less productive. We were only able to pick up a few bass that evening.
I headed out solo again the next morning in search of trout. This time, it took a while before I hooked anything, and when I finally did…it was a black crappie. Not to be discouraged, I explored new waters and finally landed a small rainbow trout in the southeast corner of the lake. I circled back and hooked another fish in nearly the same location, except this fish was much larger.
The fish jumped, and I got a clear look at a nice lightning trout while it was airborne. PLOP! The chunky fish belly-flopped on reentry and ripped some line as a readied the net. Netting a large fish by yourself can be a risky endeavor. This time, I was able to slide the net under the trout and get it into the boat without any fail-video-worthy footage. At almost five pounds, it was the largest fish of the trip, and the fifth species landed. I trolled back towards the marina in hopes of one last strike.
My hopes were answered, and this was by far one of the biggest trout I’ve ever hooked on the end of my line. After about five minutes, the fish moved deep under the boat and suddenly came unhooked – a classic ending to a fun-filled trip. You win some, you lose some, that’s what makes fishing great!
With rainbow trout, lightning trout, spotted bass, largemouth bass, and black crappie under our belts, the mid-week camping trip came to a close. My pickup resembled the truck from “The Grapes of Wrath’ movie, with ropes and tiedown straps precariously securing our belongings as we bounced down the highway.
If you get a chance this summer, Collins Lake offers a potpourri of water sports and fishing activities. Don’t forget to stop for their famous ice cream at the store on the way out. Trout plants will resume in the fall, while bass, catfish, and panfish will be your best bet for the remainder of summer.
