Anglers Target Quality Rainbows and Browns at Beautiful Spicer Reservoir ARNOLD - Spicer Reservoir, located in the North Fork of the Stanislaus River watershed, offers shore and boat anglers a chance to battle gorgeous square-tailed rainbows and brown trout grown out from fingerlings or the progeny of wild trout spawning in Hobart Creek, Highland Creek and other lake tributaries. The lake also features a sleeper population of brook and Lahontan cutthroat trout, according to CDFW creel surveys.
On Memorial Day weekend, Bill Reynolds of Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods reported that the road to Spicer Reservoir from Highway 4 had just opened. “Anglers have been catching limits of rainbow trout, with some brown trout mixed in, from shore and boats throughout the lake,” he said. “Trollers are toplining with an array of lures, while shore fishermen are throwing Power Bait, nightcrawlers and Rapalas.” Spicer is one of my favorite reservoirs to fish for trout in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. On my most recent trip to Spicer the lake was stunningly beautiful. Fly fishermen in kayaks fished back and forth near the dam, with snow-covered peaks jutting up in the distance as fluffy white cumulus clouds moved slowly across the azure blue sky. There were several groups of anglers fishing off the bank near the dam, but I didn’t see anybody hook anything while I was there for ten minutes, so I headed to the boat ramp area. Fly fishing enthusiasts fishing in small boats were working the waters of Hobart Creek where it enters the lake. The first bank angler I saw fishing the lake near the boat ramp reported catching and releasing two rainbow trout around 16 inches while throwing a black and gold Panther Martin. I tossed out a ¼ oz. gold Kastmaster into the reservoir without success. So I switched over to bait fishing with the Tequila Sunrise PowerBait that Reynolds recommended. On my first cast at a different spot, I hooked and landed a 14 inch rainbow. For the next hour, the action was great, with me hooking a fish nearly very cast. These fish were beautiful, slender rainbows in the 14 to 16 inch range. I kept a total of four trout. The creek is open to fishing from the Saturday preceding Memorial Day through September 30.. Only artificial lures may be used. The limit on the creek is 2 trout, while the limit on the lake is 5 trout.
Spicer features both a “put and grow” hatchery supplemented fishery and a wild trout component that spawn’s in the lake’s tributaries, according to a report on the lake completed by Ben Ewing, CDFW district fisheries biologist, in December 2017. The reservoir received 50,000 Eagle Lake Rainbow fingerlings in June 2021, 48,000 brown trout fingerlings in May 2022, and 25,000 Eagle Lake Rainbow fingerlings in June 2022. Spicer received 50,000 Eagle Lake Rainbow fingerlings and 120,000 brown fingerlings in 2023. Spicer, formally called New Spicer Meadow Reservoir, is located in eastern Tuolumne County and western Alpine County 39 miles south of South Lake Tahoe. Spicer is formed by the New Spicer Dam on Highland, Hobart, and Wilderness Creeks, with additional water diverted from the North Fork Stanislaus River, according to Ewing. Spicer is owned by Calaveras County Water District (CCWD), operated by Northern California Power Agency (NCPA) and permitted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and United States Forest Service (USFS). Spicer drains into Highland Creek, which flows into the North Fork Stanislaus River watershed.
When the expanded reservoir first filled in 1990, the influx of nutrients into the reservoir created a relatively rich food chain that allowed rainbows to grow to large size, including some fish in the 3 to 5 pound class. However, the lake’s nutrients have declined over recent years, accounting for smaller, though still healthy fish in the catches.
The CDFW has stocked Spicer since 1953 for recreational fishing. Historically, Spicer was stocked with rainbow trout and brook trout. Currently, CDFW only stocks fingerling- size rainbow and brown trout in Spicer, which is managed as a “put and grow” fishery, said Ewing. “Spicer currently has a recreational fishery including brook trout, Lahontan cutthroat trout (LCT), brown trout (BN) and rainbow trout (RT),” Ewing stated. “Historically, Spicer had a brown bullhead fishery. Spicer is open year-round with a five-trout bag limit with 10 in possession regulation. “ In order to assess the fishery, CDFW installed an angler survey box (ASB) at the public launch ramp in 2015. Anglers were asked to complete a voluntary survey form related to their fishing experience. In the report completed by Ewing in December 2017, he noted the catch per angler for bait anglers was higher than any other form of gear used in 2018, which also had the highest catch per angler average in 2015.. “Most fish caught were RT for a third consecutive sampling season, which is consistent with the stocking records,” he stated. “Although RT continue to be the greatest single species caught, Lahontan cutthroat trout made up 36.4% of the total catch in 2018. This indicates Spicer has a large, wild LCT population.” Although Spicer continues to have high catch rates, the great majority of fish caught continue to be under 16 inches, noted Ewing. “It is unknown why there have been so few trophy-size fish being caught. Salmonids are generally considered as opportunists. New Spicer is a large reservoir with a large population of baitfish, including golden shiner and speckled dace that would likely be a great forage base for trout. Although few-trophy- size fish have been reported, it is possible they are being caught and not being reported or present, but not being caught,” Ewing wrote. “Anglers at Spicer have the opportunity to catch a variety of catchable-size salmonids that are in great physical shape and often fight with greater force than a ‘put and take’ hatchery trout,” he concluded. How did Lahontan cutthroat trout get into the lake? Here are the probable reasons why, according to a CDFW report published in 2013. In 1968 and 1977, Summit Lake in Alpine County received fingerling LCT. The outlet of Summit Lake flows into Hobart Creek, a tributary to Spicer. There is also a record of LCT x RT- Kamloops being planted in upstream in Highland Lakes #1 in 1977. It is possible that these LCT were spillover from the 1977 plant. “These LCT could have also been pumped in with the water that is diverted from the North Fork Stanislaus River to Spicer by the NCPA, but may have been transplanted illegally or accidently mixed in with a Department RT plant,” the report noted. I have found the best fishing on this lake during the spring and early summer after the lake becomes accessible and then again in the fall just before the snow arrives. While I have caught fish here in the morning, I find the best time to hit the lake is in the late afternoon just before dark.
For more information about fishing Spicer Reservoir and other Ebbetts Pass Region waters, contact Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods at (209) 795-1686, https://ebbettspasssportinggoods.com.