Spring Potluck Fishing At Bullards Bar Reservoir   By: Dan Bacher April 20, 2006 More Articles by Dan

When any angler mentions Bullards Bar Reservoir, the lake’s abundant kokanee fishery immediately comes to mind. Kokanee salmon provide by far the most popular fishery at this beautiful lake, but the hard-fighting little salmon are just one of many species of gamefish found on this lake.

Besides kokanee, the lake, located on the North Fork of the Yuba River in Yuba County near Dobbins, plays host to rainbow trout, German browns, mackinaw trout, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, crappie, catfish, redear sunfish and bluegill.

All of these species have self-sustaining populations at the lake, with the exception of kokanee salmon and rainbow trout. The DFG stocks 50,000 kokanee fingerlings and 50,000 fingerling Eagle Lake strain rainbow trout in the lake every spring to supplement the fishery, according to Don Ward at the DFG’s American River Fish Hatchery.

Spring is the top time for taking “potluck” catches of different species at Bullards Bar, as Paul Kneeland, Fish Sniffer Advertising Director, and I found during a trip to the reservoir with Brett Brady of Bare Bones Guide Service on March 24. Rather than make the traditional kokanee trolling trip that I have done every time I’ve been to Bullards Bar, Brady said we would concentrate on fishing Kastmasters and Panther Martins for the lake’s beautifully colored square-tailed rainbows.

As we approached our first target, Willow Creek, Brett explained our approach. “The water is cold, 47 to 48 degrees, so the fish are lethargic,” he advised. “You want to toss out the lure, let it go to the bottom, and then slowly jig it along the bottom. A slow retrieve is best, but try different retrieves.”

On his previous trip, three anglers nailed 15 rainbows ranging from 11 to 15 inches long while fishing from Brady’s 21 foot Design Concepts aluminum jet boat outfitted with an American Turbine 312 jet pump.

We tried several spots in the Willow Creek arm. Brady hooked fish twice on his Kastmaster, but neither fish stuck. We then went up into the North Fork of the Yuba Arm, with Brady carefully negotiating his boat through the debris that carpeted the water in many places.

We passed several beautiful waterfalls cascading down the steep shores of the reservoir until we arrived at a rocky ledge on the North Fork. Bubbles erupted from the water in many spots, indicating the presence of springs that the fish like to hold around. Paul Kneeland put a No. 4 black/gold Panther Martin on his rod and cast into the bubbles.

“I got a fish,” said Kneeland as he hooked up his first fish, a gorgeous sleek rainbow with full fins. He got the fish in the boat, the first of the day. He quickly followed this fish up with two others between 14 and 15 inches.

Meanwhile, Brett and I were wondering why we weren’t catching any trout since we each also had also put black/gold Panther Martins on the line.

“Hey, there’s two fish following my lure,” said “Hot Rod” Kneeland.

I looked over in the water as Kneeland retrieved his lure – and also saw the two rainbows following it. I noticed that Kneeland’s lure was wobbling differently – in an erratic motion - than the lures that Brady and I were using. The fish were just going crazy over it. When he brought the lure in the boat, I noticed that the wire on which the spinner blade revolved was bent, resulting in the action.

Fortunately, the nightcrawlers we also put out started working. While drifting a nightcrawler with a split shot on a 7 foot Loomis spinning rod, I hooked and caught my first rainbow of the day, a 12 incher, followed soon by another pretty, square tailed rainbow.

Meanwhile, “Hot Rod” Paul Kneeland caught three more rainbows, releasing two of them. I then bagged my third fish of the day, a hard fighting 14 inch rainbow while tossing out a no. 4 black/gold Panther Martin.

We had already caught a total of nine trout in a couple of hours, all beautiful wild or holdover rainbows that had grown out from fingerlings. In addition, I bagged a 14 inch spotted bass on a nightcrawler.

“Do you want to try for kokanee or go back to Willow Creek and try for the rainbows again?” asked Brady. “I haven’t fished yet for kokanee yet this season, but we can give it a shot.”

We opted for kokanee first. Brady carefully drove his boat back through the debris of the North Fork to the area off Frenchy Point. Brady put out three rods - all St. Croix 7 foot rods with Shimano Bantam Curado reels filled with 8 lb. P-Line CXX Clear. We began trolling Vance’s Slim Willy flashers with Wedding Rings and Gold Star Dodgers with pink and white Dick Nites at 20 to 25 feet deep on his Cannon electrict downriggers.

I managed to land two small kokanee in the 10 to 11 inch class at 21 feet deep. We had around a dozen other hits, but the rest of the fish came off.

As we fished throughout the day, we encountered spurts of light rain, interrupted with periods of sunshine. However, steadier rain began to fall and the air temperature began to cool down. As the colder front passed through, the kokanee abruptly shut off.

We finished the day in Willow Creek, again passing beautiful waterfalls coming down the mountain. The front turned off the kokanee fishing, but apparently didn’t hurt the trout fishing, since the action was much better there than it had been in the morning.

“Hot Rod” Kneeland hooked up another scrappy rainbow on his “magic” Panther Martin within several minutes and I landed two more rainbows while using nightcrawlers. However, the bite dropped off as the rain began pouring down and we decided to call it day.

Just as he reeled in his nightcrawler as Paul and I got ready for the boat ride in the increasingly torrential rain back to the Cottage Creek boat ramp, Brady hooked and released the final day’s final fish, an 11-3/4 inch spotted bass.

It was a great day of fishing – Paul and I went home with two mixed limits of kokanee salmon and rainbow trout. Between the three of us, we had caught a total of 13 trout, 2 kokanee and two spotted bass.

“The spring, particularly March, is normally the prime time to catch trout,” stated Brady. “Once the surface water temperature rises above 60 degrees, the trout bite slows down and I focus on kokanee for the rest of the season.”

“When the kokanee fishing at Bullards is on, you can catch as many kokanee as you can at any lake in California,” he emphasized, “but don’t expect the big fish that you can catch at New Melones and Indian Valley reservoirs.”

Back in the 1970’s, Bullards Bar produced kokanee in the 17 to 18 inch range, but that hasn’t been the case in recent years. Now fish in the 12 to 14 inch range are typical in July and August, typically the hottest two months for kokanee fishing. A 16 incher is a big fish now.

The DFG, after stocking larger numbers of fish some years, has now settled on stocking approximately 50,000 fingerlings at the lake each year. Although there may be some successful natural reproduction of kokanee at Bullards Bar in the lake and streams, the DFG hasn’t documented it yet.

“Limits are the rule rather than the exception at Bullards Bar,” explained Dennis Lee, DFG senior fishery biologist. “The lake has a relatively low food productivity, in contrast to lakes with bigger fish like New Melones. When planting fish in a lake like Bullards, you have to make a choice between little fish with big catch rates or big fish with low catch rates.”

For more information, call Bare Bones Guide Service, (530) 272-7137.

Note: big storms this year have brought a lot of woody debris into the reservoir. The North Fork of the Yuba has been closed at times as a contractor removes debris to make the lake safe for boating. Be careful and watch for debris at all times!    

Bullards Bar Reservoir Facts  

Location and history: Located on the west side of the Sierra Nevada on the North Fork of the Yuba River, Bullards Bar is located approximately 21 miles north of Nevada City off Highway 49 at an elevation of 1,950 feet above sea level. Bullards Bar Dam, completed in 1971, stands 645 feet above the canyon flow. It is the second tallest dam in California and the fifth tallest in the U.S. The total capacity at normal gross poll is 961,300 acre-ft. of water. Bullards Bar is a hydrolectric dam operated by the Yuba County Water Agency.  

Season: Fishing and boating are open year round at Bullards Bar. The reservoir is 16 miles long and has 60 miles of shoreline with a total of 4,700 surface acres. Pine, fir, oak, madrone and dogwood trees line the banks of the reservoir.  

Marina and launching facilities: The Emerald Cove Resort and Marina is located on the southern tip of the New Bullard Bar Reservoir. This resort offers a marina, a store, telephones, houseboats, fishing and patio boat rentals. There are overnight slips, boat service, portable toilet rentals, propane, gasoline and fishing supplies. There is a two-lane boat ramp (Cottage Grove), sanitation stations for portable toilets and houseboats. Call (530) 692 -3200 or reach them on the web at www.bullardsbar.com. The only other boat ramp on the lake is Dark Day.  

Camping: All camping is by reservation only. There is a two-night minimum. Camping permits must be picked up at the Emerald Cove Marina and people camping without a permit will be cited. There are only about 60 sites. The five campgrounds are Dark Day, Garden Point, Hornswoggle Group, Madrone Cove and Schoolhouse.  

Fishing guide: Brett Brady, Bare Bones Guide Service, (530) 272-7137.  

Directions from Camptonville: Travel south on Hwy. 49, turn west (right) onto Marysville Road and proceed to the reservoir. The Emerald Cove Resort is located approximately 4 miles around the southern tip of the reservoir.

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