Big Trees Trout On the North Fork Stanislaus   By: Dan Bacher August 27, 2007 More Articles by Dan

The North Fork of the Stanislaus River above Arnold, situated on the border between Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties in the Central Sierra Nevada “Big Trees Country,” is a top-notch place to catch rainbow and brown trout during the stream trout season. It makes a superb destination for a family adventure, since you can catch trout in the river or Beaver Creek, hike through the majestic groves of giant sequoias, and catch bluegill, bass and crappie at White Pines Lake on a one or two day trip.

The best public access points to the North Fork are in the State Park or at the Sourgrass Campground at Board’s Crossing Bridge. Both areas are heavily planted with rainbow trout throughout the season by the Department of Fish and Game. The DFG has stocked 6,000 pounds in the North Fork so far this season.

After driving off Highway 4 three miles above Arnold, you enter the Calaveras Big Trees State Park and travel on a good paved road approximately 7 to 8 miles to the river. During the summer, this gorgeous spot is also heavily used by swimmers and campers, so fishing early and late in the day is your top prospect.

Beaver Creek is in the South Grove of the park past the bridge. This creek provides solid rainbow and brown fishing in the early season when the water is high in the North Fork. However, by mid summer the river becomes low and clear and fishing the North Fork is a much better bet.

While fishing in the park, I highly recommend spending some time in the State Park hiking through the North or South Groves to view the colossal Sequoias. These massive trees can reach a height of 325 and a diameter of 33 feet. The sequoias dominate a mixed conifer forest in the yellow pine belt that includes ponderosa pines, sugar pines, incense cedars and white fir.

Some of these trees are believed to be as much as 2,000 years old. They are a surviving species from an epoch when dinosaurs dominated the earth and the early birds, mammals and flowering plants began to appear.

The second good access to the North Fork is Board’s Crossing. To get there, Turn off Highway 4 at Boards Crossing Road across from the Dorrington Hotel, and proceed approximately 3 miles to the river.

Again, this area is also very popular with swimmers and campers, so early and late fishing is your best bet during the summer. This is a good "push off" place for back packing trips up river.

Beaver Creek also provides solid fishing in this area, particularly in the early season. From Boards Crossing Road, go approximately 7 miles, follow signs, park and walk down to the creek.

Brown and rainbow trout are taken in the North Fork on a variety of lures, baits and flies. “Typically mid July produces the best action because the river is in perfect shape, although the river is now low in a low precipitation year like this one,” noted Erik Momyer of Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods.

“There is 26 miles of river with no vehicle access above the campground,” said Momyer. “It’s a tough hike, but the fishing is worth it. Once you get out of the heavily planted areas where rainbows predominate, most of the fish are browns averaging 12 to 13 inches long and going up to 2 pounds. I generally walk downstream and fish my way back upriver because the fish will be facing upstream.”

Larger browns to 7 pounds are available on the Stanislaus, but these fish are difficult to coax to hit a bait, lure or fly. These larger fish are found below overhanging rocks and undercut banks and feed mainly at night.

For the browns, Momyer recommended tossing out Rapalas, Kastmasters or crickets in the holes, riffles and runs. Good fly patterns to use include black ants, Adams’s, humpies, Elk Hair Caddis, hare’s ear nymphs, prince nymphs and Zug Bugs.

The planted and holdover rainbows can be taken on a vast array of tempters including nightcrawlers, crickets, Power Eggs, salmon eggs, Berkley Gulp Bait and spinners. Of course, the majority of rainbows are caught after a plant of the DFG “catchable” rainbows.

Marla Allison, the former owner of Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods, 10 years ago advised me to use black and gold Panther Martins ranging from ¼ to 1/16 ounces on the North Fork and other streams. The black/gold Panther Martin has proven to be the best lure I have ever used on Sierra streams, producing many rainbows and browns, so I highly recommend it.

However, trout aren’t the only species of fish that anglers can pursue in the Arnold area. White Pines Lake offers a rainbow assortment of rainbow trout, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, channel catfish, and even a few brown trout,

The small but scenic and fertile lake is located 1 mile from Arnold at the edge of White Pines across from the Moose Lodge. Besides fishing, the lake features a picnic area and swimming area surrounded by a forest dominated by cedars and pines. The lake is managed as a drinking water supply by the Calaveras County Water District, while the park is maintained by a dedicated group of volunteers, the White Pines Park Committee.

The DFG, Calaveras County Fish and Game Commission and Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods stock the lake with rainbow trout. The DFG plants 3,000 pounds annually in the lake, while the commission and store stock the lake for special events such as the annual Father’s Day Derby. The store funds its plants through donations from customers.

Anglers catch the trout while fishing bait, lures and flies from the bank or float tubes and canoes. Only non-motorized boats are allowed on the reservoir. The fishing is best in the spring and early summer, but slows down when the water temperature warms up.

Though rainbows make up the bulk of the trout catches, wild brown trout are occasionally caught by anglers fishing for rainbows and other species, according to Momyer.

The bluegill and crappie fishing can be very good at times. For example, on a recent trip to White Pines I hooked one bluegill after another while tossing out mini-crawlers along the shoreline brush and trees one evening. “It’s a great place to bring kids because of its abundance of panfish,” noted Momyer.

The lake is open year round and holds 260 acre-feet of water when full. The lake doesn’t freeze over during a normal winter.

The lake is located on San Antonio Creek, a tributary of the Calaveras River. Big Trees Creek, which flows through the state park, also runs into the lake.

“The park is a great place to bring the family, since you can swim, fish, picnic, kayak or sail there,” said Larry Diamond, assistant general manager of the Calaveras County Water District. “I give the park committee tremendous credit for all of the work that they have done maintaining and enhancing the park since the 1970’s.”  

Calaveras Big Trees State Park Facts:

History: Calaveras became a State Park in 1931 to preserve the North Grove of giant sequoias. This grove includes the "Discovery Tree,” the first Sierra redwood noted by Augustus T. Dowd in 1852. This area has been a major tourist attraction ever since, and is considered the longest continuously operated tourist facility in California. Over the years, other parcels of mixed conifer forests have been added to the park. In addition to the popular North Grove, the Park features South Grove, a five mile hiking trip through a spectacular grove of giant sequoias in their natural setting.  

Location/Directions: The park is northeast of Stockton, four miles northeast of Arnold on Highway 4.   From Sacramento: Take US 99 South to Stockton, turning off onto State Hwy 4 towards and beyond Farmington to the Park (through Angel's Camp). Driving time to the Park from Stockton is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.  

Park Campgrounds: The Park houses two main campgrounds with a total of 129 campsites, six picnic areas and hundreds of miles of established trails. Camping information for Big Trees State Park (209) 795-2334 or visit their website at http://sierra.parks.state.cs.us/cbt/btfacts.htm.  

U.S Forest Service Information: For Wakalu Hepu campground at Sourgrass and Golden Pines Resort, contact the Calaveras Ranger District at (209) 795-1381 or go to their website at http://wwwr5.fs.fed.us/stanislaus/calaveras.  

Lodging Information: The Dorrington Inn and Chalets provide the nearest lodging to the Boards Crossing Access to the North Fork. Contact Dino Lamirato at (209) 795-2164 or their website at http://www.dorringtoninn.com for reservation information.  

Fishing Information and Tackle: Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods, phone (209) 795-1686, fax (209) 795-4725, E-mail epsbill@sbcglobal.net, address: 925 SR-4 in Arnold Plaza, P.O. Box 579, Arnold, CA 95223.  

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