Spicer Reservoir Trout Offers Big And Healthy Trout During The Fall Turnover   By: Dan Bacher November 6, 2007 More Articles by Dan

The Spicer Meadow Reservoir rainbow trout fishery is booming again, since it has recovered nicely from a tapeworm infestation that plagued the lake’s fish in the late 1990s. The fish are now big, healthy and display gorgeous colors, as evidenced by recent catches by shore anglers and boaters.

“Over the past two years the quality and size of the fish has improved as the lake heals itself naturally from the parasite infection,” said Bill Reynolds, owner of Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods in Arnold. “The fish are not only longer, but they are much fatter this year.”

Spicer Meadow, located at an elevation of 6,620 feet in the Stanislaus National Forest, straddles the border between Tuolumne County and Alpine County. The reservoir is situated on Highland Creek, a tributary of the North Fork of the Stanislaus River. The recreation area is 8 miles southwest of Highway 4 on Spicer Reservoir Road and is about a 45-minute drive from Arnold.

The reservoir has 2,000 surface acres and contains 189,000 acre-feet of water when full. Rainbow trout are the lake’s dominant fish, though German brown trout and brown bullhead catfish also are occasionally caught.

When I fished the lake in 2002, the lake was just beginning to recover from the trout population’s battle with the parasite. I caught an easy limit of rainbows bait fishing from shore one evening, while James Pagani of Sparklefish Lures and I landed limits of fish the following day. Although the fish were square-tailed and very pretty, they were only in the 10 to 12 inch range.

In contrast, the fish caught at the lake this season have ranged from 12 to 16 inches long, with some in the 16 to 17 inch class taken by lucky anglers. All of the fish are full-tailed rainbows that have grown out from the fingerlings that the DFG stocks or are wild fish that originate from natural spawning.

On the afternoon of October 7, I had an absolute ball catching Spicer’s colorful rainbow trout from shore, based on a tip from Reynolds, who purchased the popular sporting goods store last year from Marla Allison.

“Three guys just went up to Spicer and caught limits of rainbows on rainbow Berkley Gulp Bait,” Reynolds told me five days earlier. “They said that it took them less time to catch their fish than it did to drive there. All of the fish were beautiful, some of the best-looking trout I’ve seen out of local lakes this year.”

Although I was planning to go up there on Friday, an early snow storm made driving and access to the lake difficult. I decided to go instead on Sunday, since warmer weather was forecasted.

When I arrived at the boat ramp area, the lake was much lower than it had been on my last trip to the reservoir in the summer of 2002. The ramp and dock were both out of the water, making fishing boat a car-top boat only affair. I saw only five anglers fishing in the ramp area – and no fishing boats on the lake.

James Parker and Mike Osborn of San Mateo had each caught a pretty rainbow in the 14 to 15 inch range. The weather was so nice that Parker and two other anglers took their shirts off to enjoy the warm autumn sun, a contrast with the snowy weather of the previous Friday.

“The only thing that has been working has been nightcrawlers,” noted Parker. “We’ve tried Power Bait, but didn’t get any hook-ups.”

Meanwhile, Duane Braxen of Walnut Creek shouted to his fishing partners, “I caught another fish!” He had apparently found the “hot spot” on the other side of Hobart Creek.

I walked over to get a photo of his fish. While I was climbing up and down the boulders, he hooked another fish, his fifth fish of the day. “I’m catching the fish over in that area on the other side of that rock,” he coached.

After he left with his limit to join his fishing partners on the drive back to the Diablo Valley, I threw out a nightcrawler on a sliding sinker rig. Within several minutes, I got a bite, picked up the rod out slowly out of my rod holder and set the hook. The fish pulled hard on the drag and made several runs before I slid it up on the shore.

Like the trout that other anglers caught, this fish displayed the beautiful, iridescent colors that give the rainbow trout its name. The fish had perfectly formed fins, a patch of red on its gill cover and a proliferation of spots.

I put four fish on my stringer within the first hour, but it took me the remainder of the afternoon to catch my last rainbow, a hard fighting 14 incher, to fill my limit.

Over the course of the afternoon, many of the fish either mangled my nightcrawler or would play with the bait and then drop my bait before I was able to hook them. I hooked four of the rainbows on nightcrawlers, while I enticed my final fish with orange Berkley Gulp Bait. Although I cast out a Kastmaster a number of times, I never got bit.

I decided to clean my fish at the boat ramp, rather than at home; that turned out to be a fortuitous decision. While I was cleaning my fish, Paul Ubrun of Galt caught a 15 inch wild brown trout on orange Power Bait. This is the first brown trout I’ve ever seen caught at the reservoir, so I took some photos of it before I made the long drive back to Sacramento.

Spicer Meadow offers trout fishing generally from May or June until October or November, depending upon the snowfall. The road is not plowed during the winter months, so the Northern California Power Agency accesses the lake during the winter by means of a snow cat.

Shore fishing is best during the spring and early summer and again in the fall. Bait fishing enthusiasts anglers fish nightcrawlers, salmon eggs, Power Bait and other baits at the boat ramp and near the dam. Lure tossers employ Kastmasters, Rapalas and spinners, while fly fishers should try woolly bugger, caddis, Adams, and mayfly patterns.

Trolling is good throughout the season, with lead core line and downriggers being necessary to get down deep when the water heats up in the summer. A variety of lures, including Cripplures, Rapalas, Hum Dingers, Needlefish, Sparklefish and Uncle Larry’s spinners, will produce fish.

When the lake 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.

The DFG stocks the reservoir with 50,000 rainbow trout fingerlings, a mixture of Eagle lake-strain rainbows and Kamloops trout, every year. Wild brown trout, brook trout and brown bullhead catfish are available also, but 99 percent of the fish caught at the lake are rainbows, according to Reynolds.    

Spicer Meadow Recreation Area Facts  

Size and Location: The 189,000 acre foot reservoir is formed by New Spicer Meadow Dam on Highland Creek, a tributary of the North Fork of the Stanislaus River, at 6620 feet in elevation. It has a surface area of 2,000 acres when full. The reservoir is situated eight miles southwest of Highway 4 on Spicer Reservoir Road in the Stanislaus National Forest.  

History: The reservoir is a relatively new one, since the 262 foot tall rock-fill dam was completed on Highland Creek in 1989 and filled in 1990. Additional water is diverted from the North Fork of the Stanislaus River by the North Fork Diversion Dam and a two-mile tunnel. Calaveras County Water District (CCWA) owns the dam. Water from the reservoir supplies drinking water and water for irrigation in Calaveras County. The water district, along with the Northern California Power Agency (NCPA) sells electricity from the 6-MW hydroelectric plant at the base of the dam.  

Boating Facilities and Regulations: A boat ramp with turnaround area and movable dock is available. No overnight mooring is permitted. Maximum speed on the western portion of the lake is 10 mph; the eastern portion, surrounded by the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, is managed for non-motorized uses only.  

Supplies: Gas, groceries, and camping supplies are available in Arnold, Camp Connell, and Bear Valley.  

Camping: A Wilderness Permit (available at the District Office free of charge) is required for shoreline camping in the eastern (non-motorized) portion of the lake.  

Spicer Reservoir Campground: located at 6,200 feet on a timbered setting on the shore of Spicer Reservoir. There are 43 total campsites. The maximum vehicle length is 50’, the maximum length of stay is 14 days and the maximum use is six persons per single unit site, with several multiple units for small groups. Piped water, restrooms, vault toilets, tables, picnic table, stoves, BBQ grills are available. The fee is $16.00 and reservations are first-come, first-served. The campground is open from June to October, weather permitting.

National Forest Information: Calaveras Ranger District, P.O. Box 500, Hathaway Pines, CA 95233, (209) 795-1381, http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/stanislaus/calaveras/camping/spicer.shtml

Fishing Information: Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods, (209) 795-1686     

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