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By Dan Bacher
October 22, 1999

You don't have to drive or walk far from the highway to catch trout at Caples Lake, situated at 7806 feet in elevation near Carson Pass, like you do at many high elevation lakes and reservoirs in the Sierra Nevada. The heavily-traveled Highway 88 parallels the entire north end of Caples, offering bank anglers unparalleled access to some of the top spots on the lake, including the dam and spillway.

Fishing can be outstanding for boaters and bank fishermen here, but it was the shore-bound anglers that found the most consistent success at Caples when I fished the lake during the trout derby sponsored by the Alpine County Chamber of Commerce from September 17-19. As Tom Mulderrig and I were driving by the spillway overlook on the southwest end on the derby's first day, we saw June Ahayashi landing a plump, beautifully-colored holdover brook trout. I parked my truck, photographed the brookie, and talked to Fish Sniffer subscribers Lisa and Dennis Garcia of Jackson, who had just caught two hefty rainbow trout while fishing worms and salmon eggs from the bank.

We had planned to drive further down the highway to the dam, located on the lake's northwest end, but we decided to stop here, near the spillway. We tossed out nightcrawlers on sliding sinker rigs into the deep, cold water and had several bites. Tom hooked up a brookie, but it came unbuttoned when the fish dove under a ledge. Roger Copeland also landed one brook trout and lost another while fishing rainbow Power Bait near us.

We proceeded down the highway and came to the corner of the dam, traditionally one of the best places on any lake to fish. We saw a group of five anglers leaving with a stringer of eight rainbows to 18 inches. "This looks like the spot," I said to Tom. "We better grab it before anyone else does!"

We brought our gear down to the unoccupied spot and tossed out Power Bait and nightcrawlers. Within 15 minutes, I hooked and landed a fat, hard-fighting 15 inch brook trout. For the next several hours, we found great action. I hooked seven and landed five trout, my limit for the day, while Tom took a rainbow and one brook trout while using a Walker Rig along the bottom.

Every one of these cold water trout fought viciously and would start jumping wildly as soon as we got the net near them. We had a ball catching the fish, mostly firm-meated holdover rainbows ranging from 3/4 to 2 pounds. The scenery was fabulous, with snow still on the peaks surrounding the lake. Meanwhile, trucks, recreational vehicles and a myriad of cars sped by us on the highway, oblivious to the quality outdoor experience we were having.

Although I would have liked to stay until dark, I had to fish a kokanee derby at Bullards Bar the next day and left at 5 p.m.

During the derby, 10 anglers out of the 30 entrants caught trout 2-1/2 pounds or better, according to John Voss at Caples Lake Resort. William and Jeane Cook of Lathrop placed first with three rainbows weighing 3 pounds each, while Tom Reynolds of Minden, Nevada took second place with a 3 pound, 20 inch rainbow. After the derby ended, Clarence Bagliani of San Mateo landed an 8 pound rainbow while trolling a Rapala.

Fishing with flies can be excellent on the lake. Larry Ward, program director of United Anglers of California, has found top-notch action on rainbows ranging from 10 to 13 inches while fishing a variety of brown caddis and other flies at Caples. "When the wind blows in the afternoon and evening, you can hammer the fish by going to the dam and fishing small flies behind plastic bubbles," he tipped. "The key is to use a 6 foot long, 2 pound test leader."

Caples not only has abundant rainbow and brook trout, but it has a solid population of mackinaw and brown trout. Since the lake is such a popular fishing spot, the Department of Fish and Game stocks Caples every year with all four fish species.

This year the DFG planted 17,000 rainbows (9,000 pounds), 4,400 catchable browns (2200 pounds), 6800 brooks (3400 pounds) and 30,000 lake trout fingerlings into the lake, according to Dennis Redfern, manager of the American River Fish Hatchery in Ranch Cordova. During the derby, Alpine Chamber of Commerce stocked an additional 1,000 pounds of rainbow trout, 50% weighing 1 to 4 pounds and the other 50% trophy fish over 4 pounds.

You have an opportunity to catch a trophy mackinaw at Caples. The largest fish caught in the lake so far this year was a 15 pound mack caught by Norm Perini of Pioneer this June. Perini was trolling a Rapala at 20 feet deep when the robust char hit.

Mackinaw fishing is best in October and November, noted Voss. Trolling with Rapalas, Rebels and J-Plugs or jigging with Gibbs Minnows, Horizon Pirk Minnows and other lures are the top methods for pulling the macks out of the lake.

Brown trout fishing is best in the spring after ice out and again during the fall before the lake ices over. Trollers top line with Rebels and Rapalas and other lures during the morning and evening hours.

Anglers should be cautious when boating at Caples, since the wind can come up in a hurry. Also, a 5 mph speed limit prevails on the lake.

Caples is one of the stat's top ice fisheries. The lodge stays open year round and rents ice augers during the winter. Ice fishing usually starts in early January, after a half to one foot of ice forms on the lake, and lasts through mid-April.

Caples is a PGE- managed lake that covers 600 surface acres. The lake and dam are located on Caples Creek, a tributary of the South Fork of the American River.

Caples Lake Resort features lodging, a boat ramp, boat rentals, fishing tackle, groceries and an excellent restaurant. The Emigrant Lake trail parallels the lake's south end. The U.S. Forest Service operates a campground across from the resort.

Fees are required for boat launching and parking at the resort. The season launch fee is $75.00. The fee for a launch plus vehicle, trailer and day parking is $10.00, while the fee for a launch plus a vehicle and car-top boat and day parking is $7.00. Day use parking is $5.00.

For more information call Caples Lake Resort at (209) 258-8888. Fishing, camping and lodging information is also available by calling the Alpine Chamber of Commerce at (209) 694-2475 or Woodsford Station at (530) 694-2930.

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