Collins Lake Fishing Report
March 25, 2008
Our Net Pen (Raised Trout) releases will begin
first week of April
3 Pens a week (equal to 3 plants) planned weekly
on top of our
Private Plants and Fish & Game Plants!


The Collins Lake Weekly Derby Winner was Paul MacMonagle of Carmichael- Congratulations Paul (your $100 check is in the mail)!!

Gary Miralles of Shasta Tackle Co. and his cameraman (Justin) fished last week with Raith Heryford (a Local Fishing Guide) and televised their fantastic and successful day of trolling with Shasta Tackle lures. Direct TV (Channel 656) will be airing the show this Saturday at 8:30 am. They caught between 15-20 fish and kept the 5 that couldn't be put back and those five averaged between 4 to 5 pounds each. The same day Robin Montgomery brought in a huge trout from shore using Powerbait, it weighed 6 lb. 4 oz. On his last day of camping, Phil Baker scored a 5 lb. 12 oz. Bass while trolling for trout! Lindsay Pryde of Yuba City caught her 2 FIRST FISH EVER and her biggest was almost 3 pounds! She and Dad trolled with Gold Kastmasters just under the surface they said. Peter Sr. & Peter Jr. each caught a nice Trout, Dad is the winner though-his was 5 lb. 8 oz. & Jr.'s was 2 lb. 4 oz.

Jess Fowler's 6 lb. 12 oz. Rainbow Trout was almost as tall as he was. Jess held that fish up like it was a feather, he is one tough little dude who helped bring in that fish in the 100's campground area on Powerbait. On 3/22 Justin Lussier netted a 7 lb. 4 oz. Trout trolling with a Rapala. Shortly after that day Leah of Citrus Heights caught a 6 Pound Rainbow near the dam using Powerbait. On 3/23 Remington of Sparks trolled a crawdad lure on the east side and caught a 2 lb. 8 oz. Bow. Tricia of Yuba City was floating her worms off shore by the dam and lured a 4 lb. 8 oz. Trout to bite!

The Johnson's (with the magic touch) are back!! They limit evertime they come and continue to amaze me with their unbeatable lucky streak! Scott Arnold & Adam & Daniell of Grass Valley had a great day of fishing, taking home with them from biggest to small, a 6 lb. 12 oz., 6 lb. 8 oz., 4 lb. 8 oz., and a 2 lb. 8 oz. Trout - all on Powerbait by the dam.

On 3/24 we had 3 Great Catches brought to our attention by 3 different boys. (From smallest to biggest boy) - we had Aaron Covington with a whopping 2 lb. 8 oz. Rainbow Trout, they Chase Hunter of Napa who caught his Trout when tossing a Roostertail by the dock. Last but certainly not least was Richard Plise Jr. with the biggest smile, holding up a huge 5 lb. 13 oz. Largemouth Bass he caught on a Sinko worm near Goose Island. Great Job Kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just to let you know there are3 fishing Derby's coming up- here is a list

April 19th is the 2nd Annual- CIFFI DERBY - sponsored by Project Kokanee call 530-626-8833 for info

The 3rd Annual William Jessup Univ. Trout Derby will be held on Saturday May 3, 2008 at Collins Lake. Bring your friends and family out and enjoy the day! For additional information and to register please click here: www.jessup.edu/outdooradventures or call Frank 530-308-6976

The 2nd Annual CBAF (Christian Bass Anglers Federation) KID'S CAMP is also May 2nd & May 3rd. Call Paul Baker for more info at 209-852-0157.

The Month of April will be an Explosion of Trout, starting with one to two plants as planned each week of Private Trophy Trout up to 10 Pounds, or Fish & Game Plants of smaller fish but more of them. Then we will be releasing 3 net pens of raised Trout WEEKLY equal to 3 more plants! It will be an April like no other April before.................Now would be a good time to plan your camping or day trip to Collins Lake if you like to catch fish!

Trout Prize Tags for 2008


This year's tags look more plain than past years, but they are still worth valuable free prizes. The difference is there is no printing on them, they are just tags of various colors. We saved enough money by using these simpler tags to add 500 more prize tags than in previous years. There will now be a total of 1,500 prize tagged trout for 2008. So, if you catch a fish with a colored tag on it, simply bring it up to the park office to claim your free prize. There are no derby fees to enter. Grey tags = Free Ice Cream Cone. Green tags = $5 off your next entry. Blue tags = $10 off any T-shirt or Hat. Red tags = $100 CASH PRIZE. Please look for the colored tag on the top dorsel fin before exiting the park so you can get your free reward.

Weekly $100 fishing derby

(NEW FOR 2008)

Derby entry fees: Only $4/day or $10/week*

Starting on March 17, we will be holding a weekly fishing derby with a $100 cash prize for the person with the largest fish each week. To enter derby, you must register at the park office upon entry before fishing. The cost is only $4 per day or $10 per week (*until contest ends Sunday evening). Fish must be weighed in by Collins Lake staff before the park office closes for the day. One winner per week for the largest fish caught at Collins Lake or Lake Mildred. All types of fish are allowed in derby (Trout, Bass, Catfish, etc.). Winner will be declared each week on Sunday at the hour the park office closes. The derby will continue every week until the end of May. Rembember... you can't win if you don't enter (and it supports a good cause).

100% of Derby proceeds benefit two Non-Profit groups

helping to raise trout at Collins Lake

California Inland Fisheries Foundation & Project Kokanee

Collins Lake's net pen project has grown for 2008 from 8 pens to 12 pens. The trout arrived on 12/19/07 and will be released later in the Spring of 2008.

Collins Lake already has California's largest trout stocking program north of Sacramento and these net pens will further increase this successful program. For every plant of rainbow trout normally received from Fish and Game, Collins Lake purchases 3 plants of larger trophy sized trout from private hatcheries. During the Spring months, the planting trucks typically arrive twice a week or more. In 2007, there were a total of 28,000 pounds of trout planted from hatcheries + another 10,000 pounds from the 8 net pens. The average size of trophy trout planted each week during the spring was 2 to 6 pounds, with some whoppers topping 10 pounds!

These new net pens will make Collins Lake's intensive trout planting program even bigger for 2008. Depending on the actual growth rates, these pens should add 13,000 to 15,000 pounds to the trout plated from the hatcheries!

This net pen project is a cooperative effort of several groups working together.
1. Department of Fish and Game provide the fish from their hatchery.
2. Two non-profit groups of volunteers have been raising money to provide the food. Kokanee Power and California Inland Fisheries Foundation (Project Kokanee) will each provide half of the food. With a healthy diet of quality food, these trout can grow from half pound each to a whopping 3 pounds by Spring, 2008!
3. Collins Lake is providing the labor and the materials to build the new pens and the marina space to keep all of the pens. Collins Lake staff will care for the trout, feeding them daily and keeping the pens clean of algae.
4. Local home school families from H.I.S. Ministries assisted in a bucket brigade to plant the fish from the truck into the pens.

Each group did their part to make this project a success. This project would have been too big for any one group to do by themselves. All groups involved are hoping to build more pens in the future at Collins Lake after this pilot year is completed. Collins Lake is also looking into raising catfish in these same pens during the summer months when it is too warm to keep trout. For more information or to further support projects like this, visit www.kokaneepower.org, or www.kokanee.org.

White or Grey Tags - Free Single Scoop Ice Cream ($2 value)
GREEN TAGS - $5.00 off of regular Day Use Fees
BLUE TAGS - $10.00 off of any T-Shirt or Hat purchase
RED TAGS - VALUE $100.00 IN CASH ON THE SPOT!!