Lower Bear River Lake is full with all of the snowmelt from this year ’ s storms .

Photo courtesy of Bear River Lake Resort

IONEER - Scenic Lower

Bear River Reservoir , situated in Eldorado National Forest in the Central Sierra Nevada at an elevation of 5850 feet , is the first reservoir to open every spring along the Highway 88 Corridor because it is located at a lower elevation than Silver and Caples lakes further up the highway . The Bear River Resort and boat ramp opened for the 2023 season on May 16 . The Caples Lake Resort is scheduled to open this year on June 30 , due to the high amounts of snow around the lake . The big event at Bear River Lake Resort every year is their trout derby , held on the second weekend of June . This year the derby took place on June 10 and 11 . The resort stocked 1,000 pounds of trophy trout averaging 6.9 pounds in the lake prior to the popular event . A total of 89 anglers participated in the derby , braving rain at times over the two days . Jeremy Titsworth of Escalon won first place in the derby this year with a 7.8 lb . rainbow trout , winning $ 700 . Justin Lee Jr . placed second with a 7.3 lb . trout , winning $ 500 . Wayne Schoffler placed third with a 7.2 lb . trout , winning # 200 . “ Both shore anglers fishing PowerBait and boat fishermen trolling with lures and nightcrawlers hooked trout during the derby ,” reported

Big German brown trout like this one are caught by savvy anglers fishing at Lower Bear River , Silver and Caples lakes in the Carson Pass Region . Chris landed this beautifully-colored brown trout at Caples Lake .

Photo by Dan Kaffer

Mike Raso at the Bear River Resort Campground . In addition to the 1000 pounds of trout planted by the resort on June 8 , PG & E stocked 750 pounds of rainbows on May 31 and 750 pounds of rainbows on June 5 , according to Raso . While the majority of fish that anglers catch are rainbows , mackinaws and brown trout also swim in the lake ’ s clear waters . Mackinaw trout grow big and fat at the reservoir . Chris Quimby set the lake mackinaw record of 30.4 pounds on June 17 , 2005 . His huge fish measured 40 inches long . Lower Bear River Reservoir offers an array of fishing options , ranging from trolling for big mackinaw and brown trout with plugs , spoons and nightcrawlers to shore fishing for planted and holdover rainbows . The reservoir features 727 surface acres and a shoreline of about 9 miles when full . It is located on the Bear River , a tributary of the North Fork of the Mokelumne River , south of Highway 88 . I have both fished both from shore and boat at Bear River , but I ’ ve experienced my best action while trolling from a boat . My most memorable trip to the reservoir was in May 2007 when Fred Solari of Lodi and I hooked and released 20 rainbows while trolling threaded nightcrawlers on lead core line along the face of the dam for a couple of hours in the late afternoon . While most anglers use big minnow and trout imitation plugs on downriggers to target big mackinaw , Rich Spears , former manager of the resort , also slow trolls with nightcrawlers behind big Ford Fenders on 17 colors of lead core line for his fish . The best time to fish for the trophy macks is in the spring right after ice out or in the late fall just before the lake ices over , but huge macks are caught throughout the season . The lake also hosts a healthy brown trout population , a combination of wild fish and holdovers from CDFW plants . Donna Schlageter set the lake German brown record

Jeremy Titsworth of Escalon won first place in the Bear River Lake Resort Trout Derby this year with a 7.8 lb . rainbow trout , winning $ 700 . Photo courtesy of Bear River Lake Resort

of 15-1 / 2 pounds while trolling on June 30,1991 .

CDFW , PG & E , and the Bear River Lake Resort all stock rainbow trout at Lower The sizes of fish stocked included fingerling , sub-catchable , catchable , and trophy-size fish . Fingerling and sub-catchable trout are stocked under a put and grow management strategy , while catchable and trophy-size trout are stocked under a put and take management strategy , according to Ben Ewing , District Fisheries Biologist for

Alpine , Amador , Calaveras , and Lake Counties , in his report on the lake in May 2020 .

“ CDFW is implementing a put and grow strategy with the sub-catchable RT , but it is not known how many of these fish grow to catchable size .