OLFAX - Rollins Lake , located at 2100 feet on the Bear River off Highway 174 in the Sierra Nevada between Grass Valley and Colfax , has undergone a big transition from one fishery to another over the decades . The transformation of the Nevada Irrigation District ( NID ) reservoir took place in recent years when it transitioned from a smallmouth and largemouth bass fishery to one where Alabama spotted bass predominate in the catches . When I first fished Rollins 53 years ago , Collins was known for abundant but small and mostly undersized smallmouth and largemouth bass , along with rainbow trout , bluegill , crappie and a sleeper quality wild brown trout fishery . My first-ever trip to Rollins with a friend in June of 1971 produced a “ potluck catch ” of smallmouth bass , largemouth bass , bluegill and rainbow trout . We caught most of the fish while drifting nightcrawlers in the coves from his rowboat . Since then I have made many trips to Rollins Lake , most of them while bank fishing for trout . Fishing can be great here if you hit the lake just right . The lake features cold water flows from the Bear River , good habitat and an abundance of Japanese pondsmelt for gamefish to feed upon . My most memorable trip to the lake was one winter when I found top-notch fishing in wonderful solitude . I hooked over 30 rainbow trout , keeping my limit of five fish in the 12 to 16-inch class and releasing the others , while casting out orange / gold Cripplures and

Berkley PowerBait from shore . The lake was planted with rainbow trout the week of January 7-13 , 2024 by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife ( CDFW ) - and Cal Kellogg of fishhuntshoot . com decided to check out the trout fishing several days later . “ I got on the lake in my kayak at 8 am ,” he said . “ I had 6 bites early , but the fish didn ’ t get hooked up . However , after the surface water temperature rose from 45 degrees to 46 degrees , the fishing turned on .” “ I caught and released a total of 11 rainbow trout . The first coople were square-tailed holdovers in the 13 to 14 inch range and rest were planters ,” Kellogg said . The biggest fish he saw was a 16 inch brown that an angler fishing with worms from his boat caught while tied up to the boat dock . “ The fish were shallow ; the best depth was only two feet deep ,” said Kellogg . “ I caught all of the fish on Trigger Spoon Juniors and Disco Minnows while trolling at 1.8 mph . Everywhere I went I got fish . I fished a triangle between the Orchard Springs Marina , Long Ravine Marina and the peninsula between the Bear River and Greenhorn arms .” Kellogg also reported a great trip on his kayak last June when he went out looking for trout . He worked the mouth of the Greenhorn arm at 15 feet deep with one of his spoons . He hooked and released 6 bass ,

including both post-spawn spotted and smallmouth bass from 2 to 3 pounds . On another previous trip , he reported even better

action . “ I caught over 50 fish , a mixture of bass and crappie ,” said Kellogg . “ I hooked 24 bass , all spotted bass . About half were 12 inches long or over and the other half were undersized .” “ I caught bass up to 2-1 / 2 pounds while throwing the smallest Pop-Rs in the North Fork .

I caught a number of fish on the edge of the shore line and others out in the middle of the lake where they were breaking on the surface of the water . I also landed over 20 bluegill , mostly hand sized , during the trip .” The rainbow trout fishery , provided by once frequent plants by the

California Department of Fish and Wildlife , offered an excellent opportunity for shore anglers and boaters to battle trout in a scenic Sierra Nevada setting . Unfortunately , trout plants have become less frequent

Alabama spotted bass are the most abundant bass species in Rollins Lake , but smallmouths like the one on the left are also found in the reservoir .

Photo by Dan Bacher