Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3815 July 5-19 2019 | Page 19
Spicer Reservoir 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 when the
lake is full. 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. 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
Spicer Meadow Reservoir
6692
Tuolumne County
To Hiway 4
Markleeville
& Arnold
Protect Fragile
Shoreline Camp 100
feet from water’s edge
6648
er
Spic
w
do
Mea
voir
r
Rese
10 mph Western arm
No motorized
boating in Eastern
arm of reservoir
7195
Fishing Notes
• Rainbow Trout are the dominant species in Spicer Meadow Reservoir. The DFG plants approximately 50,000 rainbow fingerlings each
year. No catchable rainbows or other species of trout are planted in the reservoir. Bank fishing is best on the area near the boat ramp or
the dam. Nightcrawlers, Power Bait and salmon eggs are good baits to try. Casting spinners, Kastmasters and flies under plastic bubbles is
also worth a try. Trollers find the top action with nightcrawlers behind blades and flashers or minnow imitation lures such as Sparkefish,
Needlefish, Cripplures, Triple Teazers, Rapalas and Thomas Buoyants. Float tubing is effective for fly fishermen using Wooly Buggers,
beadhead nymphs and black ants.
• Brook & BrownTrout have been reported in the lake, but 99 percent of the fish caught at Spicer are rainbows. For brook trout, fish the
Highland Lakes on Highland Creek, a tributary of Spicer, in the Ebbetts Pass high country.
Off Spicer Reservoir Road on the way to the reservoir, the North Fork of Stanislaus offers
good fishing for wild and planted rainbows at times.
Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff.
I went, Vince Grimes and his fishing
buddy reported catching 30 to 40 trout
while trolling Wedding Rings in the
top 3 to 5 feet of water, according to
Reynolds.
Other anglers have reported catching
lots of fish from shore. One fisherman
reported catching five quality trout in a
row while tossing a spinner from shore.
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 Department of Fish and Game
stocks the reservoir with 50,000
rainbow trout fingerlings, a mixture
of Eagle Lake-strain rainbows and
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VOL.38 • ISS. 15
Kamloops trout, every year. Every
spring, huge numbers of rainbows go up
into Hobart Creek, located near the boat
ramp, to spawn. To protect the naturally
spawning population, fishing in the
creek is closed every year until July 1.
Wild brook trout, brown trout and
brown bullhead catfish are available
also, but “99 percent of the fish caught
at the lake are rainbows,” according to
Bill Reynolds at Ebbetts Pass Sporting
Goods. The only fish I’ve personally
seen caught in the reservoir are rainbow
trout.
The reservoir has 2,000 surface acres
and contains 189,000 acre-feet of water
when full, as it is now.
When I first fished the lake in the
summer of 2002, the lake was just
beginning to recover from the trout
population’s battle with a tapeworm
parasite. I caught an easy limit of
rainbows while bait fishing from shore
when I went to Spicer.
one evening, while James Pagani of
You can also drive up Highway 4 to
Sparklefish Lures and I landed limits
Lake Alpine, a lake that is planted with
of fish while trolling the following day.
larger, trophy-size rainbows by Alpine
Although the fish were square-tailed and County and “catchable” rainbows by the
very pretty, they were only in the 10- to
CDFW. At this popular lake, you have
12-inch range.
a chance of nailing a 4- to 8-pound class
On my second trip to Spicer on Oct. 7, holdover every time you go there.
2007, I had a great time catching a fast
“ Lake Alpine has fully thawed,” said
limit of Spicer’s colorful rainbow trout
Abbott Valenti, director of operations
in the 14- to 16-inch range from shore.
for the Lake Alpine Lodge. “There’s
Since then, bigger fish have been
snow on the ground but the sun has been
caught, but the largest Reynolds has
shining! The lake is full and still spilling
seen this year measured 20 inches.
over the dam.”
On every other trip since those my first
One angler reported catching good
two trips there, I have hooked fish and
numbers of rainbow trout while
seen people hook fish from the bank and throwing PowerBait from his kayak at
boat. My favorite trip was in November
Alpine, according to Reynolds.
2014 when I landed an easy limit of
For more information about fishing at
trout while fishing for a couple of hours
Spicer Meadow Reservoir, call Ebbetts
right before dark with PowerBait and
Pass Sporting Goods at (209) 795-1686.
nightcrawlers. My latest trip was the
only time I can
recall when I
saw no trout
hooked by
bank anglers.
For a
mixture of
rainbow trout
and brown
bullhead
catfish, anglers
can fish
nearby Union
Reservoir,
located off
the Spicer
Reservoir
Road just
before you
get to Spicer,
However, the
access road to
Trollers like this angler like to battle the scrappy rainbows that Spicer
the lake was
Reservoir is known for.
still closed
Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff.