Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3816 Jul 19- Aug 2 2019 | Page 16
14
July 19 - Aug 2, 2019
MAP FEATURE
VOL.38 • ISS. 16
Frenchman Lake, sits on the transition zone between the desert to the east and pine forest to the west. Impressive lava formations dominate
the scenery around the reservoir.
Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff.
Frenchman Lake Features Hard-Fighting Rainbows in Scenic Setting
F
renchman Lake, located in Plumas
County in the northeastern portion
of the Plumas National Forest, features
top-notch fishing for rainbow trout year
round and for brown bullhead catfish in
the spring, summer and fall.
The lake’s fishery is similar to that of
Spicer Reservoir, nestled in the North
Fork of the Stanislaus River watershed,
in that both reservoirs feature beautiful,
square-tailed rainbow trout grown out
from fingerlings planted by the California
Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Bank anglers bag the rainbows and
brown bullheads by bait fishing around
the reservoir, while boaters land rainbows
by trolling spinners, spoons, flies and
nightcrawlers behind dodgers and
flashers.
A 1,580 surface acre reservoir created
in 1961 that sits at an elevation of 5,588
feet above sea level, Frenchman, is
situated on the Middle Fork Feather River
watershed. The California Depart-
ment of Water Resources
(DWR) owns and
operates the dams.
The reservoir is
operated by the
State Water
Project
(SWP) to
regulate Little Last Chance Creek for irri-
gation purposes in the Sierra Valley and
to enhance recreation opportunities .
“The recreational fishery established at
Frenchman Lake is primarily comprised
of rainbow trout (RT) (Oncorhynchus
mykiss) and brown bullhead (BB)
(Ameiurus nebulosus),” reported Amber
Mouser, CDFW Environmental Scientist,
in a General Fish Survey 2016 published
on April 14, 2017.
In addition to the trout and catfish
fishery at Frenchman, Last Chance Creek
below the dam, a tailwater fishery with
cold water flows year round, provides
good fishing for wild brown and rainbow
trout. Fly fishermen and spinning gear
enthusiasts nail the fish on an array of
flies, spinners and bait.
Frenchman Lake become the focus
of much local, state and national media
coverage when it became infested with
no-native
Northern pike
(Esox Lucius).in
the late 1980’s.
The fish, a
popular fish in
the Midwest,
Eastern Seaboard
and Canada,
is a non-na-
tive, invasive,
predatory fish
species that
was illegally
introduced
to California
by unknown
Frenchman Reservoir, a State Water Project reservoir, has excellent boat
persons.
launching facilities.
“This highly
Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff.
invasive fish has
Frenchman Lake using a commercial
the potential to seriously impact Califor-
formulation of the piscicide rotenone
nia’s aquatic ecosystems,” wrote Mouser.
(DFG 2007). Unfortunately, the pike soon
“Northern pike were first discovered in
appeared in Lake Davis, a nearby SWP
California at Frenchman Lake, Plumas
reservoir, and it took two eradication
County, in 1989. Due to the potential
sessions to finally eliminate the fish from
harmful impacts to statewide water
that reservoir in 2008.
management, aquatic ecosystems,
In an effort to evaluate the current
and recreational fisheries both
fishery at Frenchman Lake, two general
in Frenchman Reservoir and
fish surveys were conducted during
throughout the waters of the
daytime hours on April 28, 2016 and July
state, California Depart-
28, 2016 by the California Department
ment of Fish and Game
of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). Prior to
(DFG) determined it
this, the lake was last surveyed in 2008 as
was necessary to
eradicate northern part of the effort to monitor other waters
nearby Lake Davis for northern pike,
pike from
according to Mouser.
Frenchman
Results of this effort can be found in
Lake.”
the 2008 monitoring of other waters of
In June
Plumas County (LaCoss and Rossi 2011b)
1991, DFG
paper. A boat electrofisher was used to
success-
complete the 2016 surveys. The three fish
fully
eradicated species identified during these surveys
were rainbow trout, brown bullhead, and
northern
Lahontan redside (LRS) (Richardsonius
pike
egregius).
from
“The lake was divided into two sections
(north and south) separated by a narrow
channel,” wrote Moser. “Each section
was sampled individually and included
as much of the shoreline as possible in
the designated survey area. The reservoir
Cal Kellogg, Fish Sniffer Editor, shows one of the
gorgeous, square-tailed rainbows that Frenchman Lake
is known for.
Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff.