Alpine County
VOL. 36 • ISS. 17
Lake Alpine Facts
Location: is a small, scenic reservoir surrounded by conifer forest located just east of the community of Bear Valley on State Highway 4, at an elevation of 7,350 feet 50 miles east of Angels Camp. It covers 180 acres at a depth of 40 feet. It is the central attraction of the“ Lake Alpine Recreation Complex” in the Calaveras Ranger District.
Season: open all year, but road access is subject to winter closure and the lake ices over during the winter. The CDFW and Alpine County both plant rainbow trout during the late spring, summer and early fall.
Boating: A boat ramp is located near the Lake Alpine Picnic Area. The maximum speed limit on the lake is 10 mph. No overnight mooring is permitted, and motorized boats are not allowed on the lake at night.
Camping: Forest Service Developed Campgrounds with a total of 112 campsites. The Lake Alpine Campground features piped water, disabled accessible restrooms, tables at each site and BBQ grills at each site. Reservations are first-come, first-served. The campgrounds are open from June to October, weather permitting. For more information, contact the Calaveras Ranger District, 5519 Highway 4, P. O. Box 500
Hathaway Pines, CA 95233, Phone( 209) 532- 3671,
FAX( 209) 533-1890, www. fs. fed. us / r5 / stanislaus / contact /
Day Use Area: Forest Service developed recreation facilities include three developed Day Use Sites( Chickaree, Lake Alpine, and Marmot) featuring 48 picnic sites with grills, flush toilets and piped water; and, a boat launch.
Lodging: Accommodations are available at the Lake Alpine Lodge, a full-service summer resort operated under Special Use Permit with the Stanislaus National Forest. The Lodge is open from May 1 through October 31( weather permitting). It offers cabin rentals, a sit-down restaurant and cocktail lounge, public( fee) showers, a laundromat, canoe, kayak, row and motor boat rentals, mountain bike rentals, and a small general store with groceries, fishing and camping gear, house wares, souvenirs, etc. For more information, contact Lake Alpine Lodge, 4000 Highway 4, PO Box 5060, Bear Valley, CA 95223, phone( 209) 753-6350.
Fishing Information and Tackle: Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods, 925 SR-4 in Arnold Plaza, P. O. Box 579, Arnold, CA 95223, phone( 209) 795-1686, Fax( 209) 795-4725
MAP FEATURE
Lake Alpine
Alpine County
Stanislaus National Forest
Silvertip
Osborn Hill
Emigrant
To Bear Valley, Arnold & Angels Camp
Trail
Lodgepole Overflow
Lake Alpine
Silver Creek
Marmot
Fishing Notes
August 4- 18, 2017
Bee Gulch
Marina
Lake Alpine
Chickaree
To Ebbetts Pass, Hiway 89 and Markleeville
Pine Marten
Backpackers
Silver Valley
Inspiration Point
• Rainbow Trout are the main species pursued at Lake Alpine. Trolling is good with Cripplures, Rapalas, Needlefish and other lures or nightcrawlers behind flashers. The lake features excellent bank fishing access, with a trail running around the perimeter of the reservoir. Use Power Bait, nightcrawlers and Pautzke salmon eggs for a mixture of wild, holdover and planted rainbows. Float tubing with a variety of flies is also very popular at Alpine.
• The lake has a 10 mph speed limit imposed at all times, so you won ' t see any water skiers and personal watercraft churning the water at this scenic lake.
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facilities,” said Bill Reynolds, owner of Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods in Arnold.“ Because of its high elevation and cool water temperatures, it provides both good bank fishing and boat fishing year round, though spring and fall are the best times.”
A lot of the lake is shallow, so the fish during the summer school up in the deep water, according to Reynolds. When you find a pod of fish, fishing can be really good.
Although there is no official lake trout record at Alpine, an angler weighed in a 9 lb. 6 oz. rainbow at Reynolds’ shop in 2008.
Brown bullheads like those found at nearby Union and Utica reservoirs are also believed to swim in Alpine, but Reynolds hasn’ t heard any reports on catfish catches in recent years.
The entire shoreline has top-notch fishing access, since it is surrounded by an excellent trail, including a paved section that is handicapped accessible. For that reason, Alpine gets more bank fishing pressure than other local lakes.
Reynolds advises bank anglers to employ a variety of baits in an array of colors on a 24 to 30 inch leader on a sliding sinker rig near the boat ramp and the dam. Anglers should use chartreuse garlic PowerBait, Berkley Mice Tails, Power Eggs, nightcrawlers and other offerings on a 24” to 30” leader with a sliding sinker.
Trolling is also productive at Alpine. Trollers should pull Apex lures, Needlefish, Triple Teazers, Rooster Tails and Uncle Larry’ s spinners.
Trolling Wedding Rings and Wiggle Hoochies, tipped either with a nightcrawler or a Gulp nightcrawler, behind small dodgers is also effective.
The lake is also a good spot for fly fishermen fishing from pontoon boats and float tubes. The better patterns include sparrow nymphs, woolly buggers, stone fly nymphs, ants, Adams, mosquitoes, stimulators and bead head nymphs.
The recreation area features five developed campgrounds with a total of 112 campsites and three developed day use sites- Chickaree, Lake Alpine, and Marmot- including 48 picnic sites with grills, flush toilets and piped water and a concrete boat launch.
Lake Alpine Lodge, a full-service summer resort, also offers cabin rentals, a restaurant, public( fee) showers, laundromat, boat and bike rentals, and a general store.
The 161,000 acre Carson-Iceberg Wilderness that Alpine is the gateway to straddles the crest of the Sierra Nevada range, divided almost evenly between the Stanislaus and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests. The federal wilderness area features gorgeous high country scenery, with several peaks rising above 10,000 feet, broad river valleys, perennial creeks with small waterfalls, granite-strewn slopes, and meadow-filled valleys.
The headwaters of the East Fork of the Carson River, the Clark Fork of the Stanislaus, and the Mokelumne River are located in the wilderness. The Carson River, named for Kit Carson, and a distinctive granite formation called the Iceberg on the southern boundary give this area its name
Although Lake Alpine offers a superb trout fishery itself, there are many other exciting fisheries nearby. One of my favorites is Spicer Reservoir, situated on the North Fork of the Stanislaus River about 10 miles up Spicer Reservoir Road from Highway 4. I have experienced my best shore fishing for the lake’ s gorgeous square-tailed rainbows in the spring after ice-out and in the fall after the turnover.
Another solid prospect is Union Reservoir, about two miles from Spicer. At Union, you can catch both a limit of rainbow trout and a mess of scrappy brown bullhead catfish while soaking nightcrawlers and PowerBait there during the summer. For more information about fishing Lake Alpine and the lakes of the Ebbetts Pass High Country, call Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods, 209- 795-1686.
After catching and releasing six smaller rainbows while bait fishing at Lake Alpine in the morning, Bryan Wood of Los Gatos landed this beautiful rainbow at Spicer Reservoir.
Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff.