Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3719 Aug 31- Sept 14 | Page 21

Crystal Basin Recreation Area Facts

History : In 1957 , SMUD began construction of the Upper American River Project ( UARP ), a series of hydroelectric power plants in the Crystal Basin . As part of this project , SMUD created a network of beautiful mountain reservoirs . Through careful planning with the Forest Service , SMUD built a variety of recreational facilities around the reservoirs . Spanning 85,000 acres of pine and fir forests and traversed by lakes , reservoirs and streams , Crystal Basin offers a diverse range of exciting outdoor adventure . Working together , SMUD and the Forest Service continue to provide land- and water-based recreation opportunities for all visitors to enjoy . Camping : More than 700 developed campsites are available , each with a fire ring and grate , table and parking space . Piped water , trash containers and toilets are available at most campgrounds . Most sites require fees and reservations . Fishing : Anglers can target rainbow and brown trout at Loon Lake , rainbow and brown trout at Ice House Reservoir , smallmouth bass , mackinaw , kokanee salmon , German brown or rainbow trout in Union Valley Reservoir and wild brown trout in Gerle Creek Reservoir . Boating : All of the lakes have boat ramp access . Loon Lake , Ice House Reservoir , Union Valley Reservoir have paved boat ramps and are large enough to accommodate motor boats . The lakes are large and provide ample space for manuvering . Fishing Guide Services : Contact Dale Dale Daneman , Dale ’ s Foothill Fishing Guide Service , ( 530 ) 295-0488 , www . dalesfoothillfishing . com . Hiking : Hikers can access more than 117 miles of trails across the Sierra Nevada . Many offer easy to moderate day hikes . Loon Lake Chalet : Skier , hikers and mountain bikers can take refuge in this year-round chalet offering a large warming room , small kitchen and sleeping accommodations for 20 . Wheelchair access : Many of the developed areas throughout the Basin are accessible for people with disabilities . The fishing pier at Gerle Creek , several of the parking areas , and the paved boat ramps at the reservoirs accommodate wheelchairs . More information : For reservations or more information about the availability of recreational facilities at the El Dorado National Forest , call 530-644-2349 . For maps , brochures and other information , got to : http :// www . smud . org / en / about / Pages / recreation-crystal . aspx / Call You can also call SMUD at 1-888-742.7683 for a Crystal Basin Recreation Area brochure and map .

Jerret Cr .

Red Mountain

Wentworth Road

Rocky Basin Creek

Loon Lake Chalet ($)

Chipmunk Bluff

To Forest Road 30 , Union Valley Res . and Hiway 50 at Riverton

Dam

Gerle Creek

Forest Road

Wentworth Spring C . G .

North Shore C . G .

Loon Lake Equestrian Center

South Fork

Rubicon River

Red Fir Group C . G .

Loon Lake Dam

McKinney / Wentworth Road

Loon Lake C . G .

Rubicon Trail ( 4WD ONLY )

Ellis Creek

Rubicon Hiking Trail

Pleasant C . G . ( Boat In )

Brown Mountain

To Highway 89 , Homewood & West Shore Lake Tahoe

The Rubicon Trail is Recommended for Experienced Four Wheelers Only .

Rubicon Trail

Desolation Wilderness Boundary South Fork Rubicon River

Fishing Notes

• Rainbow Trout - Bank fishing is best near dam , boat ramp and off the campgrounds . Fish Power Bait , nightcrawlers , spoons and spinners . Trolling is very productive near the dam and near the tunnel from ice-out until the late fall when the lake begins to freeze over . Troll with gold and silver Cripplures , Hum Dingers and Power Grubs behind Flashers .

• Brown Trout - Troll with the same lures as for rainbows , as well as top lining with Rebels and Rapalas in the early morning and late evening hours . Some trollers also bounce the bottom with Flatfish and Kwikfish during the day .

• Note : Ice fishing is not advisable during the winter at Loon Lake because of fluctuations in water levels for power generation .

SMUD and the CDFW have teamed up to stock 6,250 pounds of rainbow trout like these fish in Loon Lake this summer .

Photo by SMUD , Sacramento .

I first fished Loon in the summer of 2000 , when I landed a limit of gorgeous rainbows while trolling Cripplures with Dale Daneman of Dale ’ s Foothill Fishing . The second was a bank fishing adventure at the reservoir in the summer of 2011 where I again landed a limit of rainbow trout . Rick Grimmett of Citrus Heights was trolling the lake with his grandson , 7-year-old Gus , that day and gushed about the solid fishing available at the lake . “ I like to troll with Sling Blades with dodgers or small Rapalas around 15 feet deep here ,” he noted . “ I always catch a lot of fish at Loon . We ’ re going to go out trolling near the dam at 5:00 pm after we set up camp .” “ I catch mostly rainbows here , although I have in the past caught browns up to 18 inches ,” he noted . “ The few guys who target browns reported catching fish up to 10 pounds while trolling plugs , but you have to be very patient .” That day , I also saw two other anglers in a boat traveling right near the ramp . I asked them if they had seen any shore fishermen catching fish on the lake . “ Hike down below that concrete structure on the lake north of here and you should do well ,” one gentleman advised me . “ There ’ s a big concentration of fish right off the shelf there – we ’ ve been hooking lots of rainbows there in our boat .” After thanking the angler for the tip , I drove over to the parking area near the structure , the intake to a tunnel to Union Valley Reservoir . I quickly caught my limit of rainbows , including one beautiful square tailed holdover , while employing orange and yellow Power Bait . On my most recent trip , I again fished that spot during the late afternoon and found trout success once again while fishing one rod with PowerBait and the other rod with various spoons and spinners . Fishing pressure was very light ; there were only two boats on the lake when I arrived . I ended up being the only fisherman on the lake after those anglers in two boats left . There are few things better than catching trout in total solitude on a gorgeous reservoir right next to the Desolation Valley Wilderness Area . One of the great things about fishing Loon is that there are other superb fishing opportunities nearby . You can fish for planted brown and rainbow trout at Icehouse Reservoir or you can target mackinaws , kokanee salmon , rainbows and smallmouth bass at Union Valley Lake . Gerle Creek Reservoir also features a wild brown fishery . The CDFW historically stocked 9,000

Anglers tie their boats up on the shore near the campground . rainbows in Loon , 6,000 rainbows per year in Union Valley and around 10,000 rainbows in Ice House , but these numbers have been increased , due to the agreement between SMUD and CDFW . Stafford Lehr , now Chief of the CDFW Inland Fisheries Branch , played an instrumental role in negotiating an agreement that provides both doubling of the current numbers of trout planted at the Crystal Basin reservoirs and enhanced stream flows for native species . For more information about UARP and associated projects as well as current reservoir and stream release conditions , please visit smud . org and the Community and Recreational Areas Web pages . For more information about fishing in the Crystal Basin reservoirs , call the Ice House Resort , ( 530 ) 293-3321 .

Photo by DAN BACHER , Fish Sniffer Staff .