Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3905 Feb 14-28 | Page 16
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Feb 14 - 28, 2020
MAP FEATURE
VOL.39 • ISS. 5
Sugar Pine is not big, with a reservoir capacity of 6,921 acre-feet and with a surface area of 165 acres. Tahoe National Forest manages the
recreation facilities under an agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff.
Sugar Pine Reservoir: Quality Rainbows, Bass and Channel Cats in the Pines
S
ugar Pine Reservoir, a pretty mid-el-
evation American River watershed
lake located north of Foresthill, is most
renowned for its rainbow trout fishing, but
it also offers sleeper fishing for small-
mouth, largemouth and spotted bass,
channel catfish and sunfish.
The reservoir is a relatively quiet,
peaceful one with a boating speed limit of
10 miles per hour, preventing water skiers
and personal watercraft enthusiasts from
marring your fishing experience – and
making it a good lake for family camping
and fishing adventures.
Sugar Pine is unique for being one of
one of two lakes in a 150-square mile
geographical region characterized by
rushing streams in deep canyons filled
with wild rainbow and brown trout. The
only nearby reservoir is Big Lake, a
privately-owned lake and campground.
Sugar Pine is not big, with a reservoir
capacity of 6,921 acre-feet with a surface
area of 165 acres. Tahoe National
Forest manages the recreation
facilities under an agreement
with the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation.
True to its name, sugar
pines and other conifers
surround this scenic
reservoir. The reservoir
sits at an elevation of
3620 feet on Shirttail
Canyon, a tributary of
the North Fork of the
American River.
Sugar Pine is one
of the favorite lakes
for Cal Kellogg, Fish
Sniffer Editor, to target
rainbows. He’s landed
lots of rainbows
and some bass at
this peaceful
lake, although he’s never landed a brown.
While the California Department of
Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) plants rainbow
trout in the lake in the spring and fall,
browns are exceedingly rare in the catches
at Sugar Pine. The CDFW last stocked
the reservoir with catchable browns in the
1990s.
“I’ve spent hundreds of hours on this
lake,” said Kellogg. “The biggest rainbow
trout I’ve ever seen caught here was a 22
inch rainbow that my wife, Gena, hooked
on the second ever date with me 25 years
ago. She caught the fish right off a point
near the launch ramp.”
Kellogg has found success at the lake
over the past year by trolling a variety
of offerings, including Cripplures, Hum
Dingers, Wedding Rings and his new
orange and red Trigger Spoons on lead
core line are. Last year in April, May and
June he caught an estimated 75 trout on
the reservoir, most of them from 11 to 15
inches long.
“The largest – and only brown
– I’ve heard of was a 5
pounder caught by Olin
Bycroft of Foresthill,
but browns are pretty
rare here. Sugar Pine
fishes best during the
spring,” said Kellogg.
“Sugar Pine is
a good put and
take fishery
for trout,” he
noted. “If the
fish are on
top feeding on
tiny insects, I
will often fish
a worm 3 to
4 feet deep
under a slip
bobber.”
Sugar Pine has
great shore access
for bank anglers,
with a hiking trail
winding around the
entire lake.
I have targeted
trout every time I’ve
been to Sugar Pine.
I’ve caught easy
limits of rainbow
trout while shore
fishing three out of
the six times I’ve
been there while
using PowerBait,
nightcrawlers, Kast- Cal Kellogg Fish Sniffer Editor, holds up a rainbow trout that he
masters and Panther caught while trolling from his kayak at Sugar Pine Reservoir.
Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff.
Martins. The only
time I’ve trolled
there I also caught my limit of trout.
into Sugar Pine Reservoir in 2020 to date,”
Rainbow trout draw most anglers to the
he stated. “We attempted to plant it with
lake when the CDFW stocks them in the
a 2,000 lb load a few weeks ago but had
spring. The Department has historically
to cancel due to low snow. We will be
planted the lake with both catchable
making up the plant we had to cancel as
rainbows and fingerling rainbows, but
soon as the boat ramp is accessible. We
hasn’t planted fingerlings since 2010.
will be planting more pounds of fish into
The CDFW is now planting only
Sugar Pine this year than the last two years
catchable rainbow trout and Eagle Lake
because we have more fish on hand.”
trout in Sugar Pine, said Jay Rowan, Cali-
While most of the fish caught at Sugar
fornia Department of Fish and Wildlife
Pine are recent planters, a decent number
(CDFW) North Central Region Senior
of holdover rainbows in the 14 to 20 inch
Environmental Scientist.
range are caught here also. In addition,
The CDFW
planted 3,600
Trout ~ Kokanee ~ Salmon ~ Shad
pounds of rainbow
OFFICIAL SPONSOR
trout, a total of
6,560 fish, in Sugar
Pine in 2019 and
240 different
3,600 pounds of
size/color
rainbow trout, a
18 Proven
combinations!
total of 6,640 fish,
Kokanee/Trout Dodgers!
in 2019, according
to Dale S. Burkett,
American River
Trout Hatchery Fish
Hatchery Manager
II.
“We haven’t
planted any fish
Sugar Pine is a great place to take
children to catch rainbows from shore
when the fish are biting.
Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff.
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