The Egan Family from Sacramento took home 4 nice Rainbows on their last fishing day of their campout. Mike Egan said to use Powerbait, either yellow or green. A little bird told me that he got Tracie Quinn of Yuba City & Raylene Dagit hooked on fishing at Collins Lake. The girls are starting to show up the guys!! They trolled Rapalas by the dam and used crawdads and each netted a nice Bow.

A handsome  “father & son team” showed up to fish and left with one of the biggest Trout caught this week, a 3 lb. Rainbow. Their trip was extra special because his son is leaving soon for the Navy so hats off to Ray Weddle from Lincoln & his dad John Weddle!!

Dan Davis of Gridley a & Bob J. of Oroville caught 4 Trout while floating rainbow colored Powerbait near the boat ramp.

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Ed Varner of Rocklin actually brought his boss fishing with him (Bill Weems of Lincoln).  The way Ed tells it, Bill has been like a father to him and taught him everything he knows!! He listened real well because they each limited out on Trout throwing spinners from shore in the sand beach.

Gabe Miranda of Yuba City used red & orange Powerbait from the beach and reeled in a nice Rainbow, I guess it was worth skipping school for huh Gabe.  Three cute kids and 3 nice Trout was a great combo for Jory Adams and siblings Hayden & Corey Betteridge, all of whom caught a Rainbow Trout on powerbait by campsite 108.

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Kristen Cook & David Clayton of Oroville only caught one each but they were big Trout. The biggest Raianbow weighed 3 lb. 8 oz. and the smallest one was a 2 lb. 12 oz. They trolled with gold Cripplures on a sunny Sunday afternoon!  Jim & Julie Castle showed off their fishing capabilities as always by trolling a worm and a flasher.  They fish all spring and always catch fish here, this time it was a 2 lb. 4 oz. Rainbow Trout and a 1 lb. 12 oz. Bass.

Justin Harrison & friend Michael Lawson caught a 2 lb. 8 oz. Trout and a 3 lb. Trout trolling 15′ down with silver Kastmasters.  Brandon Bermel caught a 1 lb. 8 oz. Trout trolling Kastmasters by the power lines on Sunday and a 3 lb. 2 oz. beauty on Monday.

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Mica Fish Jr. & his family got 2 Trout and had tons of fun bringing their little McKenna on “her 1st” camping trip to Collins Lake.  Good thing he didn’t leave the kids home cause they caught all the fish!!!!

Rachael, Nickie, Marty & Eddie of Marysville took home an 8 Trout stringer and the biggest Rainbow on that stringer was a 2 lb. 8 oz. They trolled near the beach running a jointed Rapala  10 ft. down

EZ ED  caught the BIGGEST TROUT by the spillway from the shoreline this week. His prize weighed in at 5 lbs.  and he used chartreuse power bait.

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The next biggest Trout was caught by a little guy from Brownsville name Jacob Goodnight. Jacob and his Dad troll here quite frequently and use worms.  Jacob’s fish was a 3 lb. 12 oz. German Brown Trout, probably one that we planted about five years ago, they are reaching around 3 to 4 pounds and we have seen several of the caught already.

Mike Egan of Sacramento was the only one who caught a fish so far this morning in his secret spot down by the dam. He used yellow power bait and his sister Erin helped him hold up his whopper!!

Thanks to Big Ed Everhart for sending us the pictures of him and Jim Chisea of Penn Valley.  They spent Jim’s birthday here fishing for Bass and Jim caught the biggest one!  Jim’s hawg weighed 5 lb. 2 oz. and it was a Spotted Bass to boot. He was tossing a hollow bodied swimbait in less than 10 feet of water in Elmer’s Cove.  They caught some other smaller ones and used brown worms with orange & brown skirts (on the east side).

Please feel free to send your fish pictures to Kathy@collinslake.com and I will publish them on the fishing report for you. Travis Hollon sent a picture of his little girl Charlie who helped him catch his Catfish at the bridge.

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Captain Bob of Sonoma & his 1st mate Dusty landed a stringer of 4 Rainbow Trout and Dusty’s was the biggest one. As a matter of fact Dusty caught 3 and the biggest was a 2 lb. 12 oz. Rainbow and he trolled a fire tiger colored Cripplure.  Captain Bob caught a buzz and one tiny little Trout-job well done Captain.

Tyler Prettyman of Vacaville was proud to show off his 3 lb. Rainbow (his 1st Fish) using  power eggs in front of his campsite. Congrats to Tyler, that is a huge fish buddy!!!

Gabriel Jupina used live crawdads and limited out on BASS in ELMER’S COVE just last Sunday. That’s what I’ve been told is a HOT SPOT for BASS right now – in less than 10 feet of water.

We have 20 feet to go before the water reaches the spillway, we are at 63% capacity. The water clarity is great considering all the recent rains.  We are looking forward to reaching full capacity this year according to the Farmer’s Almanac and other resources we are supposed to have a “wet March”.

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Brian Bower caught a 7 lb. 8 oz. Catfish using Sardines, right from his campsite!  Joe Duran of Yuba City caught two Bows around 3 lbs. each off the beach on power bait. Friends Michael Lawson & Justin Harrison of Loma Rica caught a Trout off the beach on roe.  Jason Smith & his son Jacob of Sac. just tossed lines from the shore in the Open Area and netted some great Rainbows.

Shore fishing & Trolling are both working equally well right now and boaters are using lures mostly or trolling with worms and a dodger.  Some of the lures they’ve been using are Needlefish, Kastmasters, or Rapalas. The pattern on the lures working best is Fire Tiger (green on top and yellow and red on it’s belly with black stripes on the side).

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Hannah Witten of Wheatland caught a “tagged trout” (holdover tag from last year) and it was her 1st Fish!! Hannah’s was a beautiful 2 lb. Rainbow and she used power bait. Dwayne Chavers of Brownsville took two Trout home for supper, both over 3 lbs. He was toplining and used power grubs for bait. James Dagit of Marysville caught a 3 lb. 8 oz. trolling with a minnow in five feet of water by the marina.

Mica Fish Jr. & sister Myah were the only 2 to catch fish this week in their camping party with their infamous Grandpa (Mica Fish) the one that lost his pole last November!!  They were trolling near the dam using silver/blue Kastmasters in very shallow water.

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Dave Callison & Kevin found a ton of Bass in less than 10 feet of water and limited out.  Dave & his grandson Hunter came back over the weekend and limited out again. Robert Finato of Plumas Lake caught a 2 lb. Bass while trolling with a Rapala lure near the dam.

Bill Duncan landed his “biggest fish ever” by the dam from shore! He caught a 3 lb. 5 oz. Rainbow Trout and used power bait to lure in his beauty. Al Alvis & his friend A.J. of Antelope worked hard for their 3 Rainbows, they trolled in four feet of water with a Fire Tiger Needlefish lure.

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Zackary Howell caught his 1st Fish at Collins Lake too! He even caught a 3 lb. 4 oz. Rainbow with his 2 other fish. Way to go Zack, you the man!!  Have you ever hear the story about Jonah & the Whale?  Well another version would be- Jonah Chadwick of Oroville caught his 1st Fish on his 1st Fishing pole and it was a whale to him……He is pictured as photo of the week with his 2 friends Tamara & Katherynn.

Ryan Pence of Marysville used salmon eggs to lure in a 2 lb. 8 oz. Bow off the beach. Tony Schwartz of Citrus Heights trolled near the main campground using a Rapala to catch his Trout.  Lisa Lagrimas of Oroville showed those men how it’s really done!! Go Lisa with your 4 Trout  toplining with a Kastmaster she killed the Trout!

Pete Visalli from Dobbins had a great day of fishing too!  His 2 biggest Trout weighed 2 lb. 4 oz. & 2 lb. 8 oz. and he trolled with a broken back silver colored Rebel lure. Ramona Marks & Debbie Djajaremadja of Palo Alto caught a trout each and both weighed just over 2 lbs. each

Vern Felker “sparkled” when he held up his 3 lb. Rainbow Trout which he caught on a Rapala.  Jack Hodges brought up the first Redear Sunfish this year and it weighed 1 lb. 8 oz.  which is huge for a sunfish.  He used worms and was fishing on the east side around the last island.

Greg Machen of Marysville caught a 2 lb. 8 oz. Trout in the Open Area using Powerbait. He said he has “a spot” down there where he never fails to catch fish.

Patrick Naves of Nevada caught a German Brown Trout in the first hour he was here. Using a live minnow, fishing from shore in the Open Area, he captured a 2 lb. 12 oz. Brown Trout. I was so happy for him because it was his last HURRAH campout with Dad & Uncles since he will be leaving for the Army in a few weeks!

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Travis Hollon & his friend Jack caught a 6 lb. Catfish  by the dam on chicken livers. Travis’s daughter Johanna was beaming from ear to ear while holding her bloody Trout that Mom took a picture of and emailed it to us from her campsite since the office was closed when they came up. That Trout looked huge in Johanna’s arms, my guess is it was at least a 4 to 5 pounder!!

Little Waylen McCutcheon was kind of bummed out when he and his Grandpa Mo and Grandma Donya got skunked so we fixed him right up. Waylen is holding a German Brown Puffy Pillow fish (from our store inventory) so he could take a photo home to show Dad!

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Porter Silas & Krista Vervalin of Chico are pictured together with a trout each. Porter caught his by the boat ramp on Powerbait.  Pictured with Porter is Krista Rhodes from Chico with her Rainbow Trout she caught a few weeks earlier. Krista is the lady that didn’t get her photo in the last report because I mistakenly dropped her photo from the camera before it went in an album.  Believe this! She brought her frozen Trout back up, thawed it out, had her 2nd picture taken with Porter-then ate that sucker for dinner!!

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On the 14th Debbie Sanders of Yuba City landed a 2 lb. 8 oz. Rainbow (before the rains) using powerbait down by the dam from shore.  I spoke with another guy who fishes down the old sand ramp by the bridge who came up on Sunday.  He said he didn’t have much luck this time but that throughout all last spring that’s where he and his wife and sons would catch all their big ones over 5 lbs.

Krista Rhodes of Chico also landed a nice trout on 1/9. It was a 2 lb. 5 oz. Rainbow caught on Powerbait in Elmer’s Cove. BIG APOLOGIES TO KRISTA FROM THE STAFF who mistakenly deleted her photo from the camera (before it got saved)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I talked to her today 1/22 and she may be coming back up this weekend. We promise to capture your beautiful face this time!

Matthew Dillin of Loomis ended the year on 12/31/09 with a LIMIT of TROUT, nice fat plumpy ones!  Matt & his Dad were trolling with orange grubs (toplining) with no weight on their lines.  Dad says they worked hard for them but I say that’s a good sign that the fish are getting hungry again after their “fall shad feast”.

Brothers Dominic & Phinnius of Loomis started it off with a nice Trout each. They caught them in front of their campsite using  fake salmon eggs and putting 5 to 7 eggs on a hook at a time.  Little brother Phinnius captured the biggest of the two Trout which weighed in at 2 lb. 4 oz.  Big brother Dominic was perfectly happy with his 1 lb. 12 oz. Trout too.

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Thanks to Dominic & Phinnius’s tips on how to catch Trout, Kameron Fults of Olivehurst scored BIG!!!  Big, like in a huge Trout caught from shore on synthetic salmon eggs.  His big Trout came in at 5 lb. 12 oz. and Kameron deserves a big hurrah for his efforts in capturing his fish.  He fished all morning and had no luck.  He came up to the store to ask if we knew what people were doing to catch fish.  I shared Dominic & Phinnius’s story with him and he did the exact same thing but down by the dam and hooked his big Trout. He was here all day from morning until dark, not giving up until he caught something-that’s determination and commendable as well.

That same day Chuck Beltz & his two girls also caught a 2 lb. 8 oz. Trout by the dam on Powerbait.

HUNTING NEWS

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Forrest Wright of Paradise killed his 1st buck in the Daugherty Hill Wildlife Area on 12/31 which was the last day for the Jr. Hunt tag holders.  He comes from a family of hunters I realized from the stories his Grandpa was sharing with me.  For Forrest however, it was his very 1st Buck and he was thrilled, as he should be-it was a beautiful 3 X 3, shot with his Grandfather’s 270 Remington.

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Mark Contreras of  Wheatland caught & released a gorgeous 7 lb. 5 oz. Largemouth Bass.   He used a crankbait with a Shad pattern in about 25′ of water on the east side.

Alex Allard  promised he would catch a fish so I could get his picture and he kept that promise faithfully.   Alex was fishing from a boat near the dam with a live minnow and netted a 3 lb. Catfish.

JUNIOR HUNT SUCCESS STORIES

FROM DAUGHERTY HILL WILDLIFE AREA

On 12/ 19 Austin Carter of Oroville shot his 1st Buck ever in the Daugherty Hill Wildlife Area which is attached to Collins Lake below the dam.  Austin, along with two siblings got drawn for the special junior hunt this year but he is the only one of the three (so far) to fill their tag for 2009.

Later on the same day, Devin Dwinger of Marysville also shot his 1st Buck and it was a 3 X 3  which has 3 points on each side.  It was a little bigger than he thought and a couple of ridges over, so he called for reinforcements to get it out of there. He used his 270 Winchester and was also a part of the special draw for kids in the Daugherty Hill Wildlife Area.

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A couple of days ago, Tyler Jagd (11 yrs. old) shot a Goose for Christmas dinner. Wow, pretty cool for a little guy!! Tyler is the son of Mike & Kelly Jagd that work here at the lake, I think he deserves an extra present for his contribution…

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Natalie and Lucas brought up a 5 lb. 12 oz. Catfish for their picture.  They caught theirs on Anchovies near the Water’s Edge group area by the dam.  Catfish are easy to catch, they bite anything-the stinkier the better too….

Ashland & Johnny of Colfax also caught a Catfish which weighed 3 lb. 12 oz. and they used live crickets.

Let’s talk HUNTING

We sure saw an increase in the hunting around Collins Lake this year. It’s Daugherty Hill Wildlife Area and Donovan Hill  which are located within walking distance of us.  Daugherty Hill produced some awesome opportunities this year for young hunters that may be just starting out to seasoned hunters experienced in this area already.

Many of our employees (male & female) are avid hunters and enjoy having this haven in our own backyard.  Mike Jagd and his wife Kelly and their children went out quite a bit this year.  Mike harvested a 2 X 3 buck  during deer season and recently he and his dog “Rocky” got 3 pheasants.

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Our area is quite popular for Turkey Hunters as well, they are abundant to our area.  Pat Gonzales was here camping over Thanksgiving with his family and after talking to Mike Jagd he was successful in bringing home a turkey for their dinner!!

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They caught 2 big Catfish on chicken livers, starting with Trevor’s 7 lb. 10 oz. and Grampy’s 4 lb. 10 oz. using chicken livers and a worm combination.  They lugged those Sunfish and 2 big Cats up to the store to get their picture taken then returned them to the dock to tie the stringer up to keep the Cats alive.  The plan was to put them in my pond since they weren’t interested in eating them.  Mica & Peggy, along with their dog Sassy and grandkids headed out to troll near the dam with a Rapala.  They got into the middle of a Shad broil and BAM!! that 5 lb. Trout took their lure and they got it in the boat without a struggle.

Next thing I know, I get a phone call and it was Mica wanting to know if we got the Catfish off the stringer from the dock.  My husband said “No, I didn’t take them” and I know that I didn’t take them but the fact is they are definitely gone!!  We were all perplexed but I think the only answer is they worked their way off the stringer all by themselves, I have heard that story repeatedly over the years.  Even though is was a bummer, Mica couldn’t wipe the smile off his face every time he looked at his 5 lb. Rainbow hanging in the tree!!

Before we left the camp they had caught another Catfish around 9 lbs. and although the store was closed for the evening and we couldn’t get a picture I can verify it’s true.  We took it home and put it in our pond this time.  My grandkids Macy & Tanner got to spend quality time with their cousins and the weather was absolutely superb, it doesn’t get any better than that…..

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Weldon Powell of Penn Valley caught his Rainbow near the islands from a boat while trolling.  June McClain got a huge surprise while fishing in front of her campsite she hooked a 4 lb. 10 oz. Rainbow on chartreuse PowerBait.  On 11/1 Jay Lucero caught a gorgeous 4 lb. 12 oz Catfish on anchovies and a Rainbow Trout on PowerBait.

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Dale Mansfield of Forbestown caught some little Bass over the past week then he hooked a 5 lb. 2 oz.  Bass  by the island in the rock pile on a crawdad.

Deer season ended last weekend and Maddi Wood of Yuba City was the only one who took a deer out last week.  She had a “doe tag” and was able to fill that tag on 10/29.

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3 yr. old Hayden & 5 yr. old Mason Holbrook used their magic “brother power” to capture a 2 lb. 4 oz. Trout from shore also, but using yellow powerbait.  Brentt Barron of Chico caught his Rainbow Trout off the rental boat dock while tossing worms.

Ray Johnson and his little dog Coco spent a glorious few days fishing and although he got some “takedowns”  and his excitement grew he didn’t catch too many fish. What he and Coco did catch on their last day made up for it, he caught a 4 lb. Trout from the shore using a nightcrawler & green powerbait combo.

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Ralph Housley of Folsom was trolling flahsers and a worm near the dam and netted a 4 lb. Rainbow Trout!  Jerry Freeman of Live Oak caught 3 Catfish just last night. I asked him if he got a little cold and he had to admit “it got a bit nippy” for him.   Jerry said “anything over 10 lbs. I throw back, they just aren’t good eatin!”  He brought in a 6 lb. 4 oz., a 5 lb. 4 oz., and a 3 lb. 12 oz. all caught in Elmer’s Cove on sardines.

Just a reminder to our readers, during the fall and winter months I will be updating our website approximately every 2 weeks.  There will be some weeks when we don’t have any fishermen (due to weather) which means no “news” to report.  The weather is just perfect right now, a high in the 70’s during the day.

Last weekend we had a huge turnout of Breast Cancer Awareness supporters who fished a derby sponsored by Bart Riebe of Riebe’s Auto Parts out of Grass Valley.  Even our employees got in the “pink mood” and dressed  to fit the occasion!

Gary Hatten & his son Elijah were the big winners of the Catfish category  and they called themselves “Team Hatten”. They hooked a 16 lb. 8 oz. Catfish while fishing for Bass and were hugely surprised by their monster Whiskerfish!!

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Hats off to KC, a tournament fisherman who caught the Biggest Bass and the Biggest Trout and would have had the Biggest Cat if it weren’t for Team Hatten that blew him off the map on their catch. KC is pictured with Bass Pro Ed Everhart with his huge 7 lb. 12 oz. Largemouth. KC also received a prize for the three biggest Trout, 4 lb. 3 oz., 3 lb., and a 2 lb. 7 oz. The Biggest Panfish award went to Devon Campbell and his was the ONLY Panfish brought to the weigh in! Good job Devon!

Multiple Catfish catches that followed suit went to Archie & John Pearson, Brian & Kevin Potter, Brian & Devon Campbell, and Richard & Katrina Hale.  More Trout catches reported came from Cris Hine, Christina Brock, Lisa Storey, & Mike Van H.  More bass catches were reported from Gary Hatten, Matt Shaw, Don Larios, & Richard Hale and a puny one caught by Big Ed!!  Jay Cooper (Mr. Organizer) didn’t have time to fish, he was cooking most of the time and I can verify that his Tri-Tip was fabulous, Thanks Jay!!

Little Zack Sousa was the only one in his camp that caught a fish this week, a gorgeous Redear Sunfish from the dock.

Hunter’s Corner

Daugherty Hill Wildlife Area connects to Collins Lake down below our dam. This area is popular for deer hunting, bear hunting, and turkey hunting. Rules & Regulations can be found on Fish & Game’s website. If you wish to hunt this area and access through Collins Lake you pay a Day Use fee for just the day or a camping fee if you plan on staying longer.

This past week a 2 & 3 Buck was harvested by Mike Jagd of Oregon House .  Luckily he took a guide with him (his wife Kelly) because it proved fruitful!!  Mike promised me some venison jerky, his recipe is the BEST.

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