Collins Lake Fishing Report

I wouldn't say EXCELLENT. Makes me wonder where they get their info from, or if the business places false information to get more people here. We ran into several people, like 7 different anglers, who didn't catch a single thing in hours time span. We caught a 17 inch Rainbow and a 10 inch Crappie. This was after about 6 hours on the water and on our way back to the dock. 8-15 feet down.

Collins has received roughly 16,000 pounds of privately stocked trout this season, a mix of trophy rainbows and lightnings planted since October. Weekly stockings are scheduled to continue through spring. The bite has been excellent for most of the season, though recent storms knocked it back briefly due to reduced water clarity. The lake is currently full, and the latest stretch of clear weather has allowed clarity to steadily improve… and the bite has picked right back up.

Limits are coming from all over the lake. Early mornings have been best on spoons and small scented swimbaits, while PowerBait has produced consistently throughout the day. The past week was capped by a fish over seven pounds. The south end has been particularly productive, though solid limits are being reported lake-wide.

Assuming weather stays cooperative, the trout bite should remain excellent through the heart of the cold season.

We had a blast at Collins Lake, again! We were there for the Angler's Press NTAC (NorCal Trout Anglers Challenge) Tournament of Champions event. Since I placed in a tournament this year, I was automatically qualified for this Tournament of Champions event 🙂 Thanks to Vince Harris and Sheldon, for a great job putting the event together and the staff at Collins Lake were awesome as usual! The first day, for me was challenging, but I managed 2 trout with the largest weighing in at 2.46lbs. Then today, the 2nd day of the tournament, I was trying to top yesterday's biggest fish, but failed. I did manage several spotted bass, once I located then on my Fishfinder. I was catching them left and right on every cast!!! Since it was near the end close to weigh-in, I said, what the heck! At least I am catching something! LoL. The winning weight was a 5lb Lightning Trout! We also had a surprise food truck that catered some awesome cheeseburgers for the anglers, which was provided by Silver Dollar's Copper Penny Carnivore Caravan based in Marysville. So good!!!
The weather was awesome as well