OFF THE HOOK: Rollins Lake is the Bear River's premier rainbow and brown fishery

Rollins Lake on the Bear River in Nevada County near Colfax is like two different bodies of water, depending on whether you fish it during the summer or winter.

In the summer, the lake is a maelstrom of personal watercraft, water skiers and recreational boaters. Fishing for the lake's rainbow trout, German brown trout, largemouth and smallmouth bass, bluegill and channel catfish is best during the early morning and late afternoon hours due to the heavy boating traffic during the day. Concentrating on the more peaceful 5 mph coves is also highly advisable.

In contrast, during the winter and early spring the lake is known as a place to find solid fishing for rainbow and brown trout, as well as bass and panfish, amidst solitude. Bank fishing and trolling are both effective methods at this time of year.

The fishing can be spectacular if you hit the lake right. For example, Armando of Roseville reported catching and releasing nearly 30 trout, including a 3-pound German brown, while tossing small Power Worms in white and yellow from shore near the boat ramp on Jan. 27.

I also experienced great fishing in wonderful solitude on a winter trip to Rollins several years ago. I hooked over 30 rainbow trout, keeping my limit of five fish in the 12- to 16-inch class, while casting out orange/gold Cripplures and Berkley Power Bait from shore.

While trolling can be good during the winter, both Cal Kellogg and I like to fish the lake from shore this time of year. Cal and his wife Gene experienced superb action on trout to 12 inches while fishing yellow Power Bait in "Freeloaders Cove" in the Long Ravine arm of the lake this winter. They ended up with easy limits of feisty rainbows while managing to film a great video.

On a shore fishing adventure on Jan. 31, Kellogg and Tom O'Brien caught limits of rainbows averaging 12 inches while fishing with Pautzke Fire Corn in orange and green near the Long Ravine boat ramp and in Freeloaders Cove.

Fish Sniffer Publisher Paul Kneeland, who lives in Colfax near the lake, said his favorite time to fish the lake is in May before the summer boat traffic shifts into high gear.

"I like to head into the Bear River arm and drift nightcrawlers for the rainbows in the flow of the river," he tipped. "For browns, I like to troll with CD 5 and 7 Rapalas."

Rainbows are the most abundant trout at Rollins. The Department of Fish and Game stocks the reservoir with an average of 6,000 pounds of catchable rainbows per year.

The agency also has traditionally planted around 1,000 pounds of catchable German browns in the reservoir each year. In addition to the holdover browns, wild browns are also found in the lake.

There is no official lake record, but browns up to 7 pounds have been documented and fish in the 2- to 4-pound range are relatively common. The browns are known for being long and slender, with Cal Kellogg's largest ever brown measuring 27 inches long and weighing 51⁄2 pounds.

The failure of an attempt to establish a kokanee fishery at Rollins Lake is an unexplained mystery. The DFG planted 40,005 fingerling kokanee at the lake in 2005, 16,400 kokes in 2006, 24,286 in 2007 and 40,125 in 2008, but as in the case of Folsom Lake, the fish didn't thrive.

"The kokanee never took off in the lake — and the DFG and others have no explanation why," said Garry Erck, president of the California Inland Fisheries Foundation, Inc (CIFFI).

Smallmouth bass are the most prolific gamefish by far in Rollins, although they are not known for their size. Some largemouth bass are also found, though not in the same numbers as the smallmouths.

Channel catfish offer a sleeper summer and fall fishery for shore anglers and boaters, particularly at night when the whiskered leviathans go into the shallows to feed.

"One guy fishing from a boat in October 2011 brought in 60 pounds of catfish, topped by a 15 pounder," said Jim Davis of the Long Ravine Marina (346-6616.) "I've also seen a couple of 10-pound catfish, though most are in the 1- to 3-pound range."

The lake also sports a fair population of bluegill and crappie that delight young anglers during the spring, summer and early fall. While the crappie aren't abundant, the lake produces some hefty fish to 21⁄2 pounds.

Rollins Lake is situated at an elevation of 2,100 feet in the Western Sierra Nevada west of Colfax. The lake features a surface area of 900 and 26 miles of shoreline. The reservoir is above the fog line, but only rarely gets snow in the winter.