Rancho Seco Offers Trout, Bass And Sunfish in

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APR. 26 - MAY 10 • 2013
20
Y
Rancho Seco Offers Trout, Bass And
Sunfish in Twin Towers’ Shadows
ou don’t have to look hard to
find Rancho Seco Reservoir,
the popular fishery located
off Highway 108 in South
Sacramento County near Herald.
The two huge cooling towers of the
decommissioned nuclear plant dominate
the horizon for miles as they rise
out of the vineyard-studded hills of
south Sacramento County like ancient
megaliths from a lost civilization.
This 120-acre reservoir hosts rainbow
trout, Florida-strain largemouth bass,
Sacramento
VOL. 32 • ISS. 10
by Dan Bacher
redear sunfish, bluegill and crappie. Fishing at the family
each fish brought in.
oriented facility, now operated by the Rocky Mountain Recreation
With the exception of some rain sprinkles on Saturday, the
weather was mild and beautiful, good weather for fishing. As
Company in conjunction with the Sacramento Municipal Utility
District, (SMUD), is available year-round.
usual, some anglers did well, catching nice stringers of fish, while
others struggled to get a bite.
The reservoir, supplied by the Folsom South Canal diverting
water from the
American River,
was built to serve
as a source for
emergency cooling
water in the
event of a nuclear
accident. After the
power plant was
decommissioned
in a ballot measure
approved by the
region’s voters in
November 1990, the
lake became a yearround recreational
facility.
Since 1993,
SMUD has held
a spring trout
derby at the lake,
organized by Geoff
Roberts and Jose
Gutierrez of SMUD.
This year the derby
was held on April
6 and 7. Geoff has
since retired, but
Jose was there
for the two days
Jessica Swarmer nets a trout for this happy angler at Rancho Seco during the SMUD Spring Trout Derby.
carefully recording
Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff.
Rancho Seco
Recreational Area
Area
Map
Clay
Station
Road
Sacramento County
Clay
Twin
Cities Rd
To
Hiways 104,
99 and I-5
Herald
Rancho Seco
Recreational
Area
There seemed to be no one hot spot or any particularly
hot bait or lure. Anglers hooked the fish while using
everything from Power Bait to tubes at a variety of
locations throughout the lake.
Just in time for the derby, Rancho Seco Lake was
recently stocked with 1,500 pounds of trout and 500
pounds of trophy trout from Mt. Lassen Fish Farm.
The derby featured three divisions: Adults (17+), Youth
(11-16 yrs) and Kids (10 and under).
The happiest angler in the event was undoubtedly
Entrance
Group Campsites
Swimming
Beach
Dam
B
Dump Station
RV Camps
A
Tent Camps
C
Fish Cleaning
Ramp
Dock
Windsurf shop
Maintenance
Office
Pave
d Ro
ad
Horseshoes
Parking
Restrooms
Picnic Areas
General Store
Fishing Notes
• Rainbow Trout are planted through March in a cooperative program between the DFW and SMUD. Bank fishing is good for anglers tossing out Kastmasters, Power Bait, nightcrawlers and Pautzke salmon eggs. Float tubers and boaters find
success with Wooly Buggers and flies as well as bait and lures.
• Largemouth Bass fishing is best during the spring, though the fish can be caught year round. During the winter, fish jigs, plastic worms and grubs slowly in the deeper areas of the lake. Some Florida-strain fish over 10 pounds are caught every year.
• Redear Sunfish action is most productive in the spring and summer. Fish worms and mini jigs at the edge of weedbeds. Fishing from a float tube or a boat is most effective. Crappie and bluegill are also found in the lake.
• Channel Catfish fishing shifts into high gear during the summer and fall, when water temperatures are at their highest. Dunk mackerel, chicken liver and nightcrawlers in the coves.
Elias Medina placed second in the kids division of the SMUD
Spring Trout Derby by weighing in a 1.28 lb. trout at Rancho
Seco on April 7. Both of these trout weighed exactly the same
size.
Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff.
VOL. 32 • ISS. 10
21
Rancho Seco Facts
Location: in the rolling hills of southeastern Sacramento
County east of Herald. From Sacramento, take Highway 99
south to the Highway 104 exit. Go east on Highway 104, 15
miles, to the Rancho Seco Park exit.
Fishing Season: The 400-acre park is open year round
to fishing and other activities. The park entrance gate is
locked nightly.
Day Use: The day use fee is $10.00 per vehicle and $8.00 for
senior/handicapped.
Boat launching facilities: The park’s 160-acre lake is
maintained at a constant level year round, so you will find no
problem launching. You can launch an electric motor boat,
rowboat or sailboat from either of the two boat ramps. The
boat launch fee for a trailer and vehicle is $15.00, senior/
handicapped $10.00.
Tent Camping: There are 12 lakeside campsites where you
can pitch a tent or sleep under the stars. Each campsite has
a barbecue, picnic table and drinking water. A semi-private
1-1/4 acre grassy area is available for group campovers
and special events. Reservations are required at least two
weeks in advance.
RV Camping: The southwestern rim of the park features
18 RV campsites. Each site has a barbecue, fire pit, picnic
table, drinking water and electrical outlets. A dump station
is conveniently located. The maximum stay is 14 days.
Jessica Swarmer had a great time catching these hardfighting rainbow trout at Rancho Seco Lake on April 7.
Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff.
Picnic Facilities: One hundred shady, grassy picnic
areas adorn the lake’s southern shore. Picnic tables and
barbecues are available on a first come basis. Picnic areas
can be reserved for groups of 30 people or more.
in northern California, sported a length of 29” and a
girth of 24.5”.
The largest bass are taken in the spring during the
pre-spawn, spawn and post spawn periods. Anglers
nail them while using Huddleston and other rainbow
trout swimbaits, Senkos, swimbaits, plastic worms,
spinnerbaits and jigs.
Rancho Seco is a lake with the potential for
producing a state or world record largemouth
bass. The lake has the three characteristics needed
to produce record class fish: Florida-strain genes;
conditions that allow the fish to reach large size; and a
good food source, particularly planted rainbows.
Rancho Seco’s bass population also had the highest
percentage of Florida-strain characteristics of any
California lake, according to a genetic analysis of fish
conducted by the DFG through a contract with UC
Davis in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.
The lake also features good populations of redear
sunfish, black crappie and bluegill, along with
channel catfish. Fishing for all four species is best for
boaters, float tubers and shore anglers in the spring
and summer.
Rocky Mountain Recreation Company recently
became the concessionaire at Rancho Seco. The
lake’s amenities now feature boat rentals including
aluminum fishing boats with electric motors, paddle
boats, and kayaks.
For more information about the Rancho Seco
Recreational Area, call 209-748-2318 or visit http://
www.rockymountainrec.com/lakes/lake-ranchoseco.htm or https://www.smud.org/en/about-smud/
community/recreational-areas/rancho-seco-lake.
htm
Swimming: the lake is roped off along a 36,000 square foot
sandy beach. Lifeguards are on duty during the summer.
Children should always be supervised by a responsible
adult.
Extras: Beach Store , solar heated showers, fish cleaning
station, 3 public restrooms, horseshoe pit, Rec. Room
with washer and dryer (for overnight campers only),
handicapped access.
Information: Rancho Seco Recreational Area, 14966 Twin
Cities Road, Herald, CA 95638, (209) 748-2318, http://www.
rockymountainrec.com/lakes/lake-rancho-seco.htm. For
campsite reservations, call 1-800-416-6992 (preferably two
weeks in advance).
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Rodney Durrett of Placerville, who caught a 6.84 lb.
rainbow, winning first place in the adult division. He
won $100.
Marc Boers placed second with a 6.36 lb. trout,
winning $75. Toublong Thao of Stockton finished
third with a 6.16 lb. rainbow, winning $60.
Boers told me he caught his 6.36 lb. rainbow while
using a white tube jig on his 4 foot long light Ugly
Stick rod. He landed a total of two trout on Saturday
and another three on Sunday.
Anglers finishing in fourth through ninth places
won $25 plus two day passes, while those in tenth
through 14 places got $20 each plus a 1 day pass.
The fourth through fourteenth places were (4)
Daniil Kokhouse 5.04, (5) Michael Bone, 4.70; (6) Larry
Knox 4.68, (7) Chris Schanz 4.04, (8) Vasiliy Karpenko
3.20, (9) Jessica Swarmer 2.30, (10) Robert Seymour
1.90, (11) Lemert Cooper 1.84, (12) Michael Hong 1.68,
(13) Paul Roberson 1.60 and (14) Elias Escobedo 1.52.
Pavel Karpento won first place in the youth
division with his 3.88 trout, winning $50. Krishton
Trimp placed second with a 3.56 lb. rainbow, winning
$40.
Abagail Wood finished third with a 3.38 lb. trout,
winning $30. Colton Babcock finished fourth with
a 1.64 fish, while Blake Leonard took fifth with 1.52
pounds.
Gabriel Bartkiewicz won first place in the kids
division with a 1.96 lb. rainbow, winning $35. Elias
Medina placed second with a 1.28 lb. trout, winning
$30. There was no entry for third or fourth places in
the kids division.
Medina hooked two trout while fishing with his
dad, Chuey, and older brother from a small boat, and
a friend, Michael Aguilar.
“Elias was the only one in our boat who caught
fish,” said Chuey. “He hooked both while fishing
nightcrawlers when we were anchored in a cove.”
Both of his trout weighed exactly 1.28 pounds each!
The derby entry fee was $5.00 (good for both days)
plus the daily park fee.
Besides the derby winners, other notable catches
included the chunky redear sunfish caught by Chris
Faircloth of El Dorado (Cal NDN on the Fish Sniffer
board). “I got a 5 lb. trout at 5:15 pm Saturday, fifteen
minutes after the weigh in at the SMUD maintenance
shop closed,” said Faircloth.
Other successful anglers include Jessica Swarmer
of Sacramento, who bagged three robust rainbows
to 3 pounds while soaking Power Bait near the boat
ramp.
The event has featured its share of fascinating
fishing stories over the years. In the fall trout derby
of 2004, one fisherman tried to weigh in a fish stuffed
with some unusual material to make his trout appear
heavier.
“The guy was real nervous and the fish weighed
more than a larger trout that had been weighed
in right before it,” Roberts told me several years
ago. “We asked him to clean the fish in front of us.
Although we offered him a knife, he began ripping it
apart with his bare hands to remove the entrails.”
After cleaning the fish, the guy quickly drove out
of the park and Roberts examined the fish entrails
in the garbage can. Amidst the entrails were three
sockets from a socket wrench kit!
Rancho Seco not only kicks out huge trout, but is
legendary for the big Florida-strain largemouth bass
that thrive in its fertile waters.
“Fish Chris” Wolfgram of Vacaville shattered the
lake largemouth record when he caught and released
an 18.4 lb. largemouth bass on April 10, 2003. The
monster bucketmouth, one of the largest ever caught
APR. 26 - MAY 10 • 2013
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Chris Faircloth of El Dorado landed this fat redear sunfish while shore fishing at Rancho Seco Lake.
Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff.
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