Union Valley Reservoir, CA

Union Valley Reservoir

 

Union Valley Reservoir is an excellent lake for those anglers that would like to try their luck at nice sized rainbows, trophy mackinaws, kokanee, brown trout, and even smallmouth bass. Union Valley Reservoir is located at 4,900 feet of elevation in El Dorado National Forest. The lake is a popular camping and fishing spot for anglers from the Sacramento and San Francisco Bay areas.

The California Department of Fish and Game regularly plants the lake with Mackinaw fingerlings, and nice sized catchable rainbow trout. The Mackinaws in the lake can reach 10 to 20 pounds or more for those anglers who are able to unlock the secrets on how to catch the highly elusive predators.

There are campgrounds at the lake at the Fashoda, Jones Fork, Sunset, Wench Creek, Yellowjacket, and Wolf Creek campgrounds. There are four boat ramps on the lake and they are located at Jones Fork, Peninsula, Yellowjacket, and West Point. There is not a store or a marina located at the lake but the Icehouse Resort is nearby and it does have groceries and fishing tackle available. For camping and other information you can call the El Dorado National Forest Pacific Ranger District at, (530) 644-6048. If you would like fishing information on Union Valley and other Crystal Basin lakes you can call the Icehouse Resort at (530) 293-3321.

 

Union Valley Reservoir Fishing Techniques

If you would like to try your luck at catching a big trophy Mackinaw your best bet would be to fish from about 12:00 in the afternoon until about 6:00 in the evening. You should troll an M-2 Flatfish for the trophy mackinaws. Another good bet would be to troll nightcrawlers behind flashers at about 100 feet. Sometimes a Rebel will work good as well. The key is to fish as slow as you can. The fish can be found all over the lake, with the higher concentrations of fish being found in the fingers.

If you are like me, and you can't wait until noon to begin your fishing, Union Valley Reservoir has more than just mackinaw. I like to get up early and fish for rainbow trout and kokanee. The best area on the lake for rainbow trout is up by the lake's powerhouse. The best way to hook up with a good rainbow is to troll a nightcrawler behind a set of flashers. The depth to troll will vary throughout the year, but I can usually find fish at about 15 feet deep. Apex Lures and Needlefish usually work good at Union Valley also.

If you are looking for smallmouth bass, you have come to the right place. The lake is very clear so it is hard to sneak up on the big smallmouth that are lurking in the lake, but they are there. Four inch rubber worms work best for smallmouth.

 

Union Valley Reservoir Fishing Reports

01-09-08
-Union Valley Reservoir is still slow with small amounts of Browns and a few Bows being caught. With enough patience you might be able to entise a finiky Mackinaw. This lake takes alot of work to figure out. While the fishing may be slow here sometimes it is a beautiful lake and worth the trip up there always.