Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3624 Nov 10-24 2017 | Page 16

14
Nov. 10 - 24, 2017
MAP FEATURE
VOL.36 • ISS. 24
Kristy Carpenter shows off a quality rainbow that she landed while trolling at French Meadows in late September.
F
Photo by MIKE CARPENTER.
French Meadows Trout:
The Long, Winding Drive Is Worth It
rench Meadows Reservoir is
located only 36 miles northeast of
Foresthill, California, but it’s one of
the longest 36 miles you will travel.
The trip up and down the Mosquito
Ridge Road has more curves that any
other road I have
ever been on.
The long drive
to and from
the lake de-
ters many
anglers
from going
to the res-
ervoir and the
other nearby lake, Hell Hole Reservoir.
But the rewards of traveling up
and down the road as it winds its way
through the canyons of the Middle
Fork of the American River and its
tributaries are well worth it, for French
Meadows features some superb fishing
for rainbow and brown trout.
“I think it is one of California’s
most underrated trout fisheries, espe-
cially in the beginning and end of the
season,” said Craig Newton at Willfish
Bait and Tackle in Auburn.
The lake is also known to some-
times “fry” the brakes of those trail-
ering boats to and from the beautiful
lake. My first trip to the lake
was in June of 1994 with
the late Allen Bons-
lett, the former
publisher of the
Fish Sniffer. We
fished the lake
before attending a
wedding in the French Meadows
Campground.
After launching his boat,
Allen and I trolled for a couple
of hours. The fishing wasn’t hot
that day, but we did catch four
rainbows while trolling with
Cripplures. After the wedding,
we headed back to Sacramento
down the Mosquito Ridge Road.
About half way down the road,
his brakes, which he just repaired
a month before, went out on him.
It was a terrifying drive down
Drew Bundy holds a rainbow and
brown trout that he hooked while
trolling with his dad, Rob, at French
Meadows in May.
Photo by ROB BUNDY.
Fish Sniffer editor Cal Kellogg landed these quality brown trout while fishing at French
Meadows Reservoir.
Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff.
the rest of the way to Foresthill as
he worked the gears of his Subur-
ban to slow down on the curves so
he wouldn’t have to press his foot
on the brakes. Finally, we made it to
Foresthill and he stopped the vehicle
for about an hour so the brakes had a
chance to cool down.
With what remained of the brakes,
Bonslett was able to make it to my
house in Sacramento and then back to
his home in Galt. He took his Subur-
ban into the car dealer the next day
and found out that he had to get a new
brake job.
Since that time, I have only shore
fished at the lake and found excellent
success on browns or rainbows each
time.
My best trip was an October after-
noon adventure that produced some
of the fastest trout fishing I’ve ever
ever experienced on any Sierra Nevada
lake. On the advice of Cal Kellogg,
Fish Sniffer editor, I hiked along the
rocky shoreline to fish the edge of a
rocky shelf.
For two hours, I found non-stop
action on beautiful holdover rainbows,
catching one fish after another in the
12 to 15 inch range while tossing out
PowerBait, worms and Kastmasters.
I kept five fish and released a bunch
more. The best thing about the trip was
that I was the only one fishing or doing
anything on the lake.
There were no other anglers, boat-
ers, hikers, forest rangers, or any other
souls anywhere around the lake that I
could see. In fact, it was kind of eerie
having the entire lake to myself.
Each fall you can find top-notch