VOL . 37 • ISS . 15 |
MAP FEATURE |
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July 6 - 20 , 2018 |
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Caples Lake Resort Facts |
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Location : Caples Lake Resort Is located in the historic Carson Pass Area of the Northern California Sierra on the north shoreline of the 600 acre Caples Lake at 7806 ′ elevation . It is 1 mile east of the Kirkwood Mountain Resort , at 1111 California State Highway 88 . The resort is 30 miles from South Lake Tahoe , California , within the El Dorado National Forest , under a USFS Special Use Permit . |
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Features :
• 9 Cozy housekeeping Cabins overlooking Caples Lake and the High Sierra Mountains .
• A 2 story Lodge with 6 B & B Lodge Rooms , on the shore of Caples Lake .
• A Marina with boat rentals , boat launch , a bait & snacks store , and trophy trout fishing .
• Area Activities : camping , hiking , biking , boating , fishing , solitude photography .
• An unparalleled view of scenery , nature , wildflowers , & 4 seasons of colors .
• Renewable Energy – Off the Grid and Green .
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Campground : The USFS Caples Lake Campground is operated across Hwy 88 by Sierra Recreation Managers . |
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Season : The resort is are from Memorial Day through October and from Christmas until April . Fishing is open year round for rainbow , brook , brown and mackinaw trout . Caples Lake usually freezes over by early December and becomes a playground for ice fishermen , cross country skiers , and snowshoe trekkers |
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Wildflowers : The volcanic ridges left behind as the glaciers receded from the Carson Pass area form a perfect habitat for wild flowers . In addition , because plant environments range from scree to open pasture and from seep to bog , a variety of species flourish . Peak bloom here is usually in mid-July , with flowers so dense and so various that a walk , even a short , easy one , can take the better part of a day . Bring your camera ! |
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More information : Contact Caples Lake Resort by calling : ( 209 ) 258-8888 or email us : reservations @ capleslakeresort . com . The website address is http :// capleslakeresort . com / |
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Mackinaws like this one provide a trophy fishery at Caples Lake . Photo by courtesy of CAPLES LAKE RESORT . boxes ( ASBs ) at Caples . One box was installed just below the lake ’ s spillway , one at the E . I . D public
A total of 78 anglers responded to the survey in 2016 , an increase from 67 respondents in 2015 . Cumulatively , these anglers reported 154 fish landed in 2016 compared to 48 in 2015 . The average catch per angler and hours per angler was 1.97 and 4.0 , respectively in 2016 .
Average catch per angler in 2016 increased more than two-fold from 2015 ( 0.72 ), while the hours per angler in 2016 was almost identical to 2015 ( 3.9 ).
“ Anglers reported using bait , lures , and flies while fishing at Caples . Five anglers ( 6 %) used flies and had a 3.0 catch / angler average in 2016 . This was the highest identifiable gear used to take fish in 2016 . In 2015 , the one fly angler caught no fish , which had the lowest catch per angler as well ,” said Ewing .
Approximately 90 % ( 138 ) and 96 % ( 46 ) of fish landed were rainbows in 2016 and in 2015 , correspondingly .
“ Lake trout comprised approximately six percent of fish landed in 2016 and approximately four percent in 2015 . Brook trout and brown trout combined to be less than five percent of the total catch in 2016 . Seventy percent of the rainbow trout that were measured were less than 14.0 inches in total length in 2016 , which is consistent with 2015 at 76 %” Ewing stated .
Anglers reported landing seven ( 5 % of total fish landed ) fish greater than 20.0 inches in 2016 , consisting of three rainbows , two lake trout and two browns . Anglers reported landing five ( 10 % of total fish landed ) fish greater than 20.0 inches , which included three RT and two LT in 2015 .
Data gathered from the Caples Lake surveys indicates anglers had caught less than one fish on average per day in 2015 ( 0.72 ), but in 2016 catch per angler increased to almost two fish per day ( 1.97 ).
“ The increase in catch rate and total fish caught may be due to the high number of fingerling-size RT stocked in 2014 and 2015 , which have grown to catchable size . The number of respondents in 2016 was 78 , an increase from 67 in 2015 ,” said Ewing .”
Historically , the Washoe Indian Tribe from Carson Valley would hunt , fish and forage in the summer around Caples Lake , originally known as Twin Lakes because the original meadows had two shallow lakes , approximately six feet deep .
The dam on the Northwest side and the spillway on the West side of the lake were constructed in 1922 and raised in 1952 .
In 1982 John Voss bought the resort and in the El Niño winter of 1983 endured 800 inches of snow blowing through the walls , windows , doors and roofs , frozen pipes , broken well , burnt up power lines , blown up lodge heater , and so on . In the summer of 1983 the lake thawed on a record late July 2nd . The Voss ’ s have kept the resort open every winter since 1982 except for closing in the winter of 1991 due to the drought years .
For more information , contact Caples Lake Resort , ( 209 ) 258-8888 , www . capleslakeresort . com .
Caples Dam is one of the better areas for shore anglers to catch trout on the lake . Photo by DAN BACHER , Fish Sniffer Staff .