The Current Magazine Spring 2015 | Page 40

Caples Lake

Nestled amongst some of the Central Sierra’s most prominent peaks is the high country lake of Caples. Caples Lake is located off Highway 88 just east of Kirkwood Ski Resort. The lake is named after an old hermit, Doc Caples, who built a cabin along its banks in the late 1800’s. Back then, Caples was actually two lakes called Twin Lakes and the Mormon Immigrant Trail went right in-between them. Almost all the early pioneers passed this historic route.

Above the lake to the north, Red Lake Peak was where famous explorer, John C. Freemont, became the first pioneer to ever set eyes on Lake Tahoe. In the 1960s a small dam and spill way were built that raised the water level and created a small reservoir now known as Caples Lake.

Caples is one of my favorite high country lakes. There’s a nice population of wild rainbows, browns, brook trout and even lake trout.

The lake also receives plants of rainbows throughout the summer by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Caples is owned by the El Dorado Irrigation district, which also occasionally pays to have larger fish stocked into the lake from private hatcheries.

Caples is a four season lake, open to fishing year round. It freezes during the winter allowing for ice fishing for those willing to brave the cold. One of my favorite times to fish the lake is right at ice off. Ice off is when the ice begins to melt from around the edges and one can begin to cast lures or flies again. Times will vary depending on the severity of the winter but I’ve seen ice off as late as July and as early as March. I like to work the patches of water between the shoreline and the edge of the ice just as it begins to melt off. It seems to fish best when there’s just a casting distance worth of water exposed.

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Spot Check

by Mikey Weir