Although Collins Lake Recreational Area is not in Nevada County, it is close enough to our area to be considered a great place to go fishing, boating or camping. Collins Lakes sits at an elevation of 1,200 with a surface area of over 1,000 acres with 12 miles of shoreline.
There are many activities at Collins Lake; which include:
Water skiing, tube or wakeboard are allowed. The water ski season begins May 1st and ends October 15th of each year. However, small, personal watercraft such as jet-skis and small personal watercraft are not permitted to operate on Collins Lake. Boat rentals are available. Of course, swimming is allowed, with the surface temperature of the clear water hovering around 75F to 78F degrees in the summer.
Camping facilities are available, along with cabins in addition to 150 campsites with hookups and 30 campsites without hookups.
The most noted feature of Collins Lake is its fishing. They are raising trophy rainbow trout in underwater net pens during the winter and releasing them in late spring. There are a total of 12 pens, each about the size of a bedroom (12’x 10’x 12′) which is located at the marina. These same trout are expected to triple in size to become 3 to 4 pound trophy-sized fish when released in spring time.
Not only that, they already have California’s largest trout stocking program north of Sacramento and have constructed net pens that will further increase this successful program. For every plant of rainbow trout normally received from Fish and Game, Collins Lake purchases 3 plants of larger trophy sized trout from private hatcheries. In 2007, there were a total of 28,000 pounds of trout planted. The average size of trophy trout planted each week during the spring was 2 to 6 pounds, with some whoppers topping 10 pounds! They are also famous for trophy trout and bass fishing.
For contact information and reservations call 800-286-0576 and locally 530-692-1600
Their website is at Collins Lake