7/5-710

Day temp 75

Water temp high 60’s

Water clarity can see forever

Wind 10 to 20 mph West

Elevation 5,000 feet

Little Grass Valley Lake

We had our annual family and friends invitational party up at Little Grass Valley Lake for the last 6 days. My family has been going there for 35 years doing this. It took a year to put together thanks to Tim.

With campsites reserved we filled 10 of them, along with all our gear, fifth wheel, toy haulers, campers and tents. Be advised that you can reserve these through the Forest Service and can have campfires, as long as it’s within the fire ring. I know there’s sweltering heat in the valley but up there it’s sweatshirts and long pants in the evening for most of us, with a fire and Ron Howe of RB Bass knows how I like a fire.

All mornings started the same for most with breakfast at 9am cause we all slept in from the late party, with the exception of a few guys that went out in the early morning to fish for Kokanee and set a dozen crawdad traps. The traps are marked and left to soak overnight with cat food in them.

Kokanee can be found at 35 feet for the most part by trolling using a Jack of Diamonds trailing a nightcrawler. The bite is slow though we only spent a few hours a day doing it but caught a few. We had more important drinking games to do. I walked the shoreline for a good half mile thinking I might find some bass, or bluegill or maybe some fry….something….but saw nothing. Yup it’s a clear water kokanee lake but I know for a fact that there are some bass up by the dam. TIP: go in November when it snows on the ground and you 4 wheel into it with a truck bed aluminium Valco. Use a 200 foot rope, tie it off on boulders or whatever on the right side of the dam area and float out over the Kokanee beds using a 3 oz Kastmaster silver color. You will catch tons.

Every day we set the crawdad traps a little further out each day and like the Deadliest Catch we found the motherlode. Easily put in 50 craws per trap each day. I feel a cajun boil coming on in my future.

The campsites are fine and accommodates a lot of different size rigs, though after owning a 40 foot Recon Toy hauler I would advise to check the place out first, even though it’s a long drive. Some of the 2 axle toy haulers had a hard time on some of the turns but made it. For a great time take the family and boat as you won’t catch anything from shore and treat the kids to cooler weather and Smores!