Caples Lake Fishing near South Lake Tahoe, California

• Overview

  Look for Caples Lake in Alpine County, California. The country round it is farm and woodlot from end to end. The water covers around 606 acres, which puts most of it out of reach from the bank. At about 5.5 miles of edge, most people work one arm at a time. It is among the larger waters listed here for Alpine County. 17 miles away sits South Lake Tahoe, the nearest town. For a city, Reno is 59 miles off. You are close to a county edge here; who manages the access can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Caples Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Species logged across Alpine County include brook trout, rainbow trout, great basin cutthroat trout, cutthroat trout and tahoe sucker. The county list is broader than any single water. On Caples Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 25°F in January and 57°F in August. The calendar is generous: something works in nearly every month. It should never be assumed safe, whatever the month says. Spring and autumn carry the year; summer squeezes it into the ends of the day. It holds true on Caples Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. This is a reservoir by origin, with the deepest water near the dam. You can launch from a ramp around half a mile away. You will be walking about half a mile from the nearest car park. Public toilets are recorded roughly half a mile off. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Failing this one, try Kirkwood Lake, 2.1 miles away. Nothing on Caples Lake should be assumed from this page alone.