Union Resevoir Advice

Does anyone have any experience fishing / tips for Union Reservoir (off Highway 4, Stanislaus National Forest)?  When I was there last year I spent days watching trout jump right in front of my yak but could not get a single bite.  I tried all kinds of lures, power bait, trolling, casting, soaking bait under a bobber, multiple depths, etc.  I am admittedly not the best or most experienced freshwater fisherman, so I could be missing something, but I definitely struck out.

I'm headed back in a week and would love to do better this time, so any advice you want to throw my way would be much appreciated.  Thanks in advance!

Don't fish Union. Drive to Spicer and fish before the wind picks up.

Thanks for the advice and I'll probably give Spicer a shot while I'm up there, buy why not fish Union?  It's been recently stocked (or so say the guys at Ebbets Pass Sporting Goods in Arnold), and there were a ton of fish jumping last year, not that I could get any to bite...  Just curious why Spicer is better.

I don’t know if you are doing boat-in dispersed camping at Union, which my family and I love to do almost every year. In that case it would kind of ruin the experience to paddle back to your car from camp and drive to another lake, even though the fishing is better.
There are fish to be had at Union. I usually get a few each trip. Mid-day this time of year you will need to fish deep in the deeper part of the lake, which is between the boat ramp and the dam. You can slow-troll back and forth using lures or a wedding ring with a crawler.
Some most of my better fish there have come from shore at dusk with spinners or spoons. Look for steep drop offs on the shoreline. You can always soak bait at that hour too.

Have fun that’s a beautiful place


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Union is rarely stocked, only receives a small plant, freezes during winter, and fishing pressure is super high. Also Utica is not stocked and too shallow so all those campers fish union. The couple of holdover fish that dont get caught are smart and dry fly fishing is your best option for those fish. If you fish union the best spot I found years ago is between the east campground boat launch and the dam, there's a deeper hole there.

I haven't fished Union since I started fishing Spicer. Spicer only receives fingerling trout plants so the fish you catch are more natural, there's alot more fish, and they taste great. It's well worth the 15 minute drive from union

Thanks all.  I marked that deep water by the dam on my last trip (which makes sense, artificial lakes are almost always deepest by the dam), I'll try that again.

Awesome lake
search "UVR" (Union Valley Reservoir) and you will see all kinda reports & tips!
Good luck!

... that’s a beautiful place

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