14 Nov . 24 - Dec . 8 , 2017 VOL . 36 • ISS . 25

Collins Lake features excellent fishing for rainbow trout , spotted and largemouth bass , redear sunfish , crappie , bluegill and channel catfish . Photo by DAN BACHER , Fish Sniffer Staff .

He was soaking chartreuse PowerBait from the bank when he hooked the hefty rainbow .

“ I found excellent fishing both days ,” he said . “ I kept five rainbows and released five rainbows My fishing partners also experienced great action while using PowerBait ; They finished 15th and 19th in the event .”

Not only did he land the biggest fish in the event , but Hill won a 14- foot Tracker boat with a Mercury motor valued at $ 5,000 .

140 anglers fished in the event at the foothill lake , located at an elevation of 1200 feet about midway between the cities of Marysville and Grass Valley . Anglers had to fish through rain at times on Saturday , but it was dry and sunny on Sunday .

“ This fifth season was our most successful season ever , and our anglers have really learned how to put an effective fishing strategy together - even when the pressure of a championship event is added to the mix ,” said Vince Harris , President / CEO , Angler ’ s Press Outdoor Promotions , the organizer of the event along with the Fish Sniffer magazine . “ And stay tuned ... we have even better things in store for our anglers in the 2018 season !”

Jay Larson placed second in the adult division with a 4.22 lb . rainbow , while Glen Begins placed third with a 4.11 lb . trout .

The fourth through tenth place winners were ( 4 ) Trese Carter , 4.08 ; ( 5 ) Erin Baldanzi , 3.85 ; ( 6 ) Robert Smith , 3.67 ; ( 7 ) Jeremiah Ramerez , 3.4 ; ( 8 ) Jimmy Trejo ; 3.17 ; ( 9 ) Fred Tinsley , 2.87 ; and ( 10 ) Ken Murkami . Jordy McCune won first place in the youth division with 2.83 pounds . Devin Osterberg finished second with 2.56 pounds , while Andrew Lawlor placed third with 2.45 pounds .

The kid ’ s division winner took home a brandnew Sea Eagle inflatable pontoon boat , valued at over $ 1,200 .

The fourth through tenth place winners were ( 4 ) Luke Whichard , 1.96 ; ( 5 ) Matt

Sheldon Bright of the Fish Sniffer and Joe Hill of North Highlands pose together after Hill won first place in the adult division of the NorCal Trout Anglers Challenge Tournament of Champions at Collins Lake on November 4-5 by catching the largest fish , a rainbow trout weighing 4.48 pounds .

Photo by DAN BACHER , Fish Sniffer Staff .

Gillette , 1.93 ; ( 6 ) Ricky Diaz III , 1.86 ; ( 7 ) Michelle Lewis 1.73 ; ( 8 ) Ryder Petersen , 1.61 ; ( 9 ) Winston Huber , 1.56 , and ( 10 ) Natalie Smith , 1.51

Deputy Bob Hauck of the Sacramento Sheriff Sportsman ’ s Project and two other deputies brought 9 youth to fish the event .

“ The purpose of our organization is to give inner city kids a unique experience by disconnecting from phones and connecting to the outdoors ,” said Hauck .

Sponsors included Fisherman ’ s Warehouse , Gone Fishing Marine , Atlas Mike ’ s , Berkley , Yo-Zuri , Yakima Bait , Costa Del Mar , Silver Horde / Gold Star , Panther Martin , Dodge , Mack ’ s Lures , Pro-Cure , SeaEagle . com , Dick Nite Spoons and Thomas Fishing Lures .

Anglers who finished in the top 50

Erin Baldanzi landed this 3.85 lb . rainbow while tossing out a Kastmaster during the NTAC Tournament of Champions at Collins Lake on November 5 .

Photo by DAN BACHER , Fish Sniffer Staff . in any one of the 2017 NorCal Trout Angler ’ s Challenge events were qualified to participate in the end-of-the season championship at the lake .

The 1200-acre reservoir , located on Dry Creek , a tributary of the Yuba River , features 12 miles of shoreline located in the beautiful Sierra Nevada foothills just over an hour northeast of Sacramento between Marysville and Grass Valley .

More than 50,000 rainbow trout are planted in Collins every spring and fall , meaning that Collins Lake has the largest private planting program north of Sacramento . Thousands of these trout are trophy- sized , planted at 3 to 8 pounds and growing even larger .

To date this year , the lake management has stocked 38 times at 1800 pounds per plant , a total of 68,400 pounds to date . “ We have already stocked 4,800 lbs . of trout in the past 3 weeks and 1800 lbs this coming week . We will plant every week up to Thanksgiving week ,” said Shelly