Up-To-Date and Published Locally ... By Sportsmen ... For Sportsmen !
Rollins Lake Map Feature
MADE IN U . S . A
See Page 14
39 Years Serving Sportsmen
Vol . 40 - ISS . 6
Our 39th Year
Since 1982
“ The Magazine for West Coast Sportsmen !” INSIDE
Area Reports
Tony Jaehnichen of Sheep Ranch Wins NTAC Amador # 2 With 12.12 Lb . Trout !
IONE - Tony Jaehnichen of Sheep Ranch won first place in the adult division of the NorCal Trout Angler ’ s Challenge event # 2 at Lake Amador on Saturday with his 12.12-pound cutbow trout . “ I was trolling a Speedy Shiner lure down at 18 feet deep when the fish hit ,” Jaehnichen said . “ It was the largest trout I ’ ve ever caught .” The fish was 27 inches long and 19 inches in girth . This is the third NTAC tournament for Jaehnick – and the first event he ’ s ever won . He was fishing with Ron Fournier of Stockton , who landed a 3.48 lb . trout during the event at Amador “ We were elated to have another great turnout for this second event of the season ,” noted Vince Harris , President of Angler ’ s Press Outdoors . “ What made it even better was that an angler set the new record for the biggest trout ever caught in an
Tony Jaehnichen of Sheep Ranch won the NorCal Trout Angler ’ s Challenge event on Lake Amador on March 13 with this beautiful 12.12 lb . cutbow trout .
Photo by DAN BACHER
Water temperatures are
beginning to rise alongside the current as runoff and more water
are released in the Lower American River . Over the past couple of weeks , I have continued to spend countless hours chasing steelhead from the numerous access points located in Sacramento and Rancho Cordova that flow into the American River . With such an amazing urban fishery right at our fingertips , I encourage everyone to get out and explore this amazing stretch of water . With huge chrome steelhead swimming close enough to see it can be hard to figure out what you need to do in order to hook up with one of these amazing fish , and that is exactly the type of challenge that lights a fire in my stomach strong enough to get me up early before the sun , in the pouring rain and gusty wind throwing varieties of flies drifting through rough patches of water . With my many years of fly fishing
NTAC event !” The second through tenth place adult division winners were ( 2 ) Johnny Walker ,
Fly Fishing For Steelhead On The American River
WHAT ’ S HOT by Tyler Andersen
for trout that ultimately build up my fly fishing foundation , the transition to steelhead fly fishing has been quite the learning curve . Sometimes it might seem like you have to be fishing on just the right day , in the just-right spot , with the right gear , and flies to land a steelhead on a fly rod or just a lot of luck . I beg to differ . It is no doubt a challenging task but it shouldn ’ t be a daunting one . And for some reason , the challenge is what keeps bringing me back and I ’ m
4.96 ; ( 3 ) Xiong Vang , 3.91 ; ( 4 ) Luke Taromina , 3.79 ; ( 5 ) Joe Gaffney , 3.75 ; ( 6 ) Justin Lee , 3.62 ; ( 7 ) Thao Vang , 3.62 ; ( 8 ) Todd Wood , 3.62 ; ( 9 ) Dan Quick , 3.48 ; ( 10 ) Ron Fournier , 3.48 . Joey Hill Jr ., who was trolling with his dad Joey Hill Sr ., captured first place in the youth division of the event with his 3.94 lb . trout . The second through tenth place youth winners were ( 2 ) Angel Blanco , 3.58 ; ( 3 ) Bryana Gutiérrez , 3.56 ; ( 4 ) Harley Jones , 2.92 ; ( 5 ) Robert Baldwin 2.73 ; ( 6 ) Liam Cumin , 2.67 ; ( 7 ) Mason Cetnich , 2.13 ;
Sam Christman , a Guide at Kiene ’ s Fly Shop , holds up a beautiful Steelhead that he caught on the American River while fly fishing . The fish fell prey to a wet fly while swinging .
Photo Courtesy of Erin Whitehead
CONTINUED ON PG 11
GONE FISHING by Dan Bacher
( 8 ) David Grass , 2.13 ; ( 9 ) Aponi Taylor , 2.12 ; and ( 10 ) Hunter Lauren , 1.32 . For more information , go to ; www . anglerspress . com
New Lake Record 19.96 Lb .
Rainbow Trout Caught
Lake Amador , renowned for its unique breeds of cutbow , rainbow and “ Amador Gold “ trout , produced a nearly 20-pound rainbow on Saturday , March 6 , setting a new record for the reservoir .
CONTINUED ON PG 9
Catch & Release Fishing !
Hook More & Bigger Fish With Flies ... Sponsored by Kiene ’ s Fly Shop 916-483-1222 • www . Kienesflyshop . com 9550 Micron Ave . Suite B • Sacramento , CA
March 26 , 2021
FRESHWATER REPORTS Lake Amador - Eastern Sierra ........................ 12-13 Eel River - New Melones Lake ....................... 16-17
Lake Oroville - Shasta ..................................... 18-19
SALTWATER REPORTS East Bay - Half Moon Bay / SF / Bodega Bay ............ 21 Baja Roundup ........................................................... 21
FEATURES
Where ... When ... How ...
GO FOR IT : Staff ........................................................ 4 SPRING LAKES GUIDE ........................................... 6-9 HOW-TO : Ernie Marlan .............................................. 10 MAP FEATURE : Dan Bacher ................................ 14-15 SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION : Dan Bacher ....... 20
STAFF TACKLE
What We ’ re Using
Ernie Marlan - fished with his son Andrew Marlan on the California Delta for striped bass . They threw topwater baits , swimbaits , lipless crankbaits , and glide baits . It was a tough day fishing and they only landed two schoolie sized stripers . They used Quantum rods and reels teamed up with 50lb FINS braid and a GAMMA fluorocarbon leader .
Paul Kneeland - fished Folsom Lake with John Brassfield and Rob Bundy in Rob ’ s 24 ’ Duckworth They caught king salmon to 19 inches using a 8 ’ light action Okuma Kokanee Black rod with a Daiwa Lexa 100 line counter reel loaded with 8 lb test P Line CXX line . They trolled Speedy Shiners in wonder bread with copper back with Rooster Tail Trout & Kokanee spray on the Canon Downriggers at 60 feet deep and 2.7 mph .
Dan Bacher - fished for rainbow trout at Rollins Lake . He used a Berkley Ugly Stick GX2 6 ’ 6 ” medium action spinning rod , teamed up with a Shakespeare GX235 spinning reel filled with 6 lb . test P-Line CX Premium Fluorocarbon Coated Line . He fished with rainbow Berkley PowerBait and 1 / 8 oz . gold and black Panther Martins .