New lake record 19.96 pound rainbow trout caught at Lake Amador

IONE –  Lake Amador, renowned for its unique breeds of cuttbow, rainbow and “Amador Gold “ trout, produced a nearly 20-pound rainbow on March 6, setting a new record for the reservoir.  

Richard Bartoni drove from San Ramon to the Mother Lode lake near Ione to enjoy the sunny weather and do some trolling for trout on the reservoir.   

“Little did he know the fish gods would be smiling upon him that day when he hooked and landed the biggest trout of his life and set the new lake rainbow record at the same time,” said Elizabeth Lockhart at the Lake Amador Resort. 

Weighing in at 19.96 pounds, this rainbow trout crushed the previous record of 19.30 pounds by over a half pound. Bartoni was top-line trolling from a boat at the mouth of Jackson Creek with a bronze/gold Rapala on 4-pound test line when the monster fish hit his lure.  

The fish measured 32.4 inches in length, 22 inches in girth and 9.5 inches in height, according to Lockhart. 

However, the fish still is not the biggest trout ever caught at Amador. Those honors go to Juan Garcia of El Dorado, who landed a 20.12-pound cutbow trout, a hybrid between a rainbow and cutthroat, on Veterans Day 2020.  

That fish measured 32.5 inches in length and 24 inches in girth – and 10 inches in height. Garcia was fishing with chartreuse Berkley PowerBait at the dam when he hooked the lunker.  

So whether you fish from shore or from a boat, you have a chance to catch a giant trout at Amador. 

Amador’s trout are raised on site in the lake’s fish hatchery. The facility has raised a total of 22,450 pounds of trout, a mixture of cutbows, rainbows and “Amador Golds” from Oct. 15, 2020, to present. An average of 1,000 pounds of trout are being planted weekly.  

In addition to three breeds of trout, Lake Amador also features largemouth bass, crappie, redear sunfish, bluegill and catfish to anglers pursue. Information: (209) 274-4739.  

Angler’s Press will hold the second event of its NorCal Trout Angler’s Challenge Tour this year at Amador on March 13. Information: www.anglerspress.com. 

San Joaquin River stripers: Chris Ditter of HeadRush Sportfishing said Delta striper action is still tough, but he has been landing some fish while trolling on the San Joaquin River from Prisoner’s Point to Antioch. 

“I will begin booking striper trips on the Delta in mid-March when the fish are here in bigger numbers,” Ditter said. “On my last trip with my friend Steve Sidhu, we caught 8 stripers, keeping 4 fish to 5½ pounds and releasing the rest. We trolled with deep and shallow-running Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows and P-Line Predators on the San Joaquin.” Information: (916) 284-9236. 

San Francisco Bay halibut: Halibut fishing has started in San Francisco Bay.  

Mike Rescino, captain of San Francisco’s Lovely Martha, made his first halibut trip of the year on March 5. The seven anglers reeled in six keeper-sized halibut, along with releasing 30 plus shakers (undersized fish). They trolled with whole herring and anchovies from 6 to 20 feet in South San Francisco Bay on the outgoing tide. 

On Sunday, a trip by Rescino yielded 16 keeper halibut for 16 anglers, along with 48 shakers (undersized fish). “The looking around we did on Saturday paid off big time for us Sunday,” Rescino noted. “Most of the fish measured 23 to 27 inches long, but we caught a few bigger fish.” Information: www.lovelymartha.com   

Contact Record correspondent Dan Bacher at danielbacher@fishsniffer.com.