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Anglers enjoy spring weather, good fishing during Collins Lake trout tournament

dan bacher
·4 min read
Collins Lake offers lots of bank and boat fishing access for anglers in pursuit of rainbow trout, spotted and largemouth bass, crappie, redear sunfish, bluegill and channel catfish.
Collins Lake offers lots of bank and boat fishing access for anglers in pursuit of rainbow trout, spotted and largemouth bass, crappie, redear sunfish, bluegill and channel catfish.

OREGON HOUSE — Anglers caught plenty of trout — and enjoyed sunny and mild spring weather — during the NorCal Trout Anglers’s Challenge event at Collins Lake on May 7.

"The Collins Lake event was phenomenal, and the weather contributed to the most participation we have had this year with 130 adults and 40 kids,” said Vince Harris, president of Angler's Press Outdoors, the organization that created the NorCal Trout Angler's Challenge. “What is even better is that just about every participant caught at least one fish! We are looking forward to the Lake Pardee event on Oct. 8.”

Silvia Michalek of Geyserville won first place in the adult division of the event with her 7.78 pound rainbow trout. She was trolling with her husband Tony when she hooked her fish.

Silvia Michalek won first place in the adult division of the NorCal Trout Anglers’s Challenge event at Collins Lake on May 7 by landing this 7.78-pound rainbow trout.
Silvia Michalek won first place in the adult division of the NorCal Trout Anglers’s Challenge event at Collins Lake on May 7 by landing this 7.78-pound rainbow trout.

The second through tenth place winners were: (2) Jimmy Trejo, 5.68; (3) Ken Murakami, 5.34; (4) Frank Nitta, 4.97; (5) Terese Carter, 4.62; (6) Dave Ryans, 4.25; (7) John Hillton, 3.02; (8) Rich Boelens, 2.92; (9) Jason Yang, 2.7; and (10) Danielle Settles, 2.61.

Eighty-five of the adults participating in the tournament weighed in trout.

Liam Owens won first place in the youth division of the tournament with his 4.61-pound rainbow. He was fishing from a boat anchored off the shore with his dad, Eric Owens, and his grandad, Ben Hexon of Citrus Heights.

“Liam was fishing with PowerBait in 38 feet of water after his first cast when the fish hit,” Eric Owens said. “His granddad had just rigged up his rod. Fishing is all about the kids — Liam will remember catching his big fish forever.”

The second through tenth place winners in the youth division were: (2) Aleta Peters, 3.53; (3) Joey Hill Jr., 2.64; (4) Keith Acosta, 2.62; (5) Jordan Vargas 2.53; (6) David Grass, 2.37; (7) Cole Cooper, 2.33; (8) Owen Swisher, 2.14; (9) Joe Sakinsky, 1.94; and (10 Matt Morris Jr., 1.68.

The youth participants weighed in a total of 25 trout.

Liam Owens won first place in the youth division of the tournament at Collins Lake with his 4.61-pound rainbow caught while fishing with his dad, Eric Owens.
Liam Owens won first place in the youth division of the tournament at Collins Lake with his 4.61-pound rainbow caught while fishing with his dad, Eric Owens.

Not only was there an award for the biggest trout, but anglers vied for a Daiwa rod and reel prize for the smallest trout of the day. Matt Fernandez fended off “fierce” competition by catching the event’s smallest fish, a .33-pound fish, a CDFW planted rainbow trout. Information: https://anglerspress.com.

Collins Lake hosts the largest private trout planting program north of Sacramento. 30,000 pounds of trout are scheduled for spring 2022, while 10,000 pounds of rainbows were planted in fall 2021.

A private plant of 3,000 pounds of rainbows including trophy fish went into the lake on April 29 and another private plant of 1,000 pounds went in on May 5. Information: (530) 692-1600.

Suisun Bay/West Delta sturgeon: On the latest sturgeon fishing trip by Zach Medinas of Gatecrasher Fishing Adventuress, the two anglers on the boat caught and released three legal sized “slot fish “ranging from 55 to 58 inches and one 65-inch oversized fish. They hooked the sturgeon while using lamprey eel and salmon roe in Suisun Bay.

“We caught and released a lot of sturgeon this season, but the numbers of fish are going down,” Medinas said. “Most of the undersized fish we hooked this year were in the 26 to 28-inch range. There was a big gap in the fish between 28 and 40 inches all season. The number of slot size fish is definitely going down. When less legal sized fish become available in the future, I worry that people may poach undersized and oversized fish. I hope for a change in fisheries management.”

Medinas has a few more sturgeon trips out of Pittsburg scheduled this month. After hauling out his boat and doing routine maintenance, he will move back to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco to pursue halibut, rockfish and salmon this summer. Information: (925) 497-7171.

Ocean king salmon: The salmon fishing heated up outside of the Golden Gate on May 7, when the New Easy Rider out of the Berkeley Marina checked in with 14 limits of king salmon to 22 pounds. On Monday, the 10 anglers aboard the New Easy Rider landed limits of silvery kings up to 22 pounds. Information: (707) 422-2050.

Contact Stockton Record Correspondent Dan Bacher at danielbacher53@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Good fishing, good weather at Collins Lake trout tournament