Lake Amador Lake Amador - Located in Ione, CA Lake Amador is located about one hour above Sacramento. The lake is not huge on size, but it is huge on fish. The lake is closed to water skiing and jet ski's. The lake offers campgrounds, boat rentals, fishing, store with fishing supplies and bait, and even a small cafe. They stock their own fish with their own raised Donaldson Trout. Donaldson Trout mature in two years and weigh in at 10 pounds, where a natural trout will mature in four years and weigh in at 1.5 pounds. The difference is that they can rapidly produce huge trout, which will make any angler happy. Lake Amador is also known for it's thirty to fourty pound catfish, and its normal report of producing Largemouth Bass over ten pounds on a regular basis. Bluegill and Crappie are also a good bet at Lake Amador. Visit the Lake Amador Website for more information at http://www.lakeamador.com Click here to check out the article on Using Mini Jigs to Catch Monster Trout Below is an excerpt from the Lake Amador website: For over 30 years, the Lockhart Family, of four generations, has been in the process of developing the finest fishing resort in the Western United States. Lake Amador Resort, located in the foothills of the Sierras, is only one hour from Sacramento or Stockton and two hours from anywhere in the Bay Area. Years ago, we realized that Mother Nature, alone, could not provide the quality of fishing that our anglers deserved. So, we set out to raise the best eating, hardest fighting, and biggest trout found anywhere in the country. We imported a special strain of crossbred trout from Switzerland, the Donaldson Trout. They are part Steelhead, part Cutthroat, and part Rainbow. Anglers from all over the world now rave about the spectacular jumps and awesome fight that these unique fish exhibit. Weekly trout plants of up to 5000 pounds, averaging 2-6+lbs. each, provide not only fabulous fishing, but also the best catching ratio in the country. Besides trout, Lake Amador held the Largemouth Bass record for Northern California for over 10 years at 17.1 lbs., our bass fishing is simply superb!! Since there is NO WATER SKIING OR PERSONAL WATERCRAFT ALLOWED , the peaceful adventure on the 400-acre, 13 1/2 miles of beautiful Lake Amador shoreline will keep anglers returning again and again! Other trophy fish are also abundant. Huge catfish up to 40 pounds are caught all summer long. Slab side Crappie and 2 pound Bluegill round out the bountiful fish population waiting to provide hours of exciting fishing adventure. Complete launching/docking facilities are available on the shoreline for your convenience. Full hook-up RV sites and a 150 site campground, with showers and flush toilets, are nestled along the shoreline of Lake Amador available year round with reservations or just show up, we always have room! (except maybe holidays!) Come and visit soon. Catch yourself an adventure so close to home you'll be hooked for life! Lake Amador is a must every winter. You can catch large planter "cutbows" here almost every trip. It's not difficult to bag a limit most of the time up to 5 pounds and sometimes end up with a hog tipping the scales well over 5 pounds. Hard fighting fish are fun to catch whether they came out of a truck or not. Lake Amador Fishing Techniques The best way to fish Lake Amador is by trolling needlefish, rapalas, white plastic grubs, or a power mouse. Keep the trolling speed around 1 mph for the grubs, and kick it up a little faster for the Rapalas. The bank fisherman also do very well using Power Bait about 2-3 feet under a bobber. From the bank you can also do very well using a Kastmaster with a slow retrieve. Cast the Kastmaster out and let it sink for ten seconds before retrieving it. Crank it in slowly so that it has a little bit of action, just enough to entice a bit. An air injected night crawler, and minnows can also work quite well. Bass fisherman do well with 10" Black Berkley Power Worms, and the typical spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. Catfish fisherman do well with all the typical catfish baits, with huge catfish up to 39 pounds being caught on the lake. Be sure to fish shallow and focus on the corners and pockets all around the shoreline. The Dam is very productive but the coves in the back of the lake are great too, if you bring a boat to get there. Use garlic rainbow or chartreuse Power Bait or run a small kastmaster, or needlefish to get hooked into a nice trout. Camping & RV Spots on Lake Amador They have expanded the campground to 150 campsites, all of which can be reserved. They are surrounded by big beautiful oak trees right on the shoreline of Lake Amador. Showers, flush toilets, privacy and great views abound. Fish Species Largemouth Bass Channel Catfish Bluegill Black Crappie White Crappie Donaldson Lake Trout Rainbow Trout Common Carp Smallmouth Bass Lightning Trout Threadfin Shad Cutbow Rainbow Trout Fishing On Lake Amador The video below was taken while fishing for Lake Amador's world famous Cut Bow strain of Rainbow Trout that they raise themselves in their very own hatchery that is located just below the lake. The average Cutbow Rainbow Trout in Lake Amador is over three pounds, while there is also smaller trout that are planted by the California Department of Fish ang Game. Cutbow Trout over nine pounds are caught all the time. Largemouth Bass Fishing On Lake Amador Lake Amador is also a trophy largemouth bass fishery. Many bass fisherman fish at night for the large bass that are present in the lake. Largemouth Bass over ten pounds are caught all the time on Lake Amador. Lake Amador Fish Location and Campground Map The map below was made by the Lake Amador Resort to help anglers find the fish they are looking to catch. A quick phone call to the Lake Amador Resort will also help you to find out what the catch has been like and what anglers are using to catch the most fish. Give them a call at (209) 274-4739 before your trip, they are very friendly and helpful. Click the map below to open the full size map. Lake Amador Staff Fishing Reports Reports from fisherman are Trout are shallow with some closer to shore.  Lures and PowerBait, and PowerEggs have been doing well. Boaters have been trolling with Broken Back Rapalas.  Lots of Bass still being caught with plastics and even when trolling for trout.  2019 LAKE AMADOR TROUT STOCKING TOTALS CURRENT LAKE / STOCKING INFO FOR 2019-2020 SEASON ***TROUT STOCKED DAILY/WEEKLY WHEN AVAILABLE*** Lake level is currently 31ft down, and surface temp is at 66 deg. The launch ramp is still usable but only one lane. We are currently stocking Donaldson Rainbows, Golden Rainbows, and Cutbows from our trout farm, most trout are a 3lb average. 2019-2020 TROUT STOCKING TOTALS: 10/23/19——150lbs (Trial Stock) 10/30/19—–500lbs OCTOBER TOTALS= 650lbs 11/6/19——-600lbs 11/14/19——500lbs 11/21/19——500lbs 11/29/19——1,000lbs NOVEMBER TOTALS= 2,600lbs 12/9/19——-700lbs DECEMBER TOTALS (still more plants coming!)= 700lbs TOTAL STOCKED= 3,950lbs Click the map to open the Lake Amador Lake and Campground Map full size.