Bacher: Andy Pamintuan Wins First Place in Trout Bout at Oak Grove Park

Stockton – Cloudy skies, wind and intermittent rain didn’t deter 300 anglers from fishing the 38th annual Trout Bout at Oak Grove Park, hosted by San Joaquin County Parks and Recreation and the Delta Fly Fishers on Saturday.

Andy Pamintuan of Stockton won first place in the adult division of the Trout Bout with a fat rainbow trout weighing 8 pounds, 3.8 ounces. “I hooked the trout at the last minute before the weigh-in closed,” he stated.

Pamintuan, who took second place in the event last year, caught his fish while using Magic Jigs. He also hooked and released four smaller trout during the event.

The angler is no stranger to fishing tournaments since he used to fish bass tournaments for years.

Sau Thao of Stockton finished second with a trout weighing 6 pounds, 13 ounces. He hooked the fish while using a Notorious Jig.

“I caught a total of 6 trout, but released the smaller ones and kept only the winning fish,” he noted.

Jules Encantara of Galt placed third with a rainbow weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces. He used PowerBait to catch his fish.

Over 2,000 lbs. of Mt. Lassen rainbow trout, including trophy fish from 3 to 10 pounds, were planted in the park’s 10-acre lake before the tournament. The CDFW also stocked 500 pounds in the lake.

The anglers competed in adult and three youth categories, including 8 and under; 9 through 12 and 13 through 15.

Troy Montanes won first place in the 8 and under division with a fish weighing 1 pound, 11.6 ounces.

More: Anglers Battle Trout at New Melones, Amador and Camanche Lakes

Marisol Benavides placed second with a trout weighing 1 pound, 10.9 ounces.

Eight-year-old Alessandro Peña of Lathrop placed third with his rainbow weighing 1 pound, 10 ounces.

Pena was fishing white PowerBait with his dad, Nico Velasquez of Lathrop, and cousin Christian Pena when he hooked his winning fish.

Jacob Yang of Stockton won first place in the 9 to 12 division with his rainbow weighing 2 pounds, .3 ounces. He was fishing with Sao Thao of Stockton when he hooked the fish while tossing out Power Bait.

Arturo Perez finished second with a fish weighing 1 pound, 10.8 ounces.

Jayce Cha placed third with a trout weighing 1 pound, 10.8 ounces.

In the 13 through 15 division, Rowdy Lungren won first place with his rainbow weighing 1 pound, 4.5 ounces.

Brandon Arzate placed second with a rainbow weighing 1 pound, 2.5 ounces.

Evan Lee placed third with a rainbow weighing 14.6 ounces.

All of the adult and youth leaders received a fishing rod and reel combinations as prizes.

Kids aged 15 years and younger fished free at the lake during the event. There was no registration fee, but a $5 fishing permit fee and valid CA. fishing license were required for those sixteen years of age or over.

“The County is proud to host this tournament with the Delta Flyfishers for 38 years,” said Sandi Adams of San Joaquin County Parks and Recreation.

More: Jason Andre Wins NTAC Tournament of Champions at Collins Lake

Crab/Rockfish Combos: If you like to catch both rockfish and crabs, now’s the time to hit the water.

Mike Rescino, Captain of the Lovely Martha, reported superb fishing on both a crab/rockfish combination trip and a crab-only trip on the weekend of Nov. 18-19.

“Today the gang braved the weather and were rewarded with 24 limits (240) of crab, 24 limits (240) of rockfish and 14 lingcod,” reported Rescino on Nov. 18.

The anglers hooked the rockfish and lingcod while fishing shrimp flies and bars in over 300 feet of water at the Rittenberg Bank.

Then on Sunday, the 36 anglers aboard the Lovely Martha returned to the wharf with 36 limits of Dungeness crab.

James Smith of California Dawn Sportfishing reported similar success on his latest crab/rockfish adventures to Rittenberg Bank.

The California Dawn 1 made a "crab only" trip, returning with 26 limits of Crab (260) on Nov. 18. The California Dawn 2 made a combo trip the same day, coming back with 30 limits of rockfish (300), 30 limits of Dungeness crab (300) and 2 lingcod.

Lake Amador/Camanche Trout: The Lake Amador Resort stocked 700 pounds of Cutbows into the reservoir at the dam on Nov. 15.

“Most fish in this load averaged 2 pounds each, but there were a few big ones in there as well,” reported Lee Lockhart at the Lake Amador Resort. “It’s getting colder each day and I’ve heard the lure bite has really turned on with both boaters and bank fisherfolks getting fish while working Kastmasters, crappie jigs, and Speedy Shiners.

“PowerBait is still the top option but don’t be scared to troll or cast a lure out there as well. Keep an eye out for a trophy load coming soon,” he stated.

The lake level is 23’ down and the surface water temperature is 64 degrees.

Big fish honors go to Chris Plant from El Dorado Hills, who landed a monster 12 lb. Cutbow while fishing on the dam with PowerBait.

Lake Camanche also continues to receive weekly plants of trout. Mt. Lassen Fish Farm most recently stocked the lake with another 3,000 pounds of fish on Thursday, including 1,000 lbs. in the South Shore Pond, 1,000 pounds at the South Shore ramp, and 1,000 pounds at the North Shore ramp.

Delta Black Bass/Crappie: Alan Fong of Fisherman’s Warehouse in Sacramento reported slow striper fishing, decent black bass action and great crappie fishing during his latest trip to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta with Denise Loo and his friend Dave.

“We fished for an hour in the morning with top water lures, but there were no takers,” said Fong. “Then we fished for bass for a while until the tide changed and started going out. We caught five quality bass while flipping. When the tide started to go out, the crappie started to bite and we caught a bunch and lots of big ones.”

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Andy Pamintuan Wins First Place in Trout Bout at Oak Grove Park