Locally, we can look forward to Department of Fish and Game trout plants at Pinto Lake in Watsonville during the week of December 16, or in the Los Gatos Percolation Ponds and Stevens Creek Reservoir in the week of December 23.

In the meantime, if an angler does not mind a bit of travel, Lake Amador in Ione, just east of Stockton, is going gangbusters right now. The water level is low, but they have stocked an additional 6,000 pounds of rainbow and steelhead trout in the lake this week. These fish average 2.5 to 5 pounds each, and bring the total planting numbers since October up to 57,500 pounds. The lake has recently turned over, so fishing from the bank is productive, though manger Laurie Lockhart recommends using a kayak or "belly-boat" to present white or black flies, Rapala lures or her favorite the "Big Mac," a combination of nightcrawler and power bait these big fish find irresistible.