When the Lockhart Clan arrived on the scene in 1973 there was a lot to be done in the construction part of the business, but there already existed an excellent fishing lake. At the time a big bass was 8 pounds but a few years earlier Florida Bass had been planted in the lake and bass anglers from everywhere were catching 1000's of fish. Each year that went by the bass got bigger --first 10 pounders, then 15 pounders, and finally in 1986 an accomplished angler named Tim Kamura, of Sacramento, landed 17.1 lb. Huge Bass on a Tennessee Chad crank bait. That record stands to this day as our record bass. In those days, Lake Amador was best known for it's quantity and quality of warm water fish including Bass, Bluegill, Catfish, Crappie and an occasional Trout.

Bluegills have always been plentiful and the children really enjoy red worms, bobber and a dock. Some years back a Bay Area angler caught a 2 pound Bluegill on a surface plug while fishing for Bass. That's a big panfish. April through September is the best time to catch oodles of these scrappy dish especially on worms. They are great to eat! In the early 80's, Crappie were planted on the lake and they have thrived since that time. Our main forage fish is Threadfin Shad and these provide bountiful food supply for the Crappie now being caught topping the scale at 4 pounds. Live Minnows are the favorite bait for Crappie. Once a school of Crappie is located, many anglers switch to mini-jigs. All available in our well stocked tackled shop located in the Lodge.

Over the years our Catfish have grown bigger and bigger to the point that certain anglers frequent Lake Amador in search of the largest catfish of their lives. Trophy Catfish up to 40 pounds and stringers up to 100 pounds are common every year. Bring your Striper gear and 50 pound test if you expect to win the battle!

Last but not least, we realized early on Trout thrived in Lake Amador and so many people flocked to our lake in search of quality Trout fishing that we needed more fish than the Dept. of Fish and Game could ever plant in Lake Amador. At first we bought from private hatcheries, but the quality and the price did not allow us to plant the numbers or the size our anglers yearned for. Dozens of books on aquaculture, extensive construction experience, and the belief that we could raise better fish led us into the fish business. We imported expensive Trout eggs all the way from Sweden at the cost of 5 cents each just to get a better fish. We built 50,000 gallon octagon shaped cement tanks. Utilized water treatment technology and liquid oxygen injection all in order to raise a hard fighting, better eating and full finned Trout. For over fifteen years this process has evolved to the point that today, Lake Amador has the best Trout fishing anywhere!