Thao Vang wins the NTAC's 9th season opener on Lake Amador with this 8.72 pound Mt. Lassen rainbow!
ELK GROVE, Ca. - The 9th season opener for the NorCal Trout Angler’s Challenge series was nothing less than spectacular, as 220 anglers converged on beautiful Lake Amador to test their skills on a lake full of Mt. Lassen rainbow trout.
A cold, crisp morning was soon replaced by abundant afternoon sunshine and anglers as anglers found – and caught lots of quality fish.
Coming out on top – in the adult division, was Thao Vang who landed a monster rainbow weighing a whopping 8.72 pounds! Thao caught a lot of fish that day, but for good reason, did not disclose the precise area he caught his fish in, or what bait he used.
Mark Sepelyak took home the Daiwa “Lighting Trout” award, for catching this unique - but beautiful, strain of rainbow trout (also known as “Amador Gold”).
Mark received a premium Daiwa rod and reel combo as a reward for this special catch.
Mark Sepelyak caught this beautiful 4.72 pound "Amador Gold" trout to win a Daiwa rod/reel combo!
Youth division smashes attance record!
Youth attendance set a new record for NTAC events as 55 youth anglers came out to participate in this opening season event with young Adam Vang taking first-place honors on the strength of a solid 4-pound rainbow trout!
Adam Vang took 1st Place in the NTAC's youth division with a 4-pound rainbow!
Turner’s Outdoorsman was also “in the house” sporting the NTAC’s youth division by offering the top-ten youth finishers the opportunity to win a new Kayak!
Joey Hill Jr., whose father also won a new 16-foot Tracker boat package from Gone Fishin’ Marine at the 2018 NorCal Trout Angler’s Challenge Championship, was all smiles as his name was drawn for this special prize.
Look out dad…now that young Joey has his own boat, he just may un-seat you as the families “trout king”!
Joey Hill Jr. is all smiles (behind the mask) as he poses with his new Kayak - courtesy of Turner's Outdoorsman!
We want to sincerely thank all of the participants - and especially our supporting partners, for continuing to help make this series “special fun” for those seeking good family fun on the water.
We look forward to seeing each and every one of you at the next NTAC event, when we return back to Lake Amador on March 13th.
See you all on the water!
Total Field participation: 220
| Place | Angler (Adult) | Weight |
| 1 | Thao Vang | 8.76 |
| 2 | Mark Sepleyak | 4.79 |
| 3 | Rich Peterson | 4.45 |
| 4 | Ryan Pauline | 4.17 |
| 5 | Stan Perkins | 3.5 |
| 6 | Jerry Wade | 3.28 |
| 7 | Tony Jaehnichen | 3.25 |
| 8 | William Cook | 3.24 |
| 9 | Jeff Schroder | 3.22 |
| 10 | Paul Taylor | 3.14 |
| 11 | John Pearson | 3.08 |
| 12 | Michael Dilbeck | 3.07 |
| 13 | David Bixler | 3 |
| 14 | Neng Vang | 2.88 |
| 15 | Rob Cetnich | 2.87 |
| 16 | Jeremy Silvas | 2.82 |
| 17 | Mark Carlotta | 2.78 |
| 18 | Xiong Vang | 2.67 |
| 19 | Christina Bixler | 2.63 |
| 20 | Terese Carter | 2.58 |
| 21 | Krystle Pricce | 2.57 |
| 22 | Ron Fournier | 2.56 |
| 23 | Ed Elefante | 2.52 |
| 24 | Daryl Carter | 2.49 |
| 25 | Dustin Letterman | 2.48 |
| 26 | Joe Gaffney | 2.35 |
| 27 | Tim Wolfenberger | 2.28 |
| 28 | Jason Rivera | 2.27 |
| 29 | Larry Valderrama | 2.27 |
| 30 | David Tabuchi | 2.23 |
| 31 | Marshal Jones | 2.22 |
| 32 | Dominic Vegas | 2.19 |
| 33 | Kenneth Pease | 2.19 |
| 34 | Sid Cates | 2.19 |
| 35 | Bob Schmidt | 2.18 |
| 36 | Manuel Fernandez | 2.16 |
| 37 | Kim Sidvers | 2.11 |
| 38 | James Perkins | 2.05 |
| 39 | Justin Lee Jr. | 2.01 |
| 40 | Matthew Fernandez | 2.01 |
| 41 | Jose Blanco | 2 |
| 42 | David Leyva | 1.98 |
| 43 | Dan Quick | 1.97 |
| 44 | Josh Bister | 1.95 |
| 45 | Anthony White | 1.92 |
| 46 | Johnathan Grinols | 1.87 |
| 47 | John Blake | 1.84 |
| 48 | Luis Sul | 1.75 |
| 49 | Erick Herzer | 1.76 |
| 50 | Todd Reddick | 1.73 |
| 51 | Matt Morzek | 1.7 |
| 52 | Jake Ocker | 1.67 |
| 53 | Justin Lee Sr. | 1.62 |
| 54 | Chris Thongsonthae | 1.56 |
| 55 | John Zielinski | 1.49 |
| 56 | Kirsten Krause | 1.4 |
| 57 | Jeff Trupin | 1.36 |
| 58 | Fred Durkee | 1.32 |
| 59 | Jason Andre | 1.23 |
| 60 | Tom Wolfenberger | 1.12 |
| 61 | Dirk Enzweiler | 0.94 |
| 62 | Chris Miller | 0.91 |
| 63 | Robert Contreras | 0.89 |
| 64 | Robert Hooper | 0.64 |
| Place | Angler (Youth) | Weight |
| 1 | Adam Vang | 4 |
| 2 | Reed Wong | 3.92 |
| 3 | Coleman Krause | 3.5 |
| 4 | Moses Blanco | 3.12 |
| 5 | Polo Gonzalez | 2.65 |
| 6 | Jacob White | 2.47 |
| 7 | Caleb Perkins | 2.28 |
| 8 | Legacy Gonzales | 2.21 |
| 9 | Conner Perkins | 2.13 |
| 10 | Joey Hill Jr. | 2.12 |
| 11 | Winston Huber | 2.05 |
| 12 | John Zielinski | 1.94 |
| 13 | Joe Sackinsky | 1.84 |
| 14 | Josh Perkins | 1.71 |
| 15 | John Bender | 1.56 |
| 16 | Ryder Peterson | 1.35 |
| 17 | Stormy Bender | 1.23 |