On the other hand, Randy Buffington of American River Guide Service prefers to concentrate on the "Middle American" from Rossmoor Bar to Howe Avenue, even though he fishes the other sections also. This stretch of river is characterized by fast-moving riffles and runs interspersed with long, slow moving stretches of river with clay banks and bottom.

"I like to fish the middle stretch of the American because you don't have to deal with the crowds of anglers you encounter during the steelhead run in the winter, the shad run in spring and the salmon run in fall," said Buffington. "In the Rossmoor to Gristmill stretch, you have the opportunity to catch four species - steelhead, king salmon, striped bass and shad - when you hit it at the right time during the spring and early summer."

The solitude you can find on this stretch of the American was illustrated by a drift boat trip that Buffington and I made on Sunday, March 11. While drifting nightcrawlers and back trolling nightcrawlers with Jet Divers, we hooked six fish, landing four wild steelhead "half pounders" in the 12 to 15 inch class and one hatchery fish. We didn't hook any adults, but it was definitely a fun day of trout fishing.

What made it special, besides the warm weather, was that we only saw one pair of anglers in a pontoon boat and no bank anglers. We had the river virtually to ourselves, along with the wild turkeys, deer, blue herons and seagulls, in spite of being in the heart of a metropolitan area with over 1-1/2 million people. On the next morning, Buffington launched his boat at Howe Avenue at first light and caught his first striped bass, a 16 pounder, of 2007.

"That fish, along with a 30 pounder, were in the river to feed on the steelhead that the DFG recently released in to the Sacramento at Garcia Bend," said Buffington. "Many of the steelhead yearlings go back upriver - and the striped bass follow them."

Buffington caught the big fish while trolling a jumbo minnow. "It grabbed the bait, killed it and spit the bait out," he said. "Then after I made two passes with the dead bait, the fish grabbed the bait again and this time I hooked the fish and brought it in."

In the spring, summer and fall, Buffington often likes to do combo steelhead and striped bass trips. Over the past several years, he has caught both steelhead in the 3 to 8 pound range and stripers ranging from 3 to 30 pounds while trolling and casting jumbo minnows and Sacramento pike-minnows. Buffington caught his largest-ever striped bass in the summer of 2005 while tossing out a Pencil Popper.

Anglers found phenomenal steelhead fishing at times on the American from 1999 to 2004. The fishing has been tougher the past couple of years, in spite of good numbers of fish returning to Nimbus Fish Hatchery, probably because of high water conditions in 2006 and cold, low and clear conditions this year. "The steelhead fishing this season has been slow, but not for a lack of fish," said Buffington. "I believe that the majority of the hatchery run blew by us in December."

Bob Burks hatchery manager II at Nimbus Fish Hatchery, confirmed Buffington's contention. 2006-2007 was an above average year for steelhead, with 2,663 adults and 11 half pounders reported to date, in comparison to 2,258 adults and 124 half pounders by the same time last year.

"The fish came into the hatchery in high numbers early this season, even though they weren't ready to be spawned," added Burks. "We plan to spawn steelhead through the rest of March."

Buffington experienced a couple of banner days, but also some skunks and days with one or two fish hooked this season. "For example, on Martin Luther king's Birthday, my buddy Cliff and I caught and released 12 steelhead. On the next day, we only had one take down in the same drift using the same techniques," he stated.

The fish that we caught on my latest venture with Buffington were all fat and healthy, a result of the unique forage conditions that the American River provides for steelhead and other species.

"The juvenile steelhead in the American grow approximately twice as fast in the Upper Sacramento River" said Rob Titus, DFG senior fishery biologist. "There's a lot of forage in the American, mostly aquatic insects.

The American River steelhead also grow about twice as fast as fish in the in two coastal streams in Santa Cruz County, according to a comparative life history study of Mokelumne and American rivers with Soquel and Scott creeks. The study is being conducted as a cooperative project between the DFG, National Marine Fishery Service and U.C. Santa Cruz.

"The fish in the creeks stop growing quickly from summer through fall, when the water is low and food is a lot less abundant, until the rains come," said Titus "In contrast, the American River fish, blessed with year round flows and abundant food, keep growing all year. The warmer water temperature in the lower American increases the fish's metabolic rate."

Striped bass provide a quality fishery in the American. Striper fishing in the Lower American is best from March or April through October, although these fish are caught all year. Buffington catches the fish while tossing out Pencil Poopers and Lucky Craft lures, as well as trolling and casting live jumbo minnows.

This section of river carries a lot of fond fishing memories with me. When I was a teenager, I used to have a lot of fun riding my bike down to the river and catching striped bass, steelhead and shad every summer at Ancil Hoffman Park. I even caught a German brown trout while fishing a Mepps spinner for steelhead one day.

More recently, I had my best day of salmon fishing ever on the American in the fall of 2004, when Buffington and I caught early limits of big, chrome salmon while fishing Kwikfish at Gristmill. I said I would kneel down, bow and proclaim, "Oh Great Salmon Master" if I caught a limit of salmon that day - and that's what I had to do!

The salmon fishing was much slower on the river during the autumn of 2005 and 2006, due to lower fish returns than the previous three years, but anglers are hoping the run will rebound this fall.

Anadromous species are not the only fish caught on the American. The cuts of the river, particularly around Watt Avenue and Howe Avenue bridges, have decent populations of largemouth bass, bluegill and channel catfish. These fish all bite best in the summer and early fall when water temperatures are at their warmest.

American River Facts

Location: The entire river, including the stretch from Rossmoor Bar to Howe Avenue, is accessible to bank anglers and boaters, since it is located in the beautiful American River Parkway. The parkway is located in a protected greenbelt that cuts Sacramento County in half. It features a 20-plue mile paved bicycle and running trail, many rest areas and access from most neighborhoods adjacent to the river parkway.

Fishing Season: The river above the SMUD powerline at the southwest boundary of Ancil Hoffman Park to the Hazel Avenue Bridge is closed from November 1 through December 31. Review the California Fresh Water Sport Fishing Regulations Booklet for bag and possession limits, hook restrictions and additional restrictions.

Day Use: The entrance fee for vehicles under 22 feet in length is $4.00. There is an additional fee for trailer or vehicle 22 or more feet in length. The raft/small watercraft fee is $2.00. This fee will be discounted up to $4.00 if the trailer/oversized vehicle fee is paid.

Annual Fees: Vehicle (private or commercial - $40.00 Oversized vehicle or vehicle with trailer (private or commercial) - $80.00

Boat launching: Concrete boat ramps are available at Discovery Park, Howe Avenue , Watt Avenue, Sunrise and Sailor Bar. Unimproved gravel launching is available at Gristmill, Ancil Hoffman, Rossmoor and other areas on the river.

Park information: www.sacparks.net, Sacramento County Department of Regional Parks, Recreation and Open Space Administration, 3711 Branch Center Rod, Sacramento, CA. 95827. For General Parks, Golf and Rangers Information, call (916) 875-6961.

Fishing information: Guides available for striped bass, king salmon, and steelhead trips on the American include Randy Buffington of American River Guide Service, (916) 541-3813; Rene Villanueva of Steelie Dan's Guide Service (916) 684-7148; Jason Thatcher of Norwest Executive Guide Service (916) 997-2765; John Reuer of Nor Cal Outdoor Guides (916) 496-7435; Bob Sparre of Rocky River Guide Service (916) 863-5866; Rodney Fagundes of Rodney's Reel Repair and Guide Service, (916) 421-9462; http://www.916fish.com (916) 289-0432; Rod Abbott of Fin Addict Guide Service; and Steve Huber (866) 531-3474. Information on the American River is available at Broadway Bait Rod & Gun (916) 448-6338, Sacramento Pro Tackle (916) 925-0529 and Fisherman's Warehouse (916) 362-1200.