The lake and the creek above it feature a mixture of wild, holdover and planted rainbows and browns. The DFG's American River Fish Hatchery stocks 8,000 pounds of rainbow trout in the lake and 8,000 pounds in the creek every year. The lake is also planted annually with 2,000 pounds of catchable brown trout.

Because of the creek's abundant forage and constantly cold water conditions, trout grow large quickly. This is one of the state's few fisheries where a bank fishermen has a good chance of hooking big browns and rainbows in the 4 to 8 pound class year round. The browns hide and feed in the hydrilla, milfoil, elodea and other aquatic plants that proliferate in the lake.

Local anglers catch huge browns and rainbows out of Solano every year. A bank angler nailed a 9-3/4 pound brown in the creek last year, according to Phil Martin at the Pardehsa Store. A local named "Big Dog" topped this year's catches to date with an 8-3/4 pound brown taken on a nightcrawler above the Pleasants Valley Bridge. Another fisherman pulled an 8 pound rainbow out of the lake's nutrient-rich waters.

I fished Lake Solano regularly during the summer of 2000, catching mixed limits of rainbow and brown trout on nightcrawlers and Power Bait nearly every trip, but I haven't fished it since then. After I made a phone call to the Pardhesa Store on October 11 and heard about the solid German brown fishing, I decided to make a very short afternoon venture to the lake that day.

When I arrived at the park, I saw several anglers trying their luck for trout off the docks. "Catching anything?" I asked.

"I caught several browns and released a couple of rainbows," stated Cathy Perez of Woodland.

"Could I see your fish and take a photo?," I asked. "Sure," she said. Expecting to see some planter-sized rainbows and browns, I was shocked when she pulled two gorgeously colored, fat browns to 18 inches out of the water. It was high noon, no time of day to catch browns, but she had just landed these beauties.

Terry Stiles, her husband, said they had been fishing for only about 30 minutes. They both volunteered to give me some of the mealworms they were using.

As she put the stringer back into the water after I took a couple of photos, she had a bite. She set the hook on a feisty 11 inch rainbow that she released. I walked back to my truck, about 30 yards away, to get my fishing gear.

A young boy who was fishing beside them ran over to my truck and shouted excitedly, "She caught another big brown - even bigger than the other ones," he said. "Bring your camera."

After taking a few photos of her latest trophy, I decided I wanted to get in on the action myself. I tossed out a nightcrawler on a sliding rig and soon caught a 12 inch rainbow on my Tika spinning rod/reel combo. I followed the rainbow up with a fat, hard-running 16 inch German brown.

Meanwhile, Cathy released another two rainbows and Terry bagged a 14 inch brown. For being there less than an hour in the heat of the day, it was pretty darned good fishing! However, I had to get up to Lake Shasta for the annual fishing derby at lake, so I reluctantly left after landing my brown.

Before I left, their son, "T.J.," came walking over to his parents, proudly holding up a largemouth bass that he had just caught from the fish pond. This pond opened to fishing on September 27.

The Vacaville Sunrise Rotary Club raised over $60,000 for this handicapped accessible pond, complete with piers, bridges and wheelchair accessible path next to the lake. This facility, designed to introduce children to fishing, is stocked with largemouth bass, rainbow trout and channel catfish by the club. The club also sponsors a fishing derby every year on the last Saturday of September.

November, December and January are the best months to pursue browns in Lake Solano, though big fish are caught in Solano all year, according to Duane Davis, the park's supervising ranger. Bait fishermen use nightcrawlers and grubs under bobbers and on sliding sinker rigs, while lure tossers find the best brown action on Rapalas and Rebels. Fly fishermen tossing out a variety of patterns also experience great catch and release fishing.

However, the largest brown Davis ever saw taken from the lake, a 27-1/2 incher, was caught as a fluke in 1978. "A guy was headed to San Francisco Bay to fish, but decided to stop by the bridge," noted Davis. "He caught the huge brown while using an anchovy for bait."

The lake used to have a good population of smallmouth bass, mainly concentrated in the warmer inlets of the lake like Pleasant Valleys Creek, according to Davis. However, since 1994, the smallmouth population has declined dramatically.

Although channel catfish and bluegill are often washed down from Lake Berryessa in high precipitation years, the water is too cold for them to thrive.

Owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Lake Solano has been administered as a recreational area by Solano County since 1971. The lake is 1.5 miles long and has a capacity of 750 acre-feet. The County operates a campground with 90 campsites, of which 40 have water and electric hookups. There are rest rooms with flush toilets, sinks and hot showers for campers.

The day use area features picnic sites, group picnic facilities, a free boat launch for non-powered vessels, parking rest rooms and a public telephone. For information on Lake Solano facilities, call (530) 795-2990. For fishing information, call the Pardehsa Store, (530) 795-3850. For fly fishing trips and lessons, contact Craig Bonovich of Fly Fishing Guide Service, 800-480-5285.

Note: Putah Creek from Monticello Dam to the lake is restricted to artificial lures with barbless hooks and a zero limit from November 16 until the last Saturday in April.