Easy rainbows near Sac?

Hey all....

Looking to take the kids out on the kayak this weekend. Looking for a place to catch rainbow trout an hour or so from Sac. Any recommendations? Just moved here from WA state. Thanks.

  welcome
Lots of options in almost all directions. I can list a few and the pros and cons of each.
1. Lake Pardee located just outside of valley springs/ione. It’s about an hour drive from Sacramento down 99, then east on liberty road and up into the foothills. It’s planted and has holdover fish as well.
Pros include nice sized fish and relatively frequent plants. A marina area protected from the wind and boats (no wake zone)  that will produce recently planted fish with rapalas, kastmasters, night crawlers and power baits. I believe a mouse tail power bait setup worked well last I was there. There are also smallmouth, kokanee, catfish and a few other species.
Nice launch faculties with lots of parking and no concerns about theft. Clean restrooms and a fish cleaning station.
Cons
No swimming, fairly expensive to launch and obtain fishing and parking permits ($8 for a permit $10 for launch $5 for parking or something close to that) Can be very hot an be crowded in summer months.

2. Lake Camanche
Close to pardee. Most everything I said about Pardee applies to Camanche as well. Difference is that Camanche also has a smaller trout pond you can fish. Too small to really be fun in kayaks though.

Cons
Fish will be deeper here and harder to target. Fish can move towards the dam which is a long paddle from either the north or south launches.

3. Lake New Hogan is another option in this same area that has a good launch. Bathrooms are not maintained as well as Pardee and it features landlocked striped bass. They can boil on the surface and be taken with lures or bait. Can be very fun, fish average 4-6 lbs.

4. Lake Amador
Closer to sac than the others by a few minutes and smaller than the other larger reservoirs owned by East Bay MUD. It’s private and planted.
Pros- small enough to fish thoroughly in a day, planted with trophy sized fish.

Cons
Expensive ($15 per person or so?) and can be a bit of an ugly mud hole during the summer. Can get crowded.

Other options include Lodi lake, rancho seco Park, Folsom lake, and lake Natomas. If those I would recommend you look into natomas or Lodi lake  as I think you only need to pay a launch fee and they are kayak friendly in their size and lack of boat traffic. Check to determine the last time they where planted with rainbows. Have fun!