SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Fishing for huge Salmon and Steelhead trout on the American River is serious business for anglers as Igor Malygin knows.

“It gets very competitive,” he said. “I mean, people get in fights, you know. (At) Nimbus (dam), there was a stabbing.”

That’s because for people like Malygin, who has been fishing on the river for over 20 years, you can’t beat the feeling of landing a prize fish. He said the memories he’s made on the river are worth the effort.

“If you hook one, it gets your adrenaline pumping, and it brings back those memories.”

Malygin said making new memories of late has become harder because of the number of fish now, compared to his pre-teen days.

To help with populations of Salmon and the threatened Steelhead Trout, a massive effort is underway by Sacramento County to replenish the spawning grounds of the fish. Erica Bishop has lived around rivers her whole life and heads up the effort to restore the spawning grounds.

“This is about 6,000 cubic yards of cobble and gravel he’ll be putting in, and it will take him several days,” she said.

The installation of Folsom and Nimbus dams means sediment isn’t replenished naturally and has also cut down the crucial spawning areas.

Bishop said the fish are also now fighting against climate change as they need cold water to spawn. The recent heat waves mean warmer water and less snow cap run off means less cold water to release from the dams to help keep temperatures cool and prevent the fish from dying.

“The water right now is about 66 degrees,” she said. “That’s really as warm as we want it to get. Prime temperatures for spawning would actually be more like five-to-10 degrees less.”

Bishop added that they have seen positive results from similar past projects and there is no plan to stop restoring spawning locations in the future.

For avid anglers like Malygin, he said there’s nothing like fishing on the American River.

“It’s like a yoga, and I mean this breeze right now and just being out here, it’s nice.”