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Over 150 people enjoyed mild spring weather while participating in the 15th Annual CIFFI Mike Carrington Memorial Derby held at Lake Pardee on Saturday, May 19. Limits were the rule, with many boats reporting 40 to 50 hook-ups during the event, observed Garry Erck, Secretary of the CIFFIC Board.
"Improved kokanee management at Lake Pardee has resulted in solid and noticeable size improvements over the previous year. Plentiful fish kept the weight masters from Placerville Marine busy tallying fish for the day," said Erck.
"We proved to the DFG that they needed to stop planting any additional kokanee in Pardee when only 4 percent of the fish caught in last year's event were DFG tagged hatchery fish," said Sep Hendrickson. Executive Director of CIFFI. "The other 96 percent were naturally-spawned."
It was apparent throughout the derby that Pardee is still overpopulated with kokanee, resulting in smaller average size fish than those that other lakes like New Melones and Lake Don Pedro produce, although the cessation of kokanee plants should help the fishery.
I fished with Dennis Harvel, CIFFI Board Member, during the derby. We didn't catch any big fish, but hooked lots of kokanee averaging 9 to 10 inches each. Although the fish weren't very long, they were noticeably fat and healthy.
We trolled Uncle Larry's spinners behind Sep's Sidekicks at 30 to 55 feet. I tried to pick up a trout or two by raising the downrigger weight up to 20 feet, but I still kept hooking kokanee!
We experienced the hottest koke action from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m. right in the Mokelumne River arm above where it enters the main body. Everybody we talked to on the water had similar reports: lots and lots of kokanee!
Andy Nevis took first place in the adult division of the derby, winning $500, by capturing two kokanee measuring a total of 55.60 cm. Mike Liebig placed second, winning $300, by catching two fish measuring 55.00 cm.
Dale Rose captured first place in the adult trout division with 94.60 cm, while Scott Christiensen came in second with two trout measuring 88.30 cm.
In the youth kokanee division, Courtney Gaunt, who won the division last year, came in first place again with two fish measuring 57.20 cm. Andrew Barr swept second place with two fish going 54.00 cm.
Ryan Romine took first place in the youth trout division with two fish going 101.60 cm, Nick Abernathy placed second with 98.60 cm.
Although boaters caught a fair number of trout during the event, the shore anglers, in spite of surface temperatures of 71 degrees appeared to experience more consistent fishing. For example, John LeLiuer of Rio Vista caught several trout to 2 pounds from shore in the channel between the boat ramp and the marina while I was there. "I've hooked 8 trout since this morning while casting black and gold Panther Martins," he stated.
"Lake Pardee Recreation's new owners Dennis and Linda Johnston and Larry and Kerry Cooper provided great support for this event," said Erck. "The owners are dedicated to making Lake Pardee the premier destination for anglers and the year over year improvements have been fantastic."
Sponsors for the event included Davey Tree, American Truck & Trailer Body, Johnson Outdoors and PG&E. O'Conner's Catering provided top-notch BBQ'ed chicken and ribs, topped off with garlic bread and Caesar Salad.
Since 1992, CIFFI - Project Kokanee - has partnered with the California Department of Fish and Game to fund the continued planting of kokanee in California Lakes. For more information on CIFFI, contact them on the web at http://www.kokanee.org.
The winners of the 15th Annual Mike Carrington Memorial Trout and Kokanee Derby at Lake Pardee Derby are:
Adult Kokanee Winners: Adult Trout Winners: Youth Kokanee Winners: Youth Trout Winners: Bob Roberts Memorial Award ($100 savings bond): Big Fish: Blind Bogey: |
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Many anglers would like to see a limit of 25 kokanee or more like in Oregon, where more sensible fish management prevails for lakes where there are too many kokanee for the available food supply.
I agree totally with Erck. I fished Pardee in the afternoon of the February opener from shore and experienced wide-open trout fishing while tossing out Eagle Claw Nitro Trout Bait.