The bank fishing was tough with the hot weather and wind that day at the EBMUD reservoir , located on the Mokelumne River in the Mother Lode .

“ Despite the breezy and hot conditions , anglers still caught plenty of fish .,” said Sheldon Bright , Vice-President of Anglers Press . “ We are looking forward to the next NTAC event on October 9 at Lake Amador .”

David Grass of Penn Valley topped the youth division of the event with a 5.33-pound rainbow caught while trolling a spinner hoochie squid behind a watermelon dodger at 25 feet deep in the middle of the reservoir .

The second through tenth place winners were : ( 2 ) Joey Hill Jr ., 2.03 ; ( 3 ) Rider Peterson , 1.91 ; ( 4 ) Liam Cummings , 1.65 ; ( 5 ) Adam Rodriguez ; 1.51 ; ( 6 ) Ruben Hernandez , 1.47 ; ( 7 ) Jimmy Hernandez , 1.31 ; ( 8 ) Aponi Taylor , 1.28 ; ( 9 ) Harley Jones , . 99 ; and ( 10 ) Lucas Jorrick , . 82 .

Rich Peterson won first place in the adult division with a 6.62 lb . rainbow trout . He was also trolling when he hooked the fish .

Tom Wolfenberger won second place in the adult division of the NTAC event at Pardee with his 3.95 lb . rainbow trout .

Photo by Dan Bacher

The second through tenth place adult winners were ( 2 ) Tom Wolfenberger , 3.95 ; ( 3 ) Mark Carlotta , 3.45 ; ( 4 ) Dan Quick , 2.93 ; ( 5 ) Aaron Gomez , 2.74 ; ( 6 ) Ken Murakami , 2.74 ; ( 7 )

Tony Jejarchnichen , 2.39 ; ( 8 ) Justin Luthi , 2.32 ; ( 9 ) Matt Fernandez , 2.21 ; and

( 10 ) Jonathan Swisher , 2.20 .

Mt . Lassen planted Pardee with 500 pounds of lightning trout and 500 pounds of rainbow trout on the day before the event .

For more information about the NorCal Trout Angler ’ s Challenge , call Vince Harris at ( 916 ) 768-0938 or go to : http :// www . anglerspress . com . In contrast with the tough bank fishing during the NTAC event , bank anglers experienced the top fishing for rainbow trout on opening weekend at

Pardee , but boaters caught decent numbers of trout and a few kokanee also this year . Opening weekend at Pardee is one of the most eagerly anticipated angling events in Northern and Central California every year . “ Shore fishermen caught quite a few trout limits while using Kastmasters , Micetails and PowerBait in the main recreation area on the opener ,” Tina Padilla of the Rocky Mountain Recreation Company said . “ Boaters did well on trout , but kokanee fishing was slow . A few kokanee were caught , but it wasn ’ t good as last year .”

Boaters longline trolled in the top 10 feet of water with Speedy Shiners and other lures . For kokanee , anglers trolled with downriggers at 30 feet

deep with J-Pex lures and Three Sons lures , tipped with white shoepeg corn .

Shore fishermen checked in the largest trout reported on opening weekend . Juan Gonzalez of Galt topped the catches on opening day , Friday , Feb . 12 , by landing a 6.7 pound rainbow while using Power Bait off Tom Sawyer Island .

Mark Woodard also scored big when he landed five trout , topped by a 6.0 pound rainbow , while fishing at the spillway .

Big plants of Mt . Lassen Fish Farm rainbows went into the lake before the opener , resulting in a large concentration of fish in the main recreation area . The concessionaire stocked 3,000 pounds of rainbow trout on Feb . 11 and 2,000 pounds of rainbow trout and 1,000 pounds of lightning trout on Feb . 12 .

Rainbow trout are the most popular species pursued at Pardee – and grow big and fat in the rich waters of the reservoir . Ronny Shelton of Ione set the lake rainbow record on June 14 , 2002 when he landed an 18.65 lb . fish while bank fishing with Power Bait in the recreation area .

In normal years , Mt . Lassen plants 1,000 pounds of trout every week during the season except when the water becomes too warm . Planting stopped temporarily this year during the COVID closure and then for several weeks when surface water temperatures became too warm in 2020 .

Shore anglers can catch quality rainbows and in the 1 to 5 lb . class while fishing nightcrawlers , Power Eggs and PowerBait on sliding sinker rigs throughout the season .

The lake also features a sleeper population of wild German browns that spawns in the Mokelumne River and ventures into the lake in search of forage , including the abundant trout and kokanee .

Chris Harris of Sacramento set the lake brown trout record in 2010 when he landed a 15.36 lb . fish while trolling for kokanee at 30 feet deep near the dam .

Kokanee salmon offer another quality salmonid fishery at Lake Pardee . The fish are extremely abundant most years ,