Fish Sniffer Magazine Volume 42 Issue 09 | Page 14

FRESHWATER

14 June 23 , 2023 VOL . 42 • ISS . 9
FRESHWATER REPORTS :
CONTINUED FROM PG 13
NEW MELONES / DON PEDRO LAKES
Giant Kokanee Reward Derby Anglers
LA GRANGE – The New Melones Kokanee Power Team derby was one for the record books . “ Looking back in the derby history , these were the biggest kokanee ever weighed in with the closest year being back in 2008 .,” according to a report from Kokanee Power . “ So how big were they ? They topped out at 2.87lbs . and 18.86 inches . With a 7.64 lb .. - 3 fish weigh in taking 1st place . There were teams with multiple 2 + lb . fish . “ The fish were shallow this year ~ 17-50 feet , thanks to the cooler weather and that record snow melt making its way into the lake ,” the group reported . “ Many anglers were probably fishing deeper than needed and the fish concentrations were generally in lower end of the lake . 166 anglers participated .” The James Franco Team , featuring James Franco , Jim Franco and Denise Franco , won first place with a 3 fish weight of 7.64 pounds . The Brian Thomas Team , featuring Alex Thomas , Richard Contreras and Chris Miller , placed second with three fish weighing 7.37 pounds . The Jack Schultz Team , featuring Schultz ad Joe Aksamit , placed third with three fish weighing 6,71 pounds . Daniel Clark won first place in the junior division with a 2.29 lb . kokanee while trolling with the Mike Clark team Alex Thomas placed second with a 2.29 lb . kokanee , while Aubrey McLennan placed third with a 1.57 lb ., kokanee . Monte Smith of Gold Country confirmed the huge kokanee that are showing at New Melones . “ I had special guest Mike out today to see if I could put him onto some of those big kokanee everyone ’ s been talking about ,” : Smith reported . “ The morning started out cool and cloudy with a breeze and we marked many fish , getting some to go but losing most .” “ We didn ’ t catch nothing big until later on then when we boated some of what we were looking for ,” said Smith . “ We ended the day with four kokanee and three rainbows for Mike . Three kokanee weighed 7.1 pounds was good enough to get money last weekend at the derby . The biggest fish weighed 2.6 pounds .” Layton and his dad also made a kokanee trip to New Melones with Smith that produced good fishing . “ Layton started out with a kokanee that went a little over two pound ,” said Smith . “ “ He only lost one fish in search of his limit of New Melones kokanee .” On the most recent trip Smith made to Don Pedro , he reported tough fishing .
Shawn McPherson , from Sacramento , had an amazing day catching catfish at Lake Amador . His bait of choice was night crawlers and chicken livers .
Photo Courtesy of Lake Amador
“ We caught five fish , including 1 kokanee measuring 15 inches , 3 rainbows to 2 pounds and one smallmouth bass weighing 1-1 / 2 pounds for 2 anglers while using Paulina Peak Tackle at 30 to 40 feet deep . We ’ re not marking kokanee like we should on the graph this time of year ; the fish are still scattered ,” he tipped . Information : ( 209 ) 581-4734 . Don Pedro is holding 1,677,270 acre feet of water , 83 percent of capacity and 102 percent of capacity .
- Dan Bacher
4005
GREAT Fishing for : Trout • Kokanee • Catfish Large & Smallmouth Bass Crappie • Bluegill • Sunfish
Store • Campsites / RV sites Marina • Boat Launch New Boat & Motor Rental Fleet
Call for Information & Reservations

( 800 ) 416-6992

4900 Stony Creek Rd . Ione www . rockymountainrec . com
LAKE OROVILLE
Spotted Bass Fishing Sizzles
OROVILLE – Spotted bass lead the angling parade at Lake Oroville this summer as the king salmon fishing remains very slow . “ I had the luck of running into and meeting Don Brown at the gas station yesterday morning before launching at Loafer Creek ,” reported Brent Steele on the Lake
4209
Oroville Fishing Report Facebook Page . “ He was very nice and gave me some awesome baits from Hookup Baits that they tore up ! I hooked and released 67 fish and about 30 of them were on those baits and I only had 4 of them . I ’ m definitely placing an order for more .” Dave Koisten reported on a very tough salmon fishing trip to Oroville . “ I went for kings around the dam area for 7 hours ,” he stated . “ I had no salmon bites - just bass at 60 ft . I set my gear down from 50 to 100 ft . I marked fish and went over them several times with different rigs but no luck . I think it ’ s going to be a tough year at the big O for kings .” The Bidwell Canyon , Spillway , Loafer Creek , Lime Saddle and Enterprise boat ramps are all open to launching , according to the Lake Oroville State Recreation Area . Lake Oroville is holding 3,520,372 acre feet of water , 100 percent of capacity and 128 percent of average . Outflows from the lake are 8,073 cfs and inflows into the lake are 8,135 cfs .
- Dan Bacher
PARDEE LAKE
Trollers Lay Into Quality Rainbows
IONE- The trout fishing is perking up for trollers working spoons and nightcrawlers behind dodgers in the full waters of Lake Pardee . Kokanee are also starting to hit an array of hoochies and spinners at 25 feet deep , according to Verona Baron of Lake Pardee Recreation . The last plant of 2,000 pounds of rainbow trout went into the Lake on June 16 . Bank anglers are catching trout on nightcrawlers PowerBait and other offerings in the main recreation area the first
presents …
CONTINUED ON PG 14

Whiskeytown Lake

TEAM KOKANEE DERBY

TEAM SIDE POTS Blind Bogey , Big Trout , Big Kokanee
You must pre-register for this event — July 2nd by mail or July 13th online . There will be no on-site registration or check-in . All persons in each boat must be registered in the derby – NO EXCEPTIONS . Fishing starts at 5:30 am – Weigh in starts at 1 pm . Must be in weigh in line by 2 pm – NO EXCEPTIONS .
Chairmen : Ritchie Hight and Gary Coe • ( 888 ) 744-8150
• info @ kokaneepower . org • www . kokaneepower . org
Sponsored by :
SATURDAY , JULY 15 , 2023
$
Guaranteed

800 FIRST PLACE

Lots of Prizes — Cash & Prizes paid to 15th Place . Entry Fees : Adult $ 60 ( Non Member $ 80 ) • Junior Members FREE w / paid adult
Prices increase by $ 20 after July 2nd
Register Online at : www . kokaneepower . org