VOL . 43 • ISS . 9

Lake Don Pedro features superb fishing for king salmon , kokanee salmon , rainbow trout , black bass , channel catfish , crappie and other fish species . The lake has filled this year with the big snowpack in the Central Sierra .

Photo courtesy of Don Pedro Recreation Agency

Reservoir , located on the Tuolumne River in the Southern Mother Lode , has a reputation for producing three salmonid species – king salmon , kokanee salmon and rainbow trout – on one trolling adventure . This is the case again this summer as anglers fishing with Monte Smith of Gold Country Sportfishing have caught good numbers of king salmon , along with quality kokanee salmon and rainbow trout , on his latest trips . For example , two young anglers , 9-year-old Avelina Costa of Tracy and her brother , Robert Costa III , experienced a stellar morning of fishing on Don Pedro Reservoir with Smith . “ They landed 6 kings ranging from 1-1 / 2 to 3-1 / 2 pounds , 3 kokanee up to 2 pounds , 7 ounces and one rainbow trout by 10 a . m .,” said Smith . “ They had 10 bites and caught 10 fish .” “ The fishing was so good that the first fish hit the rod within 2 minutes after I put it in the rod holder ,” he stated . “ I wasn ’ t even able to get the second rod down .” “ We trolled the Middle Bay area with kokanee gear to catch all three species ,” Smith explained . “ We used

Kim Clark shows off the hefty king salmon that he landed while trolling with Captain Monte Smith at Don Pedro Lake .

Photo courtesy of Gold Country Sportfishing

micro hoochies and Apex lures , tipped with white corn , down 50 to 80 feet deep .” On another trip to the lake , Mike Abourezk of Farmington landed a limit of five king salmon while fishing with Smith . The biggest king weighed 4.4 pounds , while the others weighed 3-1 / 2 , 2 / 3 / 4 , 2-1 / 2 and 2-1 / 4 pounds .

“ We got six kings in one area and the bite died ,” said Smith . “ We picked up the gear and left to another spot to see if fish there . As soon as we dropped in there , we caught a seventh king ,” he stated . Smith went to the same spot on a separate outing , but the kings were gone , so he drove the boat to another spot . Greg and Angela Applegate from Modesto and their 11-year-old grandson Carson Bella caught five kokanee to 17 inches , seven rainbows and one king , a total of 13 fish .. A few days later , Kim Clark of Hughson caught a 4 lb . king , two kokes and a rainbow and lost two fish . “ We lost two lures to kings that inhaled lure and bit the leader off with their teeth .

On his previous trip to the lake , two anglers , Brett

Lawson and Ed Milam , caught 8 kings in the 2 to 4 lb . class , one kokanee weighing 2.7 pounds and two rainbows measuring 16 to 17 inches . They also released four smaller rainbows . “ Lawson landed the 2 largest fish , kings weighing 3.4 and 4.2 pounds ,” noted Smith . “ We trolled at 50 to 75 feet deep with Apex lures , tipped with white corn , behind dodgers . The best bite was from 10 to 11 a . m .” The biggest king Smith has ever caught at Don Pedro weighed 7 pounds , while biggest one caught this year weighed 5-1 / 2 pounds . “ We ’ ve caught kokanee to 19-1 / 2 inches this year and 2 pounds , 11 ounces this season ,” he said . “ We ’ ve been consistently getting 2-1 / 2 pound kokanee , but not a lot of them .” “ Don Pedro is my favorite lake because it has bonus kings ,” he said . “ Almost every trip this summer we have caught three species at 50 to 75 feet deep . We ’ re catching the fish on Pro-Troll Apex lures , tipped with white corn .” “ Fishing is excellent for kings and fair for kokanee . The fish aren ’ t schooled up – there are just pods here and there . This year I ’ ve caught fish in spots where I ’ ve never caught them before ,” he tipped . He is finding his top action on kings , kokanee and rainbows this summer while trolling at 1.5 mph . During the fall , winter and spring months when the weather is cooler , he experiences his top trout action while fast-trolling with custom spoons with both downriggers and lead core line . . Lake Don Pedro ,, is renowned around the state for the variety catches of rainbow trout , kokanee salmon king salmon and occasional brown trout that anglers can catch on the same trip . The kokanee being caught now are a mixture of naturally spawned fish and those planted by the CDFW as fingerlings . Don Pedro features naturally spawning king salmon and kokanee populations , but the CDFW plants juveniles of both species in the lake to supplement the wild populations . The CDFW stocked 20,034 kokanee in Don Pedro in 2021 , 49,997 in 2022 and 42,061 in 2023 . Less fish are planted in Don Pedro than many other lakes because the plants are regarded as supplemental with such good natural spawning conditions for kokanee found in the Tuolumne River . Kokanee were first planted in the lake in 1981 but it wasn ’ t until 1992 that a self-sustaining population of huge kokanee was documented at Don Pedro by the founder of Kokanee Power , the late Phil Johnson of