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During a late spring day with near-perfect weather at Lake Pardee, Uncle Larry Barnes, the former lure manufacturer and an ardent kokanee and trout fishing enthusiast, took first place in the kokanee division of the 14th Annual CIFFI Mike Carrington Memorial Derby.
Barnes won $500 for his winning two kokanee salmon measuring 57.60 cm total out of a field of over 200 anglers. Translated into inches, the two fish measured approximately 13 and 10-1/2 inches long. During the day, Barnes, fishing by himself, reported catching lots of kokanee, “somewhere in the lower twenties.”
“Most of the fish were 7 to 9 inches long, but I lost three that I estimate to be in the 13 inch range,” said Barnes. “I caught all of the my fish on an Uncle Larry’s Copper Pop behind a Sep’s Starlight Dodger at the mouth of the Mokelumne River.”
Karl Hibner took second place in the kokanee division with two fish measuring a total of 57.50 cm. He won $300 in cash and a second place trophy.
Jim Thompson won first place in the adult trout division of the event by catching two fish measuring a total of 79.40 cm. He won a G. Loomis GL3 rod and a reel.
Dennis Guttry finished second in the trout division with two fish measuring 77.30 cm. He won a Lamiglas kokanee rod and reel combination.
Courtney Gaunt took first in the youth kokanee division with 54.00 cm, while Kayleigh Lampe finished second with 52.60 cm.
In the youth trout division, Grace Savinovich took first place with 81.60 cm while Justine Becker placed second with 79.50 cm.
Savinovich, the granddaughter of Dick Pool of Pro Troll, was fishing with her grandda, Sam, her dad, Sam, and her cousin, Alyssa, with Fred Thompson when she hooked up her big trout. They caught the fish on E-lures and Uncle Larry’s spinners at 28 to 30 feet deep.
Fourteen-year old Becker, the granddaughter of Rene Villanueva of Steelie Dan’s Guide Service, caught her two trout while trolling black/silver Rapalas on the surface with her granddad. Rene’s mother-in-law, Grace Wise, also bagged two koknaee.
The big fish award went to Jeff Lewis, who bagged a beautiful rainbow that measured in at 45.60 cm, according to Gary Erck, Secretary of CIFFI. He took home $332 for his efforts. The blind bogey award of $372 went to Andy Nevis – he was closest to the selected weight of 25.92 cm.
“While the kokanee were small, they were plentiful – keeping the weight masters from Placerville Marine busy tallying well over 400 fish for the day,” observed Erck.
“We can quite clearly see today that Pardee has a huge, self-sustaining population of kokanee,” observed Hendrickson. “We need to adjust the numbers of fish planted in the lake to reflect this. We need to manage the fish so that they grow to a larger size.”
The sponsors for the event were Davey Tree, American Truck & Trailer Body and PG&E.
“Lake Pardee Recreation’s new owners, Dennis and Linda Johnston and Larry and Kerry Cooper, provided great support for this event and CIFFI wishes to thank them for hosting this annual event every year,” noted Erck. “The owners are dedicated to making Lake Pardee the premier destination for anglers. By the size of trout bagged at the derby, they are already making a great impact.”
BBQ’ed chicken and ribs, topped off with garlic bread and Caesar Salad, were provided by O'Conner's Catering. After the meal, participants had an opportunity to be a part of the prize raffle that totaled more than $4500.
Dick Pool gave the Bob Roberts Memorial Award, consisting of two $100 U.S. Savings Bonds, to the winners of the youth kokanee and trout divisions, Courtney Gaunt and Grace Savinovich.
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. This productive and cooperative relationship has resulted in over 15 million kokanee being planted - over a million a year, every year.
For more information on CIFFI, contact them on the web at www.kokanee.org.
Adult Kokanee Winners:
Adult Trout Winners:
Youth Kokanee Winners:
Youth Trout Winners:
Bob Roberts Memorial Award:
Big Fish:
Blind Bogey: |
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It was the first time that “Uncle Larry,” who works at Elkhorn Bait and Tackle in Rio Linda, has taken first place in a kokanee derby. “There are always quality fish that hold close to the underwater hilltops at the mouth of the river,” he disclosed.
In fact, many anglers during the derby joked about the small average size of the kokanee. The DFG is conducting a coded wire tag study of kokanee that are planted in Pardee. Amazingly, only 6 out of the hundreds of kokanee brought in had coded wire tags, according to Sep Hendrickson, executive director of CIFFI.