For the fourth time this year, Mike and Kendra Tripp won first place in a Kokanee Power derby when they swept first place in the Lake Pardee event on September 20. The husband-wife team also won derbies at Shaver Lake, Stampede Reservoir and New Melones Lake earlier this year.

Trolling was very slow for most trollers in this year’s event, but the jigging was excellent for that switched over to this method. Jigging – also called vertical spooning – is used most effectively when the fish are concentrated as they move into spawning mode. The Tripps jigged all day, weighing in three fish going a total of 53.9 ounces.

Many of the fish weighed and measured at the derby were in the 15 to 16 inch range, showing the improvement in size in the lake’s kokanee after the DFG stopped planting kokanee fingerlings in this self-sustaining fishery. Most displayed their darkening spawning colors, with the males sporting pronounced kypes, showing that kokanee fishing this year is near its end.

“We caught 28 fish total while jigging pearl/ blue and pearl/ green Buzz Bombs and Zingers,” said Mike Tripp. “The key to success when jigging is to keep you’re your lure straight down – you don’t want to fish the lure at an angle.”

The two anglers decided to go jigging on derby day after the previous day yielded slow action when they trolled. When they switched over to jigging, the fishing picked up dramatically. The Tripps won $600 for the big victory.

Nancy and Gary Coe placed second with three fish weighing 51.00 ounces; they caught their fish while trolling. They won $300.

“We trolled with homemade spinners and Pro Troll Kokanee Killers behind Sling Blades and Vance’s Dodgers at 100 to 130 feet deep,” said Gary Coe. “We caught eight kokanee total. The bite was tough, but we nailed good quality fish about a mile upriver.”

Dave Magonigal and Al Millan took third place with 49.30 ounces. They took home $200.

The Tripp Family also captured two out of the top three spots in the youth kokanee division. Ryan Tripp won first place with a 16.9 ounce fish, while his sister, Hailey, captured third place with a 16.45 ounce kokanee.

Jenna Smith took second place with a 16.75 ounce kokanee, while Connie Tran seized fourth place with a 15.85 ounce kokanee while jigging with her dad, Khan.

Anglers also brought in a few quality rainbow trout to weigh in the trout division of the event, but nobody weighed in any of the quality German browns that Pardee often produces.

Annie and Bob Loggins teamed up to win first place in the trout division by catching a 40.40-ounce trout. Annie landed the trout while trolling a bronze spinner at 21 feet deep in the lake’s main body.

Mark Damron took second place with a 36.55-ounce rainbow that he nailed on a Sep’s 2 inch brown grub behind a copper Sidekick Dodger at 120 feet deep. In addition, Damron bagged four kokanee while trolling Radical Glow Tubes at 135 feet deep.

Jim Dummer and Wally Carpenter placed third with a rainbow going 30.25 ounces.

“The overall fishing was slow for trollers,” said Gary Coe, Kokanee Power president, “but the fishing picked up when the sun broke through the cloud cover later in the morning. The weather was great with the derby being this late in the year.”

A total of 143 people fished in the derby, the last kokanee derby of 2008. “We had eight derbies this year with a total of 2,000 entries,” said Coe.

For more information about Kokanee Power, go to www.kokaneepower.org.

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