Pardee
Lake Pardee is located at an elevation of 568 feet in the Sierra Foothills, located 38 miles northeast of Stockton on the Mokelumne River and 12 miles southwest of Jackson and can be reached via Highway 88 or Highway 12.
It has 2,200 surface acres along 43 miles of shoreline.
Pardee features trout and kokanne angling as well as premier smallmouth and largemouth bass. Other Species include catfish, crappie, bluegill and sunfish. Weekly plants of 1½ to 5 pound Rainbow Trout have produced an excellent cold water fishery.
The daily entry fee is $7.50 and the daily fishing access permit is $3.50 each day for each individual 16 years of age and better. And as with most California lakes, a valid state fishing license is required of anyone age 16 or older.
Facilities include campgrounds, boat rentals, full service marinas, launch ramps, snack bar, restaraunt, grocery store, laundromat, disposal station, gas, propane and a state of the art fish cleaning station.
Lake Pardee was opened to the public in 1958. It is open daily from mid-February through mid-November. EBMUD oversees the operation and maintenance of facilities, determines recreation fees, and establishes rules and regulations. The lake is noted for its cleanliness and top notch maintenance and ongoing improvements.

Harold Hardin, a Stockton fisherman who has been fishing Pardee Lake for the past 40 years, caught a 9.83 lb. Smallmouth Bass that eclipsed the current state record by nearly ¾ of a pound, which was also caught in 2007.
For more information, go to pardeelakerecreation.com.
A great place to stay or visit during your trip to Lake Pardee is Jackson Rancheria.
| Name: Larry Hemphill |
Date: 2013-04-24 |
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Location: Unknown | |
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Water Temp: 64-72 |
Water Clarity: 3 |
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Report: Sorry I didn't check clarity box! Bet you wondered where the MUDDY water was!!!!! |
Tips: |
| Name: Larry Hemphill |
Date: 2013-04-24 |
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Location: Unknown | |
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Water Temp: |
Water Clarity: 1 |
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Report: I did a complete report and it didn't go thru, so this is a short one! I took a his/her team to the lake yesterday and found the fishing to be very slow. Carp were everywhere on the east shore from the ramp. Didn't know there were that many carp in the lake! Bite must be slower now - we were the only rig at the ramp by 7 am - saw 2 boats all day!! We only caught small largemouth and a token BIG trout. After they left, I looked over some new areas until the late afternoon shadows appeared. Soon I was into a decent topwater bite with my beloved Storm Chug Bug. I caught several nice largemouth, lost several, and ending with a great 3 lb smallie on the bug. You could hear the explosion all the way back to the ramp!! |
Tips: I imagine early and late in the day will be the best bite from now on. I talked to another boat with 2 guys bass fishing and they hadn't caught any as of late afternoon. Not sure how long they had been fishing. The hills are still alive - er, green - but are fading quickly as summer arrives!! What a beautiful lake!! |
| Name: Larry Hemphill |
Date: 2013-02-28 |
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Location: Yuba City |
E-Mail: lunkerlarry@comcast.net |
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Water Temp: 50-52 |
Water Clarity: 3 |
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Report: I fished beautiful Lake Pardee yesterday with my buddy Mike Sperbeck. We started about 10 am, and was again shocked by the water clarity. I expected this with the lack of rain. We started in the main body with no success, then moved up the river. About 12:30 pm - our first bite and Mike puts a mighty 10 incher in the boat! Boy - that was worth a 2 hr drive!! Well, my attitude changed very quickly as I immediately set on a good fish with my brown/orange Blade Runner jig w/Yamamoto #180 grub trailer. She jumped and Mike yells "there is your 5 lb smallie!" Some of you know I am still trying to land one over 5 - I keep losing them. Again, this one was close at 4 lb 7 oz. A thrill anyway! The bite picked up - after Mike's second 10 incher! He did have last laugh when he landed a 5 1/2 lb largemouth later in the afternoon. Back out in the main body - after thinking about it for awhile, I decided to throw a 6" Basstrix swimbait. One feels like a genius when one catches a 4 lb 2 oz smallie on the first cast of his current thinking. She ate the swimbait! But no more hits on it. We ended the days with 6 bass for Mike and 3 for me with our best 5 around 18 1/2 to 19 lbs. No toads but very successful day. |
Tips: We caught bass both on the bank and off-shore structure - from 10 to 30 feet deep. Mike had several swimbait hits too but only landed one. Fishing might have been better in the late afternoon but the lake went dead-flat calm! That is rare for Pardee. Fishing will probably be pretty good everywhere for a few of these warm days, but weather may change next week and possibly move them off the bank again. |
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