Pardee Bite

[49R Dan]

I'm taking my son to Pardee for a Fri/Sat fishing trip and wondered if anyone has been there lately? The boat is clean and dry but since we've never been to Pardee, we wondered how it might be different than the Delta? We are downsizing our line to 8lb, what is the hot ticket on baits, locations, etc...

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Dan/Jon

[hunterdave]

Drop-shotting MM III (or any purple worm) 6" robos in the rocks up river. Can't go wrong with that! Be sure you are using floro...the water is very clear at Pardee....In some places you can see bottom @ 20'.

Dave

[ash]

PM and Email sent.

[49R Dan]

Thanks hunterdave and ash...

I've don't have mush experience drop shotting, but i did go out and but some stuff to try it. I use to do a lot of T-rigging years ago, so I think i can pick it up...

Also, thanks Ash for the info and inspection form, I'm filing it out now.

I did a search for Pardee and found a lot of useful info from this site so I think we should at least catch a few dinks... It will be fun either way as my son just loves bass fishing!! I told him there was a kids fishing derby for trout on Saturday and he frowned and said "no thanks"!! That's my boy, bass classic here he comes...

I think I've heard no night fishing too, sunrise to sunset only? anyone know if this is true? We were wanting to camp so we thought we'd stay out past dark.

thanks again...

[Hipster]

Dan,

There is no fishing or boating after dark, you cannot touch the water they are very strict about enforcing these rules. When you see how clean and nice the facilities are you will appreciate it!!

I fish Pardee all the time, the last three weekends the bite has been good up the river by Dear island and Columbia Gulch with Plastics getting the nod. Right at Sunrise the spook and Vixen bite is decent. If you go all the way upriver by indian head in the five mph zone the fish get stacked on the steep rock walls and a tube or darthead can be deadly. First thing in the morning as you are idling out of the 5 mph (the longest in the state) right near rainbow point is a sunken ledge/point that you just have to toss a swimbait or topwater bait at. Also check the rock hump that is near the ropes by the dam and out flow area, you cannot miss it!!

Have fun and stay off my water !!!!

Mark

[hunterdave]

Mark,

I've been out there several times since Memorial weekend and clobbered 'em. No signs of slowing either. I'll be out there tomorrow for another round. Average size 1-3 pounds but getting a few 4s 5s and 6+ here and there too. Oh and Dan, You should fair pretty well Texas rigging the MM III.

[jack morris]

No boats after dark,bank fishing is ok. Jack

[49R Dan]

Hipster, my map doesn't show any of those points, gulches, etc you are talking about? I do see several area's that look like islands though. Especially between Durfresne and Grapevine Gulch. French bar is also in the area and it looks like the lake/river narrows after that.

It will probably take us several trips to figure out the lake so I guess either way it will still be fun. My son has never caught a bass on a worm so this looks like a great opportunity to teach him. He's not confident enough but he needs to learn... Plus, he's beat me the last 3 times fishing (crank baits) and this will give me a chance to build my confidence again!

Thanks again for the info all, it's Greatly Appreciated!!!

[49R Dan]

Mark:


Ok, i went to Pardee's site and found those spots you were talking about. I marked them on my map and will give them a try... thanks again.

[bubbasuncle]

downsize everything (baits,line,hooks,weights)pumkin both green and orange 4 " senkos worked slow down the rock walls upriver

[49R Dan]

I want to personally thank hunterdave for taking the time to stop fishing and talk to us on the water... It made our day and trip!!!


I wasn't real sure about Pardee as the water was super clear, 20+ visibility. But man, what a beautiful lake and well kept facility. We had caught a few, but just didn't know how to fish that clear water? We were even contemplating camping the night as planned, but driving to the delta in the morning. Then along comes hunterdave to the rescue... He took the time to explain to us how to dropshot. He also told us that the MM III's were the ticket on that lake. Since I didn't have any, he just grabbed a handful and handed them to us!!!

Dave, my son was so excited after talking to you, he hopes to draw you next year at the Pro Teen... He also went on to catch his first "worm" bass on both the drop shot and T-rigged. We ended up with around 16 bass for the trip, including a 2.5 smallie, and had a blast!!

We also want to thank Mark(hipster) for the location tip as Indian Head worked real well for us.


ps: Make sure to pull over and check your boat before you arrive. Our boat was super clean, but some water must have sloshed out of the live well tube and if we hadn't of stopped to check, we would have been wet upon arrival.

[hunterdave]

Dan,

It was really nice to meet you and your son. It's always nice to put a WB face to a name. Your boy seems very excited about bass fishing and it's really great that he caught his first drop shot fish! Now that he knows how to drop shot, he's really gonna smoke ya I will definately be looking for you guys at next year's pro-teen. Barring anything major, I'll be there. Good luck to you both!

Dave

PS - No worries on the MM IIIs. I keep at least 10 packs on the boat and another 20 or so at home. MM III = my American Express...I never leave home without them!

[ash]

ps: Make sure to pull over and check your boat before you arrive. Our boat was super clean, but some water must have sloshed out of the live well tube and if we hadn't of stopped to check, we would have been wet upon arrival.

Dan, this is why I have been telling guys, and mentioned it in the email, to stow there wipe down towels in the livewell's when traveling to a clean and dry lake. If there is any water left over in the livewell plumbing the towels will capture the slosh. Glad you were able to get out on the lake. Sounds to me like you were able to find a decent enough worm bite and have a great day with your son.

[49R Dan]

OK, that was your post I remember reading as I took your advice and did place some towels in the live well and bilge area. When we pulled over, the one in the bilge area was wet...

I didn't have my boat covered that last rain and that's probably where the water came from. We thought we had it all but a little must have puddled under the deck somewhere we couldn't reach.

I'm just glad we checked as they would have banned us, even though we hadn't been near any of the affected mussel lakes. This site is a great source of information if you take the time to read and learn. Both boat and bass tips has really improved our experience!!

Thanks, Dan