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Event Article:
Pros and Press on Pardee Lake |
Rain or Shine the
Smallies come out for the Pros on Pardee Lake
(continued)
5
AM, Time to get to fishing:
After a few solid hours of rest we head to Pardee which was only twenty minutes
from the parking lot to the launch ramp from Jackson Rancheria. One by one the
pros pulled in with their rigs and lined up for inspection. A recent change in
the law requires all bass boats to be inspected to prevent the transfer of
invasive Zebra Mussels into the lakes managed by East Bay Mud (municipal utility
district).
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Kent keeps
things organized as the boats are inspected |
Unfortunately boats
registered in certain areas of the California are not allowed to launch in
Pardee at all, and this contains the Santa Clara County which includes some of
our own TT staff boats. Be sure to check the current rules and regulations for
your own area before heading to Pardee.
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The pros
line up to launch at first light |
After the boats were inspected we loaded up our test gear
and waited eagerly for first light. I spent the first half of the day with Dean
McDaniel and the second half with John Maes, both of which are Ranger pros. Cal
being the swimbait extremist spent the first half of the day with Don Pedro big
bait pro angler Bub Tosh.
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Bub Tosh
heads out with Cal |
Dean and I were one of the first ones out of the Marina,
and head straight for a spot right around the bend. He turned to me and
explained that his strength was jig fishing, but was willing to try anything. At
which point he pulled out a Lucky Craft Staysee and cast towards the bank.
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Zander is
paired with Dean McDaniel, who catches a largemouth on his first cast on a
Lucky Craft jerkbait |
Pop, pop, stop…and Dean
bent over to adjust his trolling motor setting when a fish slammed his lure, and
within seconds we had a 2lb largemouth in the boat. “Boy I wish that wasn’t my
first cast,” Dean exclaimed “Every time it happens like that the rest of the day
goes slow.”
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Kent Brown
and Tony Stoltz from Westernbass fish the bank |
The
next hour we spent deep cranking and popping jerkbaits, and didn’t get so much
as a strike. Dean explained “told you, I knew that I caught the one stupid fish in the whole lake.” We
moved across the lake and we both decided it was time to mix things up and go
deep.
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Bub busts
out the big stick and tosses some swimbaits |
In
30-40 feet of water we ran jigs across rocky points. In less than ten minutes
Dean was on quality structure and rewarded with an awesome strike. I heard the
drag go at the same time he yelled “going to need the net on this one!”
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Pardee was
about 12 feet lower than average, and many points were exposed |
Next
Section: Dean has a hawg on the line!
