Stockton grandfather and grandson experience epic salmon, trout fishing at Don Pedro

LA GRANGE — Henry Sanchez of Stockton and his grandson, Christian Valencia, experienced a fast-paced day of salmon and trout fishing at Lake Don Pedro on the Tuolumne River on June 4 that they will remember for many years to come.

They were fishing with Monte Smith of Gold Country Sportfishing on the Mother Lode reservoir when they landed 9 kokanee and one 2-pound king salmon, along with three rainbows, by 8:45 a.m.

“We haven’t caught as many as kokanee that quickly this season as we did on that trip,” Smith said. “We trolled Pro Troll Apex lures in watermelon and purple colors, tipped with white corn, behind Mack’s and RMT dodgers in silver and pink.”

“The fish were scattered at 50 to 70 feet deep,” he said. “They were not in the usual places like Middle Bay and Fleming Bay where they normally hold this year. We trolled at 1½ mph.”

After that, the anglers switched off to finish off their limits while using custom homemade spoons in silver and orange, silver and blue and silver and green at 40 to 60 feet deep.

“The fish were scattered out there in open water on the windward side of the bank,” Smith said. “In addition to landing limits of salmon, we also caught two more kings, one weighing 3 pounds and the other weighing 5.2 pounds, our biggest Don Pedro king to date this year.”

The two anglers and captain landed a total of three kings, nine kokanee in the 13 to 15-inch range and 10 rainbows by 12:30 p.m. Two of the rainbows weighed 2.5 pounds each.

“It was a cloudy, overcast day and I think that helped,” Smith said. “The salmon were up at 40 to 50 feet deep, which is relatively shallow when the surface water temperature is 73 degrees.”

The trip by the Stockton grandfather and grandson team wasn’t the only trip by Smith that has produced top-notch action lately for three species — kokanee salmon, king salmon and rainbow trout.

More: Rainbows, kings and kokanee are available for the catching on a trip to Don Pedro Lake

On June 1, four people fishing aboard the boat with Smith caught 12 kokanee, 16 rainbows, and one king weighing 2 pounds, while targeting kokanee.

“The lake is stuffed with threadfin shad,” Smith said. “The rainbows and kings we are catching are filled with shad. Trout fishing is consistently outstanding.

“The kokanee are hard to pinpoint, so fishing for them has been a bit of a challenge. Fishing will get better when the weather stabilizes. The fish are just starting to school up. The rising lake level and the wind has put fish in way different areas than they are normally,” he advised. Information: (209) 581-4734.

Don Pedro features naturally spawning king salmon and kokanee populations, but the CDFW plants juveniles of both species in the lake to supplement the wild populations. The CDFW stocked 20,034 kokanee and 89,634 kings in Don Pedro in 2021.

Spicer Reservoir rainbows: This Central Sierra gem, located in the North Fork of the Stanislaus River watershed, has for years offered anglers a chance to battle gorgeous square-tailed rainbows grown out from fingerlings or naturally spawned in Hobart Creek, Highland Creek and other lake tributaries. Brown and Lahontan cutthroat trout are also found in the reservoir.

This year is no exception, since fishing for trout has been wide open at the lake since Spicer Reservoir Road opened before the Memorial Day weekend.

“Right now, shore anglers and boaters are both catching a lot of rainbows in the 16 to 18-inch range, along with some 12 to 14-inch browns,” said Bill Reynolds of Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods in Arnold.

Bank fishing is best near the dam or near the boat ramp for anglers tossing out PowerBait, nightcrawlers, Kastmasters and other offerings. Boaters are also nailing trout while topline trolling with Wedding Rings and Speedy Shiners. Information: (209) 795-1686

San Francisco Bay halibut: Halibut fishing continues to be superb in San Francisco Bay, with most days producing around two to three halibut per rod, according to Michael Rescino, captain of the Lovely Martha.

The boat returned with 38 halibut and one striped bass for 19 anglers on June 4 and 27 halibut to 24 pounds and three bass for 19 anglers on June 5. The anglers drifted live bait in 20 feet of water in the South Bay near the Alameda Rockwall. Information: (650) 619-6629.

Contact Stockton Record Correspondent Dan Bacher at danielbacher53@gmail.com. 

This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton grandfather, grandson reel in salmon, trout at Lake Don Pedro