A new California state-record smallmouth bass was caught on July 3 at Pardee Lake by Stockton angler Harold Hardin. The 9.83-pound brute eclipsed the 31-year-old bronzeback standard by nearly 3/4 of a pound.
Hardin, who's fished Pardee for 40 years, hooked the monster on a charcoal-colored swimbait just off of Leveque Point at the mouth of the Mokelumne River. He's quoted on the Pardee Lake Recreation website as having hooked and lost an even larger fish shortly thereafter.
The previous state-record smallmouth (9.1 pounds) was caught by Tom Brady at Trinity Lake in 1976. The former Pardee record was an 8.91-pounder caught last March, also off of Leveque Point.
Pardee Lake Recreation president Dennis Johnston said the fish was weighed on the certified scales at the Pardee Lake Marina, and was taken to Sacramento today for official measurements by California Department of Fish and Game officials. He said Hardin plans to have the fish mounted.
Pardee is a foothill reservoir east of Stockton operated by the East Bay Municipal Utility District.
