When I think about fishing during the month of November, the first thing that comes to mind is the fog.

There’s really no way of avoiding it if you plan on fishing the Delta. If I’m planning on a recreational outing, I usually launch closest to where I’m going to be fishing.

If I’m planning on fishing a tournament, I usually try and practice closest to where the tournament is being held so that if it is foggy, I have some areas close by to fish.

If your boat is equipped with a GPS you can keep track of where you’re going if you plan on travelling in the fog. Be extremely careful though, other boats and debris will not show on a GPS.

You also don’t want to go any faster than just above idle speed, as the bow of your boat will lift making it even more impossible to see.

After reading California’s Department of Waterways handbook, I found out that boating too fast in a crowded area or in thick fog and heavy storms is considered reckless or negligent operation.

So, there is no clear-cut law on what is a safe speed, leaving the operator to use his or her own judgment.

Fishing continues to tough on the Delta. Striped bass catches are increasing as the cooler temperatures are bringing more fish through the system.

For striped bass try sticking to the main channels or right outside the flooded islands.

The largemouth bass bite has been off and on as I believe the unstable weather conditions have halted a lot of fall type activity. Most anglers are targeting outside weed lines with jigs and crankbaits.

Fishing for trout has improved lately as more limits are being caught. Anglers catching trout are trolling between 25 and 60 feet deep around the dam, spillway, and Glory Hole Point areas.

Bass fishing is starting to pick up as anglers are fishing deep 20 to 40 feet while dragging small worms through the schools of actively feeding fish.  

Recently, the bite has been really good for large numbers of bass. Spider grubs in watermelon red is working well if thrown up to the bank and worked down to at least 20 feet.

Reaction baits such as Lucky Craft Staysees are also working but not as well as the jig. Six-inch shaky head worms such as Robo Worms margarita mutilator II is another go to bait right now.

For the deep water angler the larger fish are coming from anglers fishing the schools of bass down to sixty feet while using a drop shot or a jig.

Trout plans have began on the lake and anglers are reporting catching trout while fishing near the dam.

Bass fishing continues to be good on the lake right now as anglers are scoring good limits while fishing reaction baits and plastics in ten to fifteen feet of water.

Trout fishing is great on the lake right now for trout up to 3 pounds for those trolling from the surface down to 35 feet just past the bridge.

Bass fishing is fair for numbers of fish. Anglers are using crankbaits and shaky head worms around main lake points.

Fishing for trout and salmon has died down over the past week. Bass fishing also has slowed down as the lake is warmer than usual for this time of year.

Once the weather cools back down look for the fishing to get better.

Carl and Jerry will be joining Captain R.J. Waldron and a bunch of their buddies to hunt the tulle berms in Suisun Bay.  

Stretched out along the shoreline, the group will be encountering many species of bay ducks. For the cooking segment of the show a shoreline barbeque will be rounding out the day.

The show will be airing on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. on Comcast Sports Net California.

Batteries are an important part of a boat. Most anglers come home from a day of fishing hook up the chargers and forget about the batteries until the next fishing trip.

There are some chargers that will allow for this but most chargers will continue to heat the batteries shortening the life of the battery.

The best way to insure your batteries last long is to charge them right away, and remove the charger immediately after the batteries are charged.

To contact Jarod Ballardo, e-mail jgbbass@yahoo.com.