Congratulations to John Crews from Virginia for winning the recent Bassmaster Elite Series Tournament held on the Delta. He caught a 5-pound bass on his very last cast of the TroKar Duel.
He ended up edging out Auburn native Skeet Reese by one ounce. Can you imagine fishing for four complete days of competition and end up winning or losing by one ounce?
One ounce ended up being the difference between $100,000 and $25,000. A person could go crazy thinking about all of the ways that he or she may have lost an ounce during four days of fishing!
Either way, it was an exciting tournament to watch, and there were rumors of the Bassmasters bringing the Bassmasters Classic to California in the near future. The Super Bowl of bass fishing coming to California would indeed be a huge event.
Personally, I don’t know how they would be able to pull it off, our weather and fishing isn’t the greatest in February.
On the other hand, I can’t see why they wouldn’t come out here. Our support for their events surely rivals any other places they’ve been.
Stockton has also done a great job creating a venue for such an event.
Tube baits and shallow running rank baits are hard to beat this time of year. If the water is dead calm a wacky rigged Senko should produce plenty of bites as well.
Once the tide bottoms out try fishing the outside weed line as bass will often move to the edge once the tide drops and return shallow one the tide rises.
Bass fishing is picking up as a lot of fish in the 1-2-pound range are being caught with relative ease. Anglers catching bass are fishing up river along the deep rock walls while using small plastics.
If the sun is out it’s worth a try to search along the banks for any spawning activity or shallow cruising bass. Crappie fishing is almost exclusively at night, anglers are catching crappie while using live minnows.
For the king salmon, anglers are catching them from Big Oak Island to Schoolhouse Point. Anglers trolling for Salmon are finding them from 30-60 feet deep and are catching them while trolling rolled shad.
Bass fishing has been tough lately. As the water temperatures rise, the bite should turn wide open.
Trollers are doing well while trolling Rapalas. Bass fishing has been good lately for limits of keeper-sized bass.
A variety of baits have been working on the lake, Senkos or any other small plastic should entice those fish looking for an easy meal.
Trollers are also doing well while trolling small spoons or needlefish type lures. Bass fishing remains slow, just like the surrounding lakes a slight change in the water temperature combined with a full moon could turn the bite wide open.
Non-members are welcome but please sign in with outing Chairman Bill Laughlin. For more information contact Bill Laughlin at 477-6644.
Not only will your confidence increase, but you will end up getting a lot more bites and possibly save yourself a lot of money. When you are ready to start fishing the bigger swimbaits, get the best baits that you can afford.
Even though it may look like a more expensive swimbait, often it will perform like a less expensive swimbait, ultimately destroying your confidence along the way.
To contact Jarod Ballardo, e-mail jgbbass@yahoo.com.
He ended up edging out Auburn native Skeet Reese by one ounce. Can you imagine fishing for four complete days of competition and end up winning or losing by one ounce?
One ounce ended up being the difference between $100,000 and $25,000. A person could go crazy thinking about all of the ways that he or she may have lost an ounce during four days of fishing!
Either way, it was an exciting tournament to watch, and there were rumors of the Bassmasters bringing the Bassmasters Classic to California in the near future. The Super Bowl of bass fishing coming to California would indeed be a huge event.
Personally, I don’t know how they would be able to pull it off, our weather and fishing isn’t the greatest in February.
On the other hand, I can’t see why they wouldn’t come out here. Our support for their events surely rivals any other places they’ve been.
Stockton has also done a great job creating a venue for such an event.
Delta Report
The water temperatures are up and the sun is out, meaning that the bite should turn wide open any day now. Tube baits and shallow running rank baits are hard to beat this time of year. If the water is dead calm a wacky rigged Senko should produce plenty of bites as well.
Once the tide bottoms out try fishing the outside weed line as bass will often move to the edge once the tide drops and return shallow one the tide rises.
New Melones Lake
Trout fishing has been really slow lately. Those having luck are either trolling or fishing with live minnows while under a bobber. Bass fishing is picking up as a lot of fish in the 1-2-pound range are being caught with relative ease. Anglers catching bass are fishing up river along the deep rock walls while using small plastics.
If the sun is out it’s worth a try to search along the banks for any spawning activity or shallow cruising bass. Crappie fishing is almost exclusively at night, anglers are catching crappie while using live minnows.
Lake Don Pedro
Fishing has picked up lately with trout being caught while fishing the top 25 feet of water. Mexican Gulch, Jenkins Hill, Laughlin Island, and Middle Bay are areas that are producing plenty of nice fish. For the king salmon, anglers are catching them from Big Oak Island to Schoolhouse Point. Anglers trolling for Salmon are finding them from 30-60 feet deep and are catching them while trolling rolled shad.
Bass fishing has been tough lately. As the water temperatures rise, the bite should turn wide open.
Lake Camanche
Trout fishing has been really good on the lake lately. Anglers fishing off the bank with Powerbait as well as those fishing from their boats are catching limits. Trollers are doing well while trolling Rapalas. Bass fishing has been good lately for limits of keeper-sized bass.
A variety of baits have been working on the lake, Senkos or any other small plastic should entice those fish looking for an easy meal.
Lake Pardee
Bank fishing for trout has been hot lately. The best area seems to be around Blue Herron Point. Anglers are doing well while fishing with Powerbait. Trollers are also doing well while trolling small spoons or needlefish type lures. Bass fishing remains slow, just like the surrounding lakes a slight change in the water temperature combined with a full moon could turn the bite wide open.
Delta Fly Fishers
The Delta Fly Fishers March outing is scheduled for Saturday, March 27. The event will be held at Paradise Point Marina, located on Bishop Cut and Disappointment Slough starting at 8 a.m. Non-members are welcome but please sign in with outing Chairman Bill Laughlin. For more information contact Bill Laughlin at 477-6644.
Tip of the Week
For those anglers interested in fishing swimbaits, I highly suggest that you first start small and then work your way up. Not only will your confidence increase, but you will end up getting a lot more bites and possibly save yourself a lot of money. When you are ready to start fishing the bigger swimbaits, get the best baits that you can afford.
Even though it may look like a more expensive swimbait, often it will perform like a less expensive swimbait, ultimately destroying your confidence along the way.
To contact Jarod Ballardo, e-mail jgbbass@yahoo.com.
