One of my many regrets through my travels is that I didn’t take more pictures.

Recently, my mother went through boxes of family photos. I found out that I had more fishing pictures than I originally thought.

“Fishing has been such a big part of your life,” she told me.

I had totally forgotten about pictures taken during those uncomfortable early teen years. The many camping trips to Lake Amador, my late teen years when I thought I was invincible or, far worse, the picture of me wearing a cowboy hat.

As a child, the thrill of catching that first fish made me crave for more.

During my teenage years, fishing provided me with something to do while a lot of my classmates were getting in trouble. During my late teens and early 20s, it’s what I planned on doing for a living.

Now, fishing is something I look forward to doing on my time off.

Someone once said, “Pictures don’t lie.”

A lot of those fish that I thought were big back then look so small now, and collectively those pictures remind me of why I chose fishing as my favorite getaway.

Plenty of post-spawn fish are being caught on reaction baits.

Franks Tract continues to be a good spot for Bass. The swimbait bite is starting to improve as the bass are either looking for a big meal or protecting their fry.

Vegetation throughout the Delta is starting to take over and grass lines are forming nicely. On windy days spinnerbaits are working well in red or white.   

The trout bite has all but died, but the Kokanee bite has really started to pick up. Kokanee are being caught by those trolling anywhere from 25 to 45 feet deep.

Bass fishing has been great lately on the lake. Crankbaits, Rip Baits, Rattle Traps, and plastic worms are just a few of the baits that are catching bass.

Night-fishing for catfish is also starting to pick up, any major cove or creek arm is a good place to try. Anchovies, Sardines, or a ball of Nightcrawlers are always a deadly combination when fishing for catfish.   

All the talk is about the King Salmon bite all over the lake. The best spots still seem to be around the Jenkins Hill area while fishing the King Salmon anywhere from 13 to 80 feet deep.

Anglers having the most success are trolling with frozen Shad and Anchovies injected with Pro Cure’s bait gels. The Kokanee are also biting and scattered throughout the lake between 25 to 50 feet deep. Bass fishing has been tough lately as the water temperatures have dropped. Once the weather stabilizes more look for the bass to seek the shallows again.

The trout fishing in the pond has slowed down. There still are a few trout being caught on power bait but they’ve been on the small side.

Fishing for bass continues to be good. Anglers are fishing topwater in the morning and Senko’s during the day.

Several fish can still be found up shallow on spawning beds. Catfishing has started to improve for anglers fishing off the bank with anchovies or chicken liver.

Bass fishing is excellent, as many fish are being found up shallow on beds. Anglers fishing for bass are doing well while using a variety of baits.

Shaky head worms are hard for the bass to resist. Trout fishing is good for anglers fishing beyond the bridge in the early morning hours.

When storing your reels it’s best to back off the drag as much as possible. The drag system in reels usually consist of two curved washers that when tightened down create tension.

Over time left in that position the washers will begin to weaken and the drag system will stop working.

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