Every once in a while I see someone out on the water with a dog in their boat.

I’ve always wished that I could one day have a dog that would keep me company while out on the water. Unfortunately, all of my attempts at taking our family’s pet have never quite worked out. Recently, I was given a lab pup that I’m hoping to be my next great fishing partner. It’s been a rough week so far, as there are so many things that my new pup must learn before she can even think about stepping foot on my boat.

Priority number one is to teach her how to do her business somewhere other than in my boat. In speaking to fellow dog owners they all say the same thing: “You’re just going to have to spend a lot of time with her and she’ll eventually figure it out.”

Others make sure to state the obvious: “You know labs love the water!”

So, I guess we’ll see how things go.

I realize that it’s going to take some time as she is only 8 weeks old. Hopefully soon I’ll have that canine fishing partner I’ve only seen on other boats.

Delta Report

The stripers are really scattered throughout the system as anglers have to cover a lot of water to fill their limits. Most anglers are either trolling for them or tossing swim baits like Basstrix hollow body swim baits or fish traps.

For bass anglers are having to slow way down as the water temperature has dropped making the bass even more lethargic than before. Anglers catching bass are fishing with black/red or black/blue jigs down to 15 feet deep.

New Melones Lake

Melanie Lewis of Glory Hole Sports reports:

“We had a lot of fish brought in this week. Most anglers are catching easy limits and releasing a number of fish throughout the day. The Department of Fish and Game is planting Melones every week now, plus we are seeing some beautiful 2-to-3-pound holdovers.

“Trout are feeding heavily on schools of small shad.  Most the fish are being caught in the top 10 ft. of the water column. Bank anglers have been bringing limits of planters, as well as some 2-3-pound holdovers.

“Glory Hole Point, Angels Cove, and Glory Hole Cove have been the most productive areas. Berkley Power bait has really been working. Try using rainbow glitter, green, or orange. The key to catching fish with Power bait is using enough dough to make the bait float off of the bottom. Also using a small size 14 or 16 treble hook will help accomplish this presentation.

“When you are fishing with multiple rods try experimenting with the length of your leader. The fish will feed anywhere from 2 to 6 feet of off the bottom. For anglers who want to fish lures from shore, a Kastmaster is hard to beat.”

Lake Amador

Trout fishing continues to be great with a lot of limits being caught. The Tackle Box Café reported weighing in several fish over 7 pounds. Currently the lake is being planted with 4,000 pounds per week with 800 pounds per day for the next couple of weeks.

The lake is open every day for fishermen with the Café closing on Christmas Day but open on New Year’s Day. 

Lake Camanche

Anglers are doing well while fishing for trout on both sides of the lake. Many of them are having success while fishing the top ten feet of the water column. Bass fishing is fair. Anglers are catching fish while fishing as deep as 30’ deep while dragging jigs or small worms.

Lake Don Pedro

Trout fishing is great for anglers trolling from the surface down to 15 feet deep. There are a lot of trout being planted by the Department of Fish and Game making it easy for a lot of anglers to catch small limits of trout.

The hot areas right now are near the Dam or around Rogers Creek. Bass fishing has slowed considerably; anglers are catching smaller fish while spooning through schools of bass down to 40 feet deep.

Tip of the Week

I learned a log time ago that there is no wrong way to fish and that fish don’t care about brand names or how much money was spent on tackle.

Lately, I’ve been reading up on a technique where it requires an angler to rig his worm weight upside down. It’s a technique that was performed accidentally, but has since been proven effective.

An upside-down rigged weight actually creates more disturbance than a traditionally rigged weight and is easier to keep in one place.

To contact Jarod Ballardo, email jgbbass@yahoo.com.