It seems like overnight spring has come, and if I’ve ever had an itch to get out fishing it’s right now.

With the current full moon and warming temperatures, the bass are sure to be making their way towards the spawning grounds. For years I’ve never quite understood the effects a full moon has on the fish until I started tournament fishing.

My first lesson came during a night tournament at Lake Amador. I got to see first-hand what the moon did throughout the night. While fishing a tournament on the Delta during a full moon, I was caught off guard with an unexpected high tide, later finding out that it was directly related to the full moon. Just about every animal including fish are affected by the moon phase.

Especially during the spring, areas that were once out of water are now under water, making for prime spawning grounds.  

Delta Report

The bass fishing is really starting to show signs of picking up. The spinner bait is deadly this time of year for big females that are usually found around sparse tulle points.

The outgoing tide is the best tide. Once the tide bottoms out the fishing slows way down and the bigger fish became harder to find.

The water clarity in a lot of places is still not the greatest but the temperatures have risen and our next full moon should create an awesome bite.

The striper bite has slowed down for a lot of anglers and no shad was seen working the surface on my last trip.  

New Melones Lake

Trout fishing remains good. A lot of anglers have made their way to the lake recently to try their luck.

Anglers fishing from shore should target main points such as Glory Hole Point, Osprey Point, under the Highway 49 Stevenot Bridge, and Tuttletown. Nightcrawlers floated with marshmallows or inflated with a worm inflator have produced the most rainbows from shore.

Berkley Select Power Bait or Power Eggs have caught plenty of fish, and throwing a silver/blue Kastmaster or spinner such as a Rooster Tail is also effective from shore.

Trollers should head to the main lake between the spillway and dam and troll from the surface down to 30feet deep. 

Lake Don Pedro

The bite on rainbow trout remains good. Rainbows are being caught in the Tuolumne river arm, Woods Creek and Upper Bay near the flume. For rainbows try fishing from the surface down to 20 feet deep.

Bass fishing is starting to pick up as plenty of fish are being caught on small plastics down to 40 feet deep. There also continues to be a good bite for those fishing with live jumbo minnows.

Lake Pardee

The lake opens this Thursday for camping and Friday for fishing. Bass fishing has always been tough on opening day. The trout on the other hand have been plentiful as the lake has been stocked just about weekly through the winter months and has been stocked even more for opening day.

Lake Amador

Plenty of trout are still being stocked weekly providing anglers with limits. Anglers are having luck while fishing with power bait off the bank or while trolling shad imitating lures just below the surface.

Bass fishing is still slow, once the water temperatures increase the bass will surely start making their way towards their spawning areas.

Lake Camanche

Trout are being stocked at the North and South shore launch ramps as well as the South Shore Fishing Pond. Trollers have been finding rainbows to 5 pounds trolling white grubs or Rapalas in the main body of the lake, around Big Hat Island, and up in the Narrows.

Bank fishermen are scoring with night crawlers or Power Bait with most rainbows averaging around a half pound. Bass fishing is picking up as anglers are doing well while dragging small jigs and worms from the surface down to 30 feet deep.

Weekly Tip

I once fished a week on Lake Oroville and it rained every day. Nothing I wore was able withstand day after day of rain except for my fleece. What I learned is that fleece although wet, still kept me warm, and dried up a lot faster than any of the other fabrics I was wearing.



To contact Jarod Ballardo email jgbbass@yahoo/com.