When I was a kid I used to think about being a weather man.

A weather man does his best to predict the weather but is often wrong. His viewers or readers know that predicting the weather is tricky, so his job must be pretty stress free. What about when the weather man has to predict the weather for his own planned activities? It must be pretty humbling when his family’s plans are ruined by an unexpected change in the weather.

Putting together this column can be just as humbling for me. This past week, I just about guaranteed that the fish were going to jump in the boat. Once on the water, that guarantee wasn’t something the fish seemed to agree with.

We struggled to catch our limit. On the way home and all week long, I wondered how I could make these reports more accurate. So, this week has been filled with thoughts and ideas on how to improve these reports.

Predicting the weather, like fishing, is something we’ve been doing for years. Like most predictions, sometimes they are right on and other times they’re just the best guess at that time. I’ve caught fish on days when the reports were horrible and have struggled when limits were supposed to come easily.

It also rained unexpectedly yesterday making, me feel a little better about my failed prediction.



Delta

Fishing for largemouth bass on the Delta is great, as the Senko bite is on fire. Many fish have spawned already but there are still more to come.

Large schools of shad are found roaming the shallows turning on the early-morning spinnerbait and buzz-bait bite. Topwater frogs are also working well in whites Slough for anglers fishing the newly formed matted vegetation.

Dock fishing for crappie and bluegill has started to pick up as the fish have moved shallow, Crappie jigs and Wax Worms are working well for anglers.



New Melones Lake

The trout fishing has really slowed down due to the increase in temperature. Kokanee fishing has been great. The kokanee being caught are being picked up 30-45 feet deep off of Glory Hole Point.

Freshwater shrimp, krill or Carp Spit are all good choices. Bass fishing continues to be good as a lot of fish can still be found shallow. Anglers fishing Senko’s and topwater baits are catching numbers.

Crappie and bluegill continue to provide action for anglers fishing around submerged trees found in the backs of the coves. 



Lake Don Pedro

Limits of king salmon up to three pounds are being caught while fishing around Fleming Bay between 30-100 feet deep. Anglers are rolling shad with Pro-Cure scent. Kokanee are also cooperating for anglers trolling from 40-60 feet deep.

Bass fishing continues to be good as anglers are still finding a lot of fish on beds. Don’t rule out looking for spawning fish on long tapering points or submerged island tops as sometimes those fish don’t get pressured as often as the fish in the backs of the coves.

Crappie fishing is great as anglers are catching Crappie on minnows and Crappie jigs in and around submerged trees. 



Lake New Hogan

Stripers have started to show up as anglers have been catching them while using Shad and Anchovies laced with pro cure scent down to 15 feet deep. Bass fishing continues to be good as there are still plenty of fish found up shallow or in the guts of creeks leading to spawning areas.

Bluegill and Crappie can also be caught while using mealy worms or crappie jigs in the back of coves.



Tip of the Week

Launching a boat by yourself can be a big task. Over the years I’ve found that the best way to go about it is to back the trailer into the water just enough to where the boat wants to slide off, unhook the bow strap, climb into the boat, drive it off the trailer, tie it off to the dock, and then park the truck.

If others are waiting in line to launch their boat try to park far enough back so that they may also launch while you are parking your vehicle.

When loading, I tie off my boat out of the way from others, back the trailer in deep enough so that the boat can be driven completely on, drive the boat on, hook up the bow strap, climb into the back of my truck, climb out of the back of the truck into the drivers seat and drive the trailer and boat out of the water.



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