The highly controversial striped bass and black bass petition was recently withdrawn, resulting in a victory for local anglers wishing to preserve one of the greatest fisheries in California.

“California anglers have a voice in the political process, and they were heard loud and clear,” said Marko Mlikotin, the executive director of the California Sportfishing League. “There is a need to find real and meaningful solutions to California’s water shortage, however, using junk science to eviscerate Northern California fish populations in order to send more water to Southern California is not a sustainable solution.”

As much as I’d like to celebrate, I’m led to believe that it’s just a matter of time before a new petition is thought up, which will once again threaten our fish populations.

Delta Report

Early fall is a great time to throw rattle traps and crank baits on the Delta. You may think that it’s too early in the year, but our nights have been getting colder and our days have become shorter. The fish definitely know that there’s a change occurring so don’t discount your favorite lure for bass.

Catfishing continues to be good for anglers using just about any bait that they can keep on the bottom. Striped bass are starting to be caught throughout the Delta, leading me to believe that it won’t be long before they really start biting. Anglers currently catching them are using live bait.

New Melones Lake

Kokanee fishing continues to be sporadic for a lot of anglers. Those that are willing to grind it out are being rewarded with some of the biggest fish of the year which at times have exceeded 20 inches in length. Anglers are trolling as deep as 100 feet deep.

Bass fishing remains good for anglers fishing in the early and late part of the day with top-water lures. During the day anglers are targeting the bass with small plastic bait from the shore down to 30 feet deep.

Catfishing is really good for anglers fishing at night with sardines or anchovies.

Lake Don Pedro

There are a lot of large schools of shad being found throughout the lake. Anglers fishing or trolling around those schools are having luck catching Trout and King Salmon.

Fishing for Kokanee has died down as many of the lakes Kokanee have begun their annual spawn. Bass anglers are also fishing around those schools with crank baits or drop-shotted worms.

During the morning and evening hours the top water bite for bass has been good. During the day anglers are searching out the schools of bait fish.

Lake New Hogan

Fishing for bass is good, as there are a lot of fish being caught by those fishing small plastics and crank baits. The problem during the day is all of the boat traffic. There are areas of the lake that are five mile zones but they quickly get churned up as well.

My advice if planning on going there is to fish early and leave early. Otherwise you’re definitely going to have plenty of company and possibly spend a good amount of time waiting at the launch ramp.

Lake Pardee

The much-anticipated and newly renovated RV Park is finally open and currently without any vacancies for the remainder of the season. Those that are interested in a spot for the upcoming season are highly encourages to make reservations as soon as possible.

Fishing on the lake is good for those fishing for Kokanee. The numbers being caught have declined but the quality has definitely improved. Anglers trolling for Kokanee are trolling early in the day with their favorite Kokanee rigs between 50 and 100 feet deep.

Bass fishing continues to be good for numbers of bass for anglers fishing top-water baits in the morning and small plastics during the day.

Tip of the Week

I finally gave into my stubbornness and purchased a sun mask for my face. The mask itself is called a Sungator and it is made by Simms. Wanting to truly test the mask out, I wore it the entire time during my last fishing trip. Not only was it light weight, it was very comfortable, and protected my neck and face from the sun. If you haven’t looked into sun masks, sleeves, or gloves it’s definitely worth your time. As always, there are less expensive options.

I highly advise reading the reviews before making a purchasing.

To contact Jarod Ballardo email jgbbass@yahoo.com.