Many times, I’m sure people wonder why us anglers have so many fishing rods on our boats. My current boat isn’t the biggest bass boat out there, but I carry between 10 to 20 different rod/reel combos. Each rod has a specific purpose. Recently, for example, I was out bass fishing when a school of striped bass showed up out of nowhere all around my boat. I was able to reach into my rod locker and had a rod already set up with a topwater lure. If I didn’t have that rod, I would have had to cut my current bait off, possibly change the line, dig through my tackle, and tie on a topwater bait. By that time, the school would have been gone. In fishing there’s often a small window of opportunity. When that opportunity presents itself, having the right set up and the right tackle can make or break your day. With that said, I still don’t understand why bowlers have more than one ball!
Delta Report:
Bass fishing continues to be good for anglers fishing reaction baits for numbers of keeper sized bass. I was able to get out this week and caught good numbers on a crawdad colored square billed crankbait fished around grass lines. For larger bass, anglers are still catching them while fishing with topwater lures or fishing around thick vegetation. Striped bass fishing is starting to pick up as anglers continue to do well early in the morning on topwater lures and while trolling broke back rebels during the day.
New Melones Lake:
Trout fishing is slow right now, not many anglers are fishing so there are very few reports being submitted. Anglers are still catching a few at night under submersible lights but the bite has been slow. Catfishing continues to be good for anglers fishing with chicken livers through the night. Bass fishing continues to be good for large numbers for those fishing small plastics and tossing shad imitating lures.
Lake Amador:
Trout plants are scheduled to begin as soon as the water temperature drops a few more degrees. Typically, trout plants on the lake start taking place this month. Right now, most of the fishing on the lake is for bluegill and catfish that can both be taken while fishing off the bank or from a boat. Bass fishing is still hit or miss until the weather becomes more fall like.
Lake Camanche:
Anglers are doing well while fishing off the bank for catfish. The bait of choice right now seems to be frozen mackerel. Bass fishing is still fair for anglers fishing with small plastics and lures around islands and points. I fished the lake this past Monday and it was tough. I caught a few fish on small plastics but couldn’t seem to find the schools of fish that I was looking for.
New Hogan:
Fishing for bass is good. I fished the lake recently and caught several fish on a drop shot. Most of the fish that I caught were around the islands and main lake points. The schools of fish that I was seeing all day on my screen ended up being striped bass and not spotted bass. I ended up hooking into a nice striped bass while using an underspin with a Keitech. As the sun started to go down, schools of baitfish were being pushed to the surface by those same schooling stripers.
Lake Don Pedro:
Like last week’s report the trout are still biting for anglers trolling Speedy Shiners coated in Smelly Jelly at depths between 60 and 80 feet deep. Bass fishing is tough for anglers who are not finding the schools of baitfish. Anglers having success are fishing around schools of baitfish that are being found in the 60-foot range. Once finding the schools they’re vertically jigging spoons through them.
Tip of the Week:
I recently found one of my old fishing journals dated back to 2001. The journal has become very useful lately. I highly recommend that we all journal at least a few years of our fishing trips. It’s been great being able to go back and read about some of my past trips. The information has really helped me narrow down some of the baits that I’m going to be using and places that I’m going to fish.
