For those of you that were out fishing the Delta last weekend, the wind most likely made it difficult to fish. I was able to fish Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. By the end of the day Friday, I experienced a considerable loss of power to my boats trolling motor indicating that it was time to replace the trolling motor batteries. So, after a long day of fishing, I spent the rest of the evening pulling out my boat’s batteries and purchasing new ones. Three hundred dollars later, I was back on the water Saturday. Thankfully, I made the change, because Saturday the winds were the worst they’ve been all week long. There were a few places that I was able to get out of the wind, but my bait selection was definitely limited. We did end up catching our biggest fish of the week on a red and gold spinnerbait. All and all, last week was a great week for fishing. My boat project is still coming along, the fish are biting, and I have new batteries.

Delta Report:

Bass fishing has really turned on; the bass are biting on a variety of different baits right now. The always productive Senko is working just as good as ever right now as anglers are finding fish both inside and outside of the weeds and tulles. There are still plenty of fish to be caught on reaction baits but for the big ones anglers are having the best luck flipping or pitching baits around vegetation. Don’t dismiss the top water bite as there are plenty of fish in post spawn making them very protective towards anything passing over their fry. It only takes 5 days for eggs to become fry. Snagproof frogs and Zara Spooks are great baits this time of year.

New Melones Lake:

The kokanee bite is just beginning on the lake. Anglers are catching kokanee while trolling between 36 and 60 feet deep throughout the lake. Anglers catching kokanee are using hootchies with shoe peg corn for their limits. The hardest part about catching Kokanee is keeping them on the hook. Their mouths are very soft making them hard to land and they usually go crazy the closer they get to the boat making them even harder to keep on the hook. Bass are being caught by reaction baits as well as jigs. The bigger bass have been caught while using jigs and dragging Carolina Rigs along the bottom. Big catfish are also being caught by those fishing coves with running water in them. Supposedly the catfish are stacking up in the backs of these coves waiting for an easy meal brought to them through the spring run off the lake has been getting.

Lake Don Pedro:

Fishing for trout and kokanee has started to pick up for a lot of anglers. Trout are being found from the surface down to twenty feet deep while trolling traditional shad patterned lures. Kokanee are being caught from 25 to 30 feet deep. Lately the hot bait for kokanee has been an Uncle Larry’s red tiger tipped with Pautzke pink fire corn. Bass fishing has been tough for a lot of anglers. As the weather has stabilized look for the bass to make their way back into the shallows to spawn. There should also be an early topwater bite for those fishing with poppers and walking type baits. It’s tough to beat a bottom bait once the sun gets high. Wacky rigged Senko’s, hula grubs, and shaky head worms are go-to baits this time of year.

Lake Camanche:

Anglers trolling for trout are trolling the top twenty feet of water for their limits. Fishing for bass continues to get better as the bigger females are starting to show up on the beds found throughout the lake. Make sure to practice catch and release when landing a fish that was taken off a bed.

Lake Pardee:

Fishing for trout and kokanee is good right now for anglers trolling up river from 20 to 30 feet deep. Bass fishing is also improving as bass are being caught all over the lake right now. A lot of bass have made their way shallow to spawn. Anglers finding spawning bass are catching them while dragging worms and jigs through bedding areas.

Tip of the Week:

Spring is the time of year when the bites can be hard to feel. A lot of times while dragging a bait across a spawning bed the fish will just pick up the bait and move it off the bed. Because of that, it’s very important to pay attention to your line. Know when your line has made contact with the bottom and keep a close eye on it for any unusual movement.