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Fishing Report
fishing1

I was recently out fishing on the Delta with a friend and he mentioned to me out of frustration that he had all this tackle and still fishes with the same baits every time. Agreeing with him, I decided that I was going to start cycling through all the baits that I brought. The first bait I tied on was one that I never used before. I immediately caught two fish. When that bite died down, I tied on another one of my seldom used baits and caught the biggest fish of the day. When that bite went away, I decided to give a topwater bait a try, and caught two more nice fish. He couldn’t believe it, and neither could I. Jokingly, I thanked him for the great advice. I think we both learned something from that experience. Sometimes the bait or lure of the day is in our tackle boxes or bait buckets. You can’t be afraid or too stubborn to try something different. The key is knowing when it’s time to make a change. As much as I wish there was a set clock telling me to change baits, I believe that it’s an instinct that we develop over time.

 

Delta Report:

Now is the time to be out on the Delta bass fishing. The water clarity is changing daily throughout the system right now due to the recent storms in the mountains. The bass are up shallow either looking for a place to spawn or have already spawned. Crankbaits or chatter baits reeled over the top of the grass is the preferred method right now. The topwater bite is also starting to turn on for some anglers. Striped bass fishing is good for anglers fishing the West Delta. Anglers trolling shallow diving Rebels and Yozuri’s are doing well. There are also a lot of fish being caught by anglers fishing with cut and live bait.

 

New Melones Lake:

There is not much talk going on about the trout fishing as the bite has dropped off considerably. Most of the anglers fishing the lake are fishing for bass. There are a lot of bass right now that are up shallow making them easy targets for anglers. Some of the most consistent bites have been coming from anglers fishing shaky head worms or Senko’s from the shoreline down to 20 feet deep. Anglers going after the biggest bass in the lake are tossing swimbaits while looking for one huge bite. Supposedly later on in the month, there is a large trout plant scheduled to take place.

 

Lake Don Pedro:

Trout have been hit or miss for anglers as the water clarity has become an issue. Recent rain and wind has really stirred things up making it tough on anglers fishing shallow. For bass Senko’s and small plastic baits are working really well once the sun comes up. In the morning target the backs of coves with top water lures as there are many schools of fish that have migrated to the backs of coves. Coves where there are underwater brush piles or trees are holding schools of fish right now.

 

Lake Camanche:

Trout fishing at Lake Camanche continues to be very good for a lot of anglers. Both the lake and the pond are putting out nice limits of fish. Bass fishing continues to be good on the lake as many fish have moved shallow and can be caught with a variety of different baits. Because of the spawn try using baits that can be worked across obvious spawning flats or beds. In the morning try topwater baits and if the wind picks up try tossing swimbaits as the swimbait bite is always good when there are trout being caught on the lake.

 

Lake Pardee:

Trout plants are taking place almost weekly on the lake. Anglers fishing around the launch ramp area are having luck during the early morning hours while fishing with Power Bait. Anglers trolling for trout are having a difficult time on the main lake due to all the floating debris. Bass fishing is fair for anglers fishing with bottom baits. Currently the lake has risen to 100 percent full.

 

Tip of The Week:

I’m sure we’ve all heard someone say that fishing is best when it rains. I believe they were taking about the Springtime since I’ve had some of my best fishing during this time of year when the weather was bad. As much as your instincts may be telling you to wait for a sunny day, if the weather isn’t too bad, and you have all the right equipment to fish comfortably, you may be surprised at how good the fishing is.