Few anglers know the California Delta like Bobby Barrack. His history there includes many wins and years of being one of the most prominent bass fishing guides on these waters. He offers a preview of what to expect for fishing this time of year and how he would approach two major upcoming events; the Wild West Bass Trail Pro/Am and 2019 Yamamoto Big Bass Challenge.
These two events are a different format, with one being a standard best five-fish limit event and the Yamamoto Big Bass Challenge being focused on just catching the big bass of the hour. Even with the differing formats, he believes three techniques are the best way to have success in both tournaments.
Pick Your Stage
This time of year, the bass are in all three stages of the spawn and Barrack suggests to pick one, but also to be ready to make changes if it isn’t working.
“This time of year things can change from day to day, so you have to keep an open mind,” he said. “It is hard to target all three stages of fish in one day, so I like to lean towards one and go with it. At the same time, you might have to switch if things aren’t going right or you don’t have the weight you need to compete.”
READ RELATED: 3 Pros Weigh In on Punchin’ the Delta
Punching
The Delta has a host of vegetation and depending on the variety, and Barrack will change his approach and soft plastic. For matted grass that extends down deep into the water column, like hydrilla, elodea, and milfoil, he likes a bait without curly tails.
“In that dense grass, the movement and action of some baits don’t do as good so I like to punch with a Yamamoto Sanshouo or Flappin’ Hog because they fall through the grass easily and create a nice, visual silhouette,” Barrack said.
When he is fishing grass that only extends down a foot or so, he changes his soft plastics.
“Primrose, hyacinth, and pennywort have more of a canopy with water underneath, and sometimes something with more action is better. That’s where I use Yamamoto’s new Cowboy and Mermaid because they have more movement as they fall,” he said.
Besides just choosing different baits, he also adjusts how the bait falls.
“There is an hour or so each day when they will eat anything, and you can punch and let it drop and then reel it back and keep going and do it again. The rest of the day, I work to control the drop of the bait by using my thumb on the spool as the bait is falling. I like to let the Cowboy drop on a pretty limp line to get the maximum speed and more vibration,” Barrack shared. “For the Sanshouo and Flappin’ Hog, I usually let it fall on a semi-tight line.”
READ RELATED: A Yamamoto Bait For a Wire-to-Wire Wild West Win
Dropshot
Many think of this technique as a numbers approach or a way to catch fish when things get tough, but Barrack says it can win on the Delta this time of year.
“I think it can win anywhere in the country around the spawn, it is one of the best ways to catch big fish on the Delta from March 1st to June 1st,” Barrack said.“One of the most overlooked dropshot baits is the 5” Yamamoto Thin Senko. I like it on a wacky-rig pitched into holes in the vegetation if I can get away with it. If the holes in the grass are too small or around cover, I’ll Texas-Rig it.”
He prefers a host of Green Pumpkin shades like #330 Green Pumpkin Purple and Copper Flake and #301 Green Pumpkin Green Purple Flake.
“Another one is #208 Watermelon Black and Red Flake, you gotta have it on the Delta,” Barrack added.
The Senko
Barrack couldn’t say enough good things about the Senko on the Delta and for any body of water for that matter.
“It is the best lure ever made,” he began, and few would argue with that. It catches fish everywhere, and this time of year, he wouldn’t head to the Delta without a pile of them in his boat.
“I like the 7” here from June 1st on and until April 1st of the next season. That period from April 1st to June 1st I don’t like to use the 7” and prefer the 5” and 6” exclusively,” he stated.
He uses a host of colors but offered one of his favorites and a modification he makes. “For the #042 Fading Watermelon color, I like to use a black marker and color up about ¼” to make it look like a baby bass. They do not like that at all when they are spawning,” he shared.
With these three approaches, anglers can have success with bass in all three stages of the spawn on the Delta.
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