It's springtime, and the California Delta is a great place to go bass fishing. The bite is picking up, and Delta stalwart Ken Mah says that there are many different things happening on the legendary fishery, with bass in all phases of the spawn. Mah said plenty of lures will work right now, but he hand-selected four that he said will catch plenty of fish for you right now on the Delta.
Cranking and Vibrating Jigs
Mah said that most of the bass have yet to spawn and that these two bait styles are perfect for targeting bass feeding up before the spawn.
"I'd say most of the fish haven't spawned yet; maybe 90 percent are still prespawn throughout the entire system," he said. "A lot of those fish are getting shallow and wanting to eat. A crankbait and vibrating jig are great, and they will be until most of the fish have spawned."
His crankbait of choice is a Bill Lewis SB-57 squarebill and he has several favorite colors, including Ozark Craw. For the vibrating jigs, he's a fan of the tried-and-true Z-Man Evergreen Jack Hammer ChatterBait in either green pumpkin or Hite's Hot Craw. On the back of his ChatterBait, he likes a matching color of the Big Bite Baits Kamikaze Swimon.
As to where he'd fish these baits on the Delta right now, he says there are plenty of things you should be looking for.
"One thing I'm looking for right now is the good, crispy grass that's starting to show up," he said. "Some of the best places to throw the crankbait and ChatterBait are places with grass adjacent to steeper banks. If you find that with a tiny bit of current coming through, you have a perfect spot."
He's also looking for sparse tules and flooded islands right now. "These two baits are great for covering water and fishing around those tules and islands," he said. "You can find them in many popular areas this time of year, like Mildred's, Mandeville, and Frank's Tract."
Flipping, Punching, and Frogging
Another great way to catch fish right now on the Delta is with creature baits and frogs around vegetation. Mah is known for this bite, and he's always looking for places to do it. He says the current vegetation growth is perfect for getting in on the action.
"It's mid-to-late April, and the grass is starting to grow well in many areas," he began. "If you find that grass in 6 to 8 feet of water, it's already starting to form mats during the low tide. That bite is hard to beat right now, either by frogging or punching."
When punching, Mah likes a Big Bite Baits Yo Mama in green pumpkin red. He rigs it on a 4/O Owner Jungle HD Flipping Hook with a 1 to 1.5-ounce tungsten weight and a G-Money Punch Skirt in the Punisher color.
"You can also fish that on a standard Texas Rig with some 20- or 22-pound Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon and a ½-ounce weight, targeting the laydown tules and flipping them," he said. "If I'm using the big weight and punching, I'm looking for those grass mats that form a canopy and targeting those pre-spawn fish that are getting ready to spawn."
At low tide, Mah looks for likely bedding areas and says a frog is hard to beat. "You can see those holes in the grass a lot better and find the hard spots they use to spawn when the tide is low," he said. "I like to walk a frog in these areas and you can get some of the biggest bites of the year with a frog when the bass are spawning."
For a walking frog, he's a fan of a white River2Sea Ish Monroe Phat Mat Daddy Frog. When he wants to slow down and work a frog more, he likes a popping frog. One of his favorite popping frogs is the Jackall Gavacho Frog in Gold Gill.
"The Gavacho walks really well, but you can also slow it down and pop it around beds," he said. "That color is great because it reminds them of those nest-robbing bluegills."
Ken Mah has had plenty of success on the California Delta in high-level tournaments in recent memory, and he says right now is a great time to get out there and catch both numbers and quality. These four baits are what he's fishing right now and are proven ways to catch fish on the Delta.
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