The recent FLW Toyota Series on the California Delta offered a unique time of year for this annual event. Instead of the usual May or late-September setting, it was right in the middle of August. The competitors had to adapt to the hot temperatures, both in the area and in the water.
Arizona's Tai Au finished with another Delta Top 10 finish (his fourth with FLW there) and shares his approach for the tournament and how he caught them. A frog and Berkley Choppo topwater accounted for some bass, and a handful of Yamamoto baits were clutch in his 10th place finish. Tule pockets, holes, ambush points... they all played a part.
Au's August Approach
With hot temperatures upon his arrival, Au quickly eliminated some areas.
"I went to some of the backwaters and places I like to fish there and the surface temperature was in the 80's," Au says. "I know bass still live back there, but I was looking for the bigger fish concentrations. The keys were areas with the right depth that also had some shade and current."
His most productive areas had a mix of grasses present and were all near the main river.
"Deep is relative, but I was keying on deeper water for the Delta," shares Au. "I wanted it to be around five feet of water but close to depths of eight to 12-feet. The bigger fish seemed to be right off of the main river."
Tule Pockets and Holes
The Yamamoto Senko is no secret on the Delta and it has been catching fish there since it was first released. Many anglers, including Au, like the 6" and 7" versions here, but Au said downsizing to the 5" was key.
"I went with the smaller one because it was more 'finessy,' and the water was so clear that it wouldn't spook the fish," says Au, who fished docks in Franks, and in San Mound and around Sugar Barge. "I could skip or pitch that Senko and get less of a splash and that was key."
Au fished a #926 color and Green Pumpkin on a wacky-rig with a 7'3" medium-heavy Fitzgerald Fishing spinning rod paired with a 2500-sized Daiwa Certate reel.
"I was skipping that Senko back into tule pockets and in holes in the grass," says Au.
His line of choice was light for Delta standards, a combination of 12-pound Sunline SX1 braid with a leader of 8-pound fluorocarbon.
"You can get away with a lighter line on the Delta because there isn't much hard cover," Au says. "Just take your time and don't pull too hard and it won't break."
Low Tide Bite
Another key for Au was punching and he used both sizes of the Yamamoto Flappin' Hog with two different weight sizes depending on the cover.
"That was my low tide bite and was best an hour or so before the tide bottomed out," Au says. "I kept it simple with the colors and used Black/Red, Watermelon/Red, and Green Pumpkin. I used both sizes of bait but noticed I was getting a better hookup percentage with the smaller one because they were biting funny."
He rigged the Flappin' Hog on a 4/0 Mustad 3X flipping hook and used both a 1 ¼ and 2-ounce Fitzgerald Tungsten weights. He opted for a 70-pound braid and used a heavy-action Fitzgerald Titan HD Flipping rod paired with a 7.3:1 Daiwa Tatula SV reel.
"My thoughts on the weight size is to use the lightest you can use and still be efficient," Au says. "If you are not getting through the grass four out of five times, you need to go up a size."
The Ambush Points
Throwing a vibrating jig was Au's way to catch fish before his low tide punching bite came into play. It accounted for some key fish for him as he fished areas with current such as rock levees, corners, and sparse tules.
"It had to have a little mix of everything and create an ambush point for the bass," says Au. "When the current was right, you could call your shot on the edges of grass and turns in the sloughs."
On the back of the ChatterBait, Au used both a Yamamoto Zako and 4" Swimming Senko.
"I had forgotten all about the Swimming Senko because the Zako has been so good since it came out," Au says. "The Swimming Senko works great and gives it a little different action. The Zako is bulkier and has a subtle action, where the Swimming Senko has a bigger action and not everyone is using it anymore, so it is something different to show them."
Au opted for green pumpkin on both the ChatterBait and Yamamoto trailers and added a slight bit of chartreuse dye to imitate the bluegill the bass were eating.
He fished his vibrating jig on a 7'4" heavy Fitzgerald Fishing Bryan Thrift cranking rod with a Daiwa Tatula 200 reel spooled with 20-pound Sugoi fluorocarbon.
Tai Au was able to figure out the summer pattern quickly and it led to another Top 10 finish for him on the California Delta.
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