Former Delta local, Mark Daniels Jr. has earned much success on California’s tidal fishery prior to embarking on the 2013 “Living the Dream” prize package won in the TBF Federation National Championship.
Currently fans will find him residing in Alabama, competing as part of the FLW Tour field; however as the Best Bass Tournament's Rat-L-Trap Open approaches, Daniels checked in with some info on fishing one of his go-to lures on his home water.
Here is how Mark Daniels Jr. would plan his day as a competitor of the 2016 Rat-L-Trap Open on the California Delta:
GETTING READY
I would start by tying on at least four (probably five) specific baits.
I would have two of the Echo 1.75 squarebill crankbaits. One would be in a crawfish pattern and the other would be in a bluegill pattern.
ECHO TIP: Tie the bluegill pattern on 20-lb fluorocarbon.
I would have two of the Traps tied on. One would be the original Rat-L-Trap and one would be the Knock-N-Trap. Both would be in the ½ oz size.
If I went for the fifth rod, I would have a 3/4-oz Knock-N-Trap, or maybe a Floating Trap.
As we all know, having that “something different” than the other anglers have is often the key to getting that extra bite and that can make the difference in catching a big fish, the Big Bass of an event or even winning a tournament.
The color selection for my baits would be crawfish, bluegill and one of the tried-and true-chromes (Chrome Blue or Chrome Black).
COLOR TIP: Chromes are usually where I start, but the Delta has such a heavy crawfish influence, I wouldn’t be able to get away from the reds.
MORNING
First thing when the day starts, I am going to start with the bluegill Echo on 20-lb fluorocarbon. The 20-lb line will give a lot rise and lift to the bait, allowing me to fish it like a wake bait. I am going to cast out, hold the rod tip up and reel it back over the tops of grass, laydowns and rock, paralleling the bank, just like I would a wake bait.
With the lowlight conditions, I am looking for those early, aggressive fish that are feeding up and I am going to buzz that Echo right over the top of their heads.
SUN’S UP
As the day moves on, I am going to start covering a lot of water (still looking for spawning type areas), but now I am going to play with the colors and the sounds a little bit more. I will move through the color patterns that I mentioned and vary my presentation from the original Trap to the Knock-N-Trap to give the different sounds.
Because this is an event where I am fishing one brand of bait, I am going to utilize the different type of Traps (that make different sounds) to diversify my tools to help catch the fish. This expands the presentation as much as I can.
On the Delta, you can catch ‘em topwater all day long; so periodically throughout the day, I would pick up the Echo on the 20-lb and give it try. Again, I am fishing it on top, waking it around different objects like docks and down the trough of the riprap banks and the grass edge.
With the event being in April, there are going to be fish in all phases of the spawn, so with the post spawn conditions, I will start looking at more current areas, not just the flats and mixing in some shad colors.
TARGET LOCATIONS
This time of year, a lot of the fish are going to be spawning; so the type of areas that I will be fishing are flooded islands (Frank’s Tract, Mildred, Sherman) and spawning areas on the main channel. A lot of people don’t realize that the fish spawn on the main channel; but they do.
The main key when picking an area is to make sure there is a some sort of current break; because that is what the fish are going to be looking for to setup and spawn.
LOCATION TIP: The Rat-L-Trap is a good search bait. Don’t be afraid to change locations, looking for the same type of area conditions, but in a different locations.
TAG TEAM
When I am fishing the Echo as a wake bait, my partner would be concentrating on a subsurface presentation, to hit a different water column. He would be using lighter line and a more traditional (deflecting on cover) squarebill retrieve. He would rotate using the Traps and the Echo 1.75.
My partner would bounce around between the Original Trap and the Knock-N-Trap to vary his sound presentation, as well.
The most important thing for my partner is to never be doing the exact same thing as me. They need to be mixing it up. Unless, the fish are absolutely jumping in the boat on one particular lure, my partner is doing something different and we’re using the information that he gets with what he is doing
and what I get from what I am doing to get a better grasp on what the fish are doing.
Click for info: Rat-L-Trap Open
The event blasts off from Russo’s Marina on April 17, 2016 and will offer a 100% payout.
Past Trap Tips from Mark Daniels Jr. can be found here:
'Trap Tip #1 - Stages of the Spawn
'Trap Tip #2 - 4-Wheel Drive a Squarebill
'Trap Tip #3 - Size Does Matter
'Trap Tip #4 - Braid VS. Fluoro
'Trap Tip #5 - Right Rod
'Trap Tip #6 - Color Selection
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