Fishing the Delta Feb 10
From a Day on the Water with Christian Ostrander
A light breeze and a high tide made for a textbook Delta setup. The bite has been lining up perfectly with one specific window: high tide right as it starts to dump out.
"That high-outgoing stretch has been the deal lately, and if you time it right, you can stay on fish all day by chasing that tide," he said. "You can follow it inward toward the Delta, push south, then slide west, basically tracking the same high-outgoing bite as it progresses through the system."
His approach has been a mix of reaction baits and shallow-water power fishing.
Christian and Riley spent the day rotating through spinnerbaits, ChatterBaits, and some worm fishing, with an emphasis on darker colors for early spring - June bug, black and blue.
"You know, the kind of stuff that shows up strong when the water is warming but the fish are still in that pre-spawn mindset," he said.
On the ChatterBait, he has been keeping it simple with a Spunk Shad trailer.
For the spinnerbait, he is running big willow blades and a single-tail grub, bumping it around the tules. His main spinnerbait color has been a white-and-chartreuse pattern, and it has been producing in both cleaner water and slightly dirtier stretches.
Water clarity has been mixed, but not blown out. Christian pointed out that it has not been “crazy dirty” this year, and the lack of rain is a big reason why. Even without checking the exact temp on the day, he said it has been hovering right around 53 to 54 degrees, and the fish are acting like it is already spring.
He has been catching them extremely shallow, three-feet of water or less, and he believes the biggest fish are already up doing what they do this time of year: feeding hard and positioning to spawn early.
"They are not beat up yet, but they are close enough that it could happen any time, especially with the way conditions are going," he said.
In just three hours on the water, the quality backed it up. Christian estimated his and Riley's best five fish would have gone around 27-pounds, and he topped the day with a true Delta giant pushing nine and a half pounds.
"That big fish came on a worm bite," he said.
Christian has been throwing a lot of Trick worms lately, and described the big fish as thick and aggressive, with just enough belly to show it has been eating.
"When the tide gets high, those big fish want to feed, and once the water starts moving out, they will absolutely crush anything that gets near them," he added.
The day was not just about one fish either. Riley stuck her own six-pounder, also on a worm presentation.
"This is an early spring, and an early spring on the Delta usually means a good year," said Christian. "When the Delta goes off in early February, it tends to stay productive all season long."
If this trip was any indication, the big ones are already moving, the shallow bite is happening, and the Delta is officially waking up.
Christian guides on the California Delta and can be reached at 209-648-3778
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