Delta Woes

Chad Corrin · Post by **Chad Corrin** » Sun May 01, 2016 12:01 pm

Launched out of B&W on Friday morning, buddy and myself caught maybe 7 all day but no quality bites. Lots of males and shaker stripers. Throwing cranks, blades and flipping jigs. Dropshot produced some small fish but im not sure what other adjustments to make. Couldent find the bigger fish.

Tried crankin rock points, dropshotting on sparse tules near rocks, flipped tule flats and offshore tule islands shallow but overall tough day.

How did everyone else do this weekend? Im struggling out there looking for advice to try next weekend.

Zipperwurm · Post by **Zipperwurm** » Sun May 01, 2016 4:50 pm

I was there Mon-Fri with some friends and we all experienced similar fishing. First time at the delta for us and I wouldn't say we did terrible, but it wasn't the trip we hoped it would have been. Not used to fishing around all the snotty grass and dealing with the 40 mph winds each day

Caught a ton of dink LMB and small stripers. A couple 3 pounders with our biggest of the week being a 4.68. Had our best luck on spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, and lipless cranks. Can't wait to get back up there and try for a big girl again!

Whoopbass · Post by **Whoopbass** » Sun May 01, 2016 6:44 pm

I had similar experiences last Friday. I did dump a 5# on a buzzbait. I would start focusing on top. There's a post below this with a guy that caught an 11+ on a big wake bait. Cooch had a 38# bag on jigs a week ago so who knows what these crazy bass want.

Freefall · Post by **Freefall** » Tue May 03, 2016 7:43 am

Weather, tide, timing and presentation are key to getting bit consistently on the D. Some locations fish better than others but if your throwing the wrong presentation at the wrong time it doesn't matter where you are.

Key your presentations to tide timing and you'll see more consistency.

Chad Corrin · Post by **Chad Corrin** » Tue May 03, 2016 8:44 am

I think the tides are something I need to start focusing on more. Instead of just randomly hitting structure, need to start thinking about where fish might be based on the tide levels.

Gary Dobyns · Post by **Gary Dobyns** » Tue May 03, 2016 12:10 pm

One of the most consistent big fish baits on the Delta is the Yamamoto Senko. I like the 6" and 7" a lot on the river because of wind, tidal movements, and bigger fish. Many times they're right where you're fishing but lazy and not wanting to chase down a bait. The Senko still catches a lot of these non aggressive fish. Top water will certainly get you some big bites but tides play a HUGE role in Delta fishing, and the top water bite is effected far more than a subtle sinking Senko in their face.

The Delta is our most frustrating fishery but one of our best too.

sy · Post by sy » Wed May 04, 2016 5:34 am

So what is the best tide to fish a frog or any topwater lure?

Bass hack · Post by **Bass hack** » Wed May 04, 2016 7:26 am

Hi,
I have been skunked as well this season. Sunday however, I found the bite right at the top end of the incoming tide using zero worms on a zappu rig. No real big ones, but plenty enough to satisfy my ego for the day. Before that I used a Texas rigged berkley havoc and didn't get any bites.

Gary Dobyns · Post by **Gary Dobyns** » Wed May 04, 2016 12:56 pm

As far as tides for topwater lures....tough question because it varies and for no reason. Many times I like lower water but there are times that high water is the best. Many years ago I won an FLW event there and I saved my best bank for the 4th and final day because it's when I'd have the highest water of the event. It was only time I could really catch them. I was throwing frogs only in that event. I like to throw lots of spooks over island tops in high water and many places that are dry or very hard to get into in lower water. Still most times the frog bite is better in low water in places like Big Break and the Tract. It's tough to answer really. I'll always have a buzzbait, frog, and most times a spook laying on the deck for a quick grab depending on the situation. I know this isn't a great answer but it's Delta top water fishing. Have several close at hand for different scenarios.

scott h · Post by **scott h** » Wed May 04, 2016 3:40 pm

I was out the weekend before last and what I found was a good majority of the fish were post spawn, there are still some areas where there are all three phases going on but not as prevalent as everyone wants it to be, the most consistent bite I found was drop shotting the outside weed lines in 6-10', also throwing the senko in the same locations. The top water bite on the delta is pretty much what Gary explained, some areas are prime in low water others need water to hold the fish where you can reach em with top water, one thing I have found over the years is you would be surprised where some of your biggest bites will come from, the Delta bass never stop surprising me when it comes to top water. It is almost that the of year where we can come home from work slap on the tank tops and flip flops and go top water fishing till dark!

Freefall · Post by **Freefall** » Thu May 05, 2016 5:53 pm

Some great info in this thread. I've had good success over the last few weeks on top. The one thing that all those bites have in common was distance between the fish and the bait depending on tide height.

The closer the bait is to them (lower tide) the more likely that they are to react and eat it.

Obviously conditions play into this as well but that's mainly my approach to it.

sy · Post by sy » Fri May 06, 2016 5:23 am

Ditto on the info here! On the chance that the delta isn't windy, is a frog more effective than a popper of a buzzbait in open water? Oh, while I'm on the subject of topwater, how about some recommendations on frog / buzzbait rods?

scott h · Post by **scott h** » Fri May 06, 2016 5:48 am

sy wrote:Ditto on the info here! On the chance that the delta isn't windy, is a frog more effective than a popper of a buzzbait in open water? Oh, while I'm on the subject of topwater, how about some recommendations on frog / buzzbait rods?

I personally like a 7.5 to 8' heavy rod for buzzbaits and frogs but most do not, give Dobyns rods a call and they can steer you in the right direction. They are very helpful over the phone 530-671-1989. Tight lines!