man, that Delta wind yesterday, brutal...

MikeD · Post by **MikeD** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 6:56 am

anybody else struggle in that wind yesterday? that wind was a killer for me, it ended up taking me totally off my game. I was shot from the moment the first cast went out of the boat: my crankbaits were too light, wrong color, too deep, too shallow, texas rig was too light, lather rinse repeat. went to the spinnerbait for something heavy to cast into the wind, no bites. I had nothing to go to, was so far out of my zone I couldnt get my head back on straight to stop and think something out that might work better.

I could not get a rhythm going for the life of me. at the end of the day I had it so dumbed down it was "cast one bait on one pole" and "don't think, it only hurts the team". My worst day of fishing ever, so frustrated... </vent>

shifterpilot2001 · Post by **shifterpilot2001** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 7:23 am

I agree.... one of my worst days too.... It was hard enough going and trying to put together a gameplan with only having been there twice... Throw in that gnarly wind and the tides... lookout... two angry fisherman on board.... LOL... I swear there was a couple of times a gust about blew my a$% off the front deck....LOL...I myself couldnt get into a groove either, or find the right bait...at the end of the day I was physically and mentally drained...LOL...Watching my partner cast was entertaining though... he would aim his bait over my head and the tullies hoping it would get in the target zone...LOL...Oh... and the ride accross the SE end of the tract .....

that was no bueno....my partner was soaking wet when we got to the other end....

Each time we've been there it was nuts in one way or another... Big props to you guys that fish it regularly....

Mike

MIKE TREMONT · Post by **MIKE TREMONT** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 1:45 pm

Especially after you watch all those huge bags getting weighed, and a lot of those guys aren't even from around these parts.

I'm no stranger to that frustration.

Sometimes yard work is much more gratifying.

Marty · Post by **Marty** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 2:19 pm

The forecast is brutal winds for the rest of the month â€“ might as well say at home and log in to Western Bass dot Com.

MikeD · Post by **MikeD** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 4:07 pm

Marty wrote:The forecast is brutal winds for the rest of the month â€“ might as well say at home and log in to Western Bass dot Com.

nah... I gotta learn to work thru this wind thing and come up with some strategies and get past it.

strategy 1 - personal comfort: ear plugs and motorcycle goggles, my ears are still ringing and my eyes are still trashed from the wind.

strategy 2 - personal comfort: i learned that I hate beanies, they make my scalp itch like crazy. but baseball hats get torn off your head in this kind of wind so that won't work either. I'd like to hang on to the hair I have left so the wind won't tear it out - some sort of new head cover is necessary to help keep my hair on and my head warm.

strategy 3 - blood alcohol levels: if it gets too bad drive to marina, dock boat, drink beer, ease pain

we're fishing cranks on blown out banks in 3-6' with deep water nearby and I can't help but think "there's just *no way* a bass is going to move up on this ledge in this kind of water and get thrown around to eat" as I about get blown out of the boat on a gust and my baitcaster overruns yet again. but nearby calm water seemed too calm at the same time. couldn't win...

what are you keying on in this kind of chop? deeper? the dropoffs? calm areas on the backside of the wind? seems like *so* much water movement in addition to the tidal current

blkdog812 · Post by **blkdog812** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 4:40 pm

should have been @berrryessa yesterday. 5 ' swells and 40mph gusts.
everyone got wet

optichamp · Post by **optichamp** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 7:24 pm

Yep, I went out Sat & Sun. Sat was definitely better for me as I at least had five strikes. Two ~3lb fish got off at the boat, but did boat a decent one and a small one. Saw water temps as high as 60.0 at one point.

Sun was indeed tough. Regardless of where I wanted to fish, it became a matter of fishing where I could fish, which wasn't Franks. The water temps were lower down there, and I got nothing. Finally caught one 2lb12oz fish in a side slough near Franks, after the wind at least shifted enough to let me run up the Old River. I was content running 41 mph, given the 40 mph wind in my face

He was in about 2 feet of water, behind a levee at high tide, out of the wind. I noticed in one of the tournaments 3 or 4 teams blanked, so don't feel too bad about only catching one!

I threw a 1/2 oz white spinner most of the day, and in a cross wind I'd have to aim 10-12 feet away from where I wanted the lure to go. A couple times I threw it and the wind dropped, and the lure of course flew into a thick tule bundle

no lures lost, to my surprise.

Saw one pretty strange thing after catching the one fish. I see something swimming in the tules, with a tail and what looked like ears sticking straight up. I go over thinking it was a small dog in distress. The "ears" turn out to be wings of a dead bird, being directed through the water by a muskrat. No idea if it killed or just found the bird. I wanted a photo, but it dove and swam away when it realized I was approaching.

The most important point was, the boat worked good, and I didn't fall in, which would not have been fun in 55 degree water.

StockOption · Post by **StockOption** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 8:11 pm

Clear Lake was (suprisingly!) smooth as glass yesterday. Unreal calm and bluebird day:

The wife kicked my butt yesterday with a 6-04, 4-02 and 3-9. Overall it was slow, Saturday was better for me I had right around 19lbs with my big fish coming in at 7-09

Cooch · Post by **Cooch** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:21 am

The bite was still really good Sunday, jigs on the rocks caught fish for us all day long. On them north /south banks, just had ta position the wind at yer back and go, run down the bank, fire up the big motor, go back and do it again. In the east west banks, the north side was calmer.

Anglers are still making two mistakes out there right now, they are thinking spawn, and they are chasing the reaction fish! It just ain't happening yet folks, most of these fish are transitioning out of their winter patterns still, and gorging themselves off the bottom.

StockOption · Post by **StockOption** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 2:49 pm

Cooch wrote:Anglers are still making two mistakes out there right now, they are thinking spawn, and they are chasing the reaction fish! It just ain't happening yet folks, most of these fish are transitioning out of their winter patterns still, and gorging themselves off the bottom.

Yep, I'm noticing the same thing on the pond. No matter how much I try and force a reaction bite or shallow bite I'm still finding most of my bites a bit deeper on plastics and jigs fished somewhat slowly on the bottom. The key difference I'm seeing from the winter bite is I'm now getting a lot more "no doubt about it, yank the rod out of my hand" bites and very few suttle pressure bites.