Ideal Scenario: Having won the Wild West Bass Trail’s 2020 General Tire Duel on the Delta presented by the City of Oakley, the Tracy, Calif. angler believes his greatest potential awaits in the grass. But not just any grass; Acosta is understandably particular about the type of vegetation he fishes.
“I like to target the spawning areas where they’re going to move into and the (adjacent) staging areas; something like flooded islands and big grass flats,” Acosta said. “An important thing is finding the clean grass. There’s plenty of grass, but a lot of it is dirty and brown and nasty — that’s not where the fish want to be.
“They want to be in the really green, crisp grass. These areas are better oxygenated and they hold more bait. That’s were the staging fish are going to hang out.”
Meager depth allows optimal visibility for grass inspection, so Acosta suggests low-tide recon. Riding around promising areas and marking the healthiest grass gives him productive targets regardless of tide stage.
Acosta said the key to igniting the spring bite in any scenario is sustained warmth. “With three days of nice weather, (the Delta bite) will break wide open. This time of year, after a nice warm spell gets the water temperature close to 60 degrees, we get the biggest fish of the year.”
Best Baits: When higher tide stages find the fish roaming above the grassy zone, Acosta targets them with a 1/2-ounce Z-Man JackHammer Chatterbait paired with a green pumpkin Berkley PowerBait The Deal trailer.
Read the rest of Acosta's info and two other Delta strategies from the pros here: https://bit.ly/3llhOoJ
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