Fishing CA Delta April 23
Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2018 7:58 pm
California Delta 4/23/2018
Water Temp 63 – 67
Visibility 2 – 4 ft
Wind 6 – 11 mph
Launched around 6:30 in the morning. A steady western breeze put a nice ripple on the water. A frog/buzzbait combination yielded no results, even though conditions were ideal. We switched to chatterbaits and spinnerbaits and got some small males to go on them.
With the tide quickly coming in, we moved to a large spawning flat hoping to find some females moving up to spawn. To our surprise, we ran into a nice school of stripers. My father hooked into a 10 pound striper on a white swimbait, which put a good bend in his rod. I proceeded to cast my chatterbait and had the biggest striper I’ve seen on the delta, follow my bait. This beast could have easily gone 40+ pounds. A true monster. But, as soon the school appeared, they vanished.
After switching back, we started to throw Senkos in the areas we knew had beds. You could tell the weekend crew had done some damage, hundreds of empty beds; kinda sad to see that happen. We proceeded down the bank and managed some small males, but nothing more.
Finding the bite increasingly more difficult, we started cranking some rip-rap and found a fun crankbait bite. Again, nothing big, but still fun.
By the afternoon, the tide had dropped way out and the wind had subsided. After a short run, we stopped at another spawning flat (this one seemed to not be fished so bad as the other). Tossing the Senko combined with the Tsuyoi Weedless Wacky Hook and punch shot produced a good number of solid fish. After an hour or so, we had a decent limit of fish, but nothing to brag about haha.
With the gnats and humidity getting to an uncomfortable point, we called it a day and headed back.
Notes
With fishing pressure at an all time high and the water starting to clear, these fish are becoming increasingly spooky. Get away from sight fishing, back off a bit, and fan-cast your water.
Slow presentations caught us the better fish, Senkos and Punch shots got the better bites.
If you are new to the fishing game and want to get bit, getting a craw pattern crankbait and burning down the rocks will get ya bit (generally smaller fish, but still fun).
Lastly, the Delta is a very special place and we want to preserve this fishery, that means clean up after yourself (don’t toss garbage or line in the water) and always try to practice catch and release.
Water Temp 63 – 67
Visibility 2 – 4 ft
Wind 6 – 11 mph
Launched around 6:30 in the morning. A steady western breeze put a nice ripple on the water. A frog/buzzbait combination yielded no results, even though conditions were ideal. We switched to chatterbaits and spinnerbaits and got some small males to go on them.
With the tide quickly coming in, we moved to a large spawning flat hoping to find some females moving up to spawn. To our surprise, we ran into a nice school of stripers. My father hooked into a 10 pound striper on a white swimbait, which put a good bend in his rod. I proceeded to cast my chatterbait and had the biggest striper I’ve seen on the delta, follow my bait. This beast could have easily gone 40+ pounds. A true monster. But, as soon the school appeared, they vanished.
After switching back, we started to throw Senkos in the areas we knew had beds. You could tell the weekend crew had done some damage, hundreds of empty beds; kinda sad to see that happen. We proceeded down the bank and managed some small males, but nothing more.
Finding the bite increasingly more difficult, we started cranking some rip-rap and found a fun crankbait bite. Again, nothing big, but still fun.
By the afternoon, the tide had dropped way out and the wind had subsided. After a short run, we stopped at another spawning flat (this one seemed to not be fished so bad as the other). Tossing the Senko combined with the Tsuyoi Weedless Wacky Hook and punch shot produced a good number of solid fish. After an hour or so, we had a decent limit of fish, but nothing to brag about haha.
With the gnats and humidity getting to an uncomfortable point, we called it a day and headed back.
Notes
With fishing pressure at an all time high and the water starting to clear, these fish are becoming increasingly spooky. Get away from sight fishing, back off a bit, and fan-cast your water.
Slow presentations caught us the better fish, Senkos and Punch shots got the better bites.
If you are new to the fishing game and want to get bit, getting a craw pattern crankbait and burning down the rocks will get ya bit (generally smaller fish, but still fun).
Lastly, the Delta is a very special place and we want to preserve this fishery, that means clean up after yourself (don’t toss garbage or line in the water) and always try to practice catch and release.