Fishing CA Delta September 10
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2018 8:13 pm
California Delta 9/10/2018
Water Temp 68 - 71
Visibility 1 – 6 feet
Wind 5 - 10 mph
Launched the boat around 7 in the morning. The tide was rushing out, and our ever present western wind was blowing. The tide was ripping, so we decided to get into more protected areas.
We ran to a large flat that was protected from the ripping tide, but still had some movement. We went in different directions with baits, to see what the stripers wanted. I opted for a crankbait, while my father went with topwater. I had a couple small ones take the crankbait and a couple decent stripers eat my fathers spook, but other than that, we struggled.
This went on for the majority of our morning, a few fish here and there, but no consistency. Then, out of nowhere, the water went crystal clear. This killed our bite even more. I kid you not, there was at least 6 foot of visibility. With the water so clear, we searched for dirtier water. Finding water that was slightly dirtier (still about 4 foot visibility), I tossed around a fluke. Sure enough, the small stripers and bass were all over it. I messed with the small fish while my father went for bigger game with the spook. Sure enough, he caught all the better stripers of the trip.
After playing with the stripers, we switched tactics and targeted largemouth. Curious to see if the bass had moved to their Fall pattern, I tied on a Texas rig. Flipping to the edge of large weed lines, I worked the bait until it fell off the ledge. As soon as my bait started to drop off the ledge, I had a huge thump. I swung and felt powerful headshakes. I knew this couldn’t be a bass, but maybe a striper. Then a good-sized channel cat came flying at the boat. I can definitely say that was a first for me on the Delta. I continued to work my Texas rig along this ledge and picked off a few good bass. It surprised me, but I guess we are heading into Fall now.
Around 5 in the afternoon, we called. It was a grind for sure, but we managed a few decent fish.
Notes
The bass are transitioning from their Summer to Fall pattern. They are not fully committed to the Fall pattern at the moment, but I’m gonna give it about two more weeks and we should see the majority of the fish transitioned.
We covered a ton of water today, but that’s what it takes to find the fish.
Lastly, there was no magic bait today, it was pretty inconsistent. Swimbaits, cranks, flukes, Texas rigs, and topwater all got bit.
Water Temp 68 - 71
Visibility 1 – 6 feet
Wind 5 - 10 mph
Launched the boat around 7 in the morning. The tide was rushing out, and our ever present western wind was blowing. The tide was ripping, so we decided to get into more protected areas.
We ran to a large flat that was protected from the ripping tide, but still had some movement. We went in different directions with baits, to see what the stripers wanted. I opted for a crankbait, while my father went with topwater. I had a couple small ones take the crankbait and a couple decent stripers eat my fathers spook, but other than that, we struggled.
This went on for the majority of our morning, a few fish here and there, but no consistency. Then, out of nowhere, the water went crystal clear. This killed our bite even more. I kid you not, there was at least 6 foot of visibility. With the water so clear, we searched for dirtier water. Finding water that was slightly dirtier (still about 4 foot visibility), I tossed around a fluke. Sure enough, the small stripers and bass were all over it. I messed with the small fish while my father went for bigger game with the spook. Sure enough, he caught all the better stripers of the trip.
After playing with the stripers, we switched tactics and targeted largemouth. Curious to see if the bass had moved to their Fall pattern, I tied on a Texas rig. Flipping to the edge of large weed lines, I worked the bait until it fell off the ledge. As soon as my bait started to drop off the ledge, I had a huge thump. I swung and felt powerful headshakes. I knew this couldn’t be a bass, but maybe a striper. Then a good-sized channel cat came flying at the boat. I can definitely say that was a first for me on the Delta. I continued to work my Texas rig along this ledge and picked off a few good bass. It surprised me, but I guess we are heading into Fall now.
Around 5 in the afternoon, we called. It was a grind for sure, but we managed a few decent fish.
Notes
The bass are transitioning from their Summer to Fall pattern. They are not fully committed to the Fall pattern at the moment, but I’m gonna give it about two more weeks and we should see the majority of the fish transitioned.
We covered a ton of water today, but that’s what it takes to find the fish.
Lastly, there was no magic bait today, it was pretty inconsistent. Swimbaits, cranks, flukes, Texas rigs, and topwater all got bit.