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Fishing Report 3/18/2020
fishing report

This week I’ve been swapping out electronics on my boat. I’ve always used basic electronics. I recently purchased some newer, used devices from local anglers that are five years newer than the ones that I had on my boat. I always knew that technology moves fast, but the difference in depth/fish finders now, compared to when I started is unbelievable. I can remember the first non-flasher depth/fish finder I ever saw. It was like a Pong Game. My dad paid $100 for it at the time, which was a lot of money back then. Fast forward to today where there are 12-inch color screen with wireless connectivity and Live Scope. Unfortunately with advanced technology, the price of units has also increased. Top of the line electronics can cost an angler upwards of $10,000. This explains why new bass boat prices have exceeded $100,000 for the higher end 20-foot boats. A well-known bass boat builder was asked why the prices were so high. His response was that new bass boat prices historically have always been comparable to new truck prices. I’m not in the market for either one right now, and after hearing that I’ll probably stick to buying used.

 

Delta Report:

Bass fishing is good right now as anglers are doing well while tossing spinner baits across windblown tulle points. The bass are either spawning or getting ready to spawn right now making it an excellent time to get out on the water. The bite should only get better once we have another full moon. Fishing for striped bass is picking up for anglers fishing the North and West Delta.

 

New Melones Lake:

Trout fishing is improving, anglers are catching them on Power Bait and inflated worms combined with marshmallows. Anglers trolling for trout have been doing well while trolling the top 25 feet. Some anglers are also having luck while trolling rolled shad at 1-2 mph. Bass fishing is picking up as a lot of fish have been cruising the shallows looking for areas to spawn. Senko’s have been working very well as a lot of fish are being caught while roaming the banks.

 

Lake Don Pedro:

Fishing for trout is good for anglers trolling from the surface down to 20 feet deep. There are a lot of trout that have made it into the lake from the Moccasin Hatchery. Bass fishing is fair right now as anglers are catching a lot of fish while fishing Senko’s and shaky head worms.

 

New Hogan:

Fishing is good right now on the lake for bass. Shaky head worms fished from the bank down to 30 feet deep is working for limits of bass. As the weather warms a bit look for the bass fishing to pick up even more as the bass are eager to move up shallow and spawn. Along with the bass seeking out the shallows the bluegills are also making their way shallow and can be caught on small worms and grubs.

 

Lake Amador:

Lake owners continue to plant large amounts of trout into the lake. Power bait fished on the bottom as well as under a bobber is the going technique right now. Bass fishing has started to pick up as anglers are starting to get a few while fishing crankbaits and jigs. While the trout are still shallow large trout imitating swimbaits are sure to entice a few followers at the least.

 

Tip of the Week:

I was watching a video recently of an angler using a lure that was 70 years old. The lure looked like something from the past compared to today’s baits, but still caught fish. I was reminded of something I read about how some baits from the past can be just as effective today. The angler who wrote the column, used the example of how many fish don’t live beyond five years. During that time, certain baits or techniques no longer get used. Resulting in a new generation of fish that have never seen that bait or technique before.