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Fishing Report
fishing1

After hearing about a friend of mine having to have his shoulder operated on, I decided that it was time to get my shoulder checked out. I’ve been experiencing shoulder pain for the past 20 years. The pain would come and go with rest. Lately, the pain has been lingering a lot longer than ever, making fishing back to back days nearly impossible. With a break between tournaments and a two-day tournament coming up at the end of the season, I couldn’t put off visiting the doctor any longer. After an initial consultation and an x-ray, I was diagnosed with shoulder tendonitis. There are many causes of tendonitis, overuse being the main cause. The good news is that surgery isn’t needed, the bad news is that there’s no quick fix. Treatment calls for physical therapy, lots of stretching, strengthening exercises, and possibly a cortisone shot if the pain persists. I often joke with the athletes that I coach to use their other arm; maybe it’s time for me to follow my own advice. I’m definitely not going to stop fishing!

 

Delta Report:

In the wind and rain, spinnerbaits, rattle traps, and swimbaits are working well. Once the stormy weather clears and the sun is out jigs have been the dominant bait lately in black and blue or black and red. Senko’s in green pumpkin fished both weightless and wacky style are great baits right now. The bass have started to move into the shallows along the south corner of Franks Tract but are very spooky. In the weeks to come the bite should turn wide open as the water temperatures have reached the mid-50s in most areas. Striper fishing continues to be tough for a lot of anglers although an occasional keeper can be caught around the Big Break area.

 

New Melones Lake:

There have been a couple real nice brown trout caught recently by anglers trolling rolled shad. Trout are being caught by anglers trolling from the surface down to 40 feet deep. Bass fishing is booming right now as anglers are catching limits of bass fairly easy. Just about every week now a 10 pound or bigger bass is being caught by anglers fishing with swimbaits.

 

Lake Pardee:

Lake Pardee is hit or miss this time of year for a lot of anglers. The trout and kokanee seem to be extremely unpredictable right now making it tough to provide an accurate report. Most reports are of fish being caught from the surface down to 20 feet deep. Bass fishing is improving daily as the water temperatures are increasing.

 

Lake Don Pedro:

Trout fishing has remained fair regardless of the weather. Most anglers catching trout have been catching them while trolling the top 20 feet of water. Bass fishing has been improving slightly as the spawn is right around the corner. Anglers are catching fish while working both shallow and deep with various soft plastics and shad imitating reaction baits.

 

Lake Camanche:

Trout fishing has been fair to good for many anglers. Most anglers are migrating towards the South Shore launch area as several nice trout have been caught in the recent weeks. Hat Island is another hot spot for anglers fishing with shad imitating Rapala lures. Bass fishing is beginning to pick up as anglers are catching an occasional fish up shallow. The more successful anglers are staying deep with drop shotted worms or jigs worked along the bottom.

 

Lake Amador:

Weekly trout plants continue. For the month of February 5200 pounds of trout were planted. Fishing from boats has been slower compared to those fishing off of the bank. Anglers fishing for trout are either tossing their favorite trout lures or fishing with Berkley’s Mice Tails.

 

Tip of the Week:

One of the best tips I’ve learned recently was how to top shot my braided line with a fluorocarbon or monofilament leader. If you fish with a spinning rod this will surely save you a lot of money and eliminate a lot of hassle with line twists. There are many instructional videos online on how to do this; I highly recommend you give it a try.