Several years ago when I made the decision to fish for multiple species, I didn’t realize it was going to be so difficult. This past weekend I struggled to even get a bite while I watched other anglers catch fish around me, it was frustrating to say the least. I’ve never hired a fishing guide before but I’m really starting to consider it after my recent trip. There’s only so much that I can learn from watching YouTube videos of anglers fishing lakes that I’ve never fished before. Even the videos of anglers fishing our local lakes make it look so easy until I actually try it for myself. This weekend I’m going bass fishing on a friend’s boat. It’s been a while since I’ve been as excited as I am to get back out bass fishing. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m not sure how much longer I can hold out before I switch back over to fishing strictly for bass.
Delta Report:
Striped bass fishing is great right now for anglers trolling around Rio Vista down to the Pittsburg area while using Rebels and Yo Zuri shallow and deep diving lures. Anglers are catching bass on a variety of different baits right now. The always productive springtime bait of choice right now is the Senko. There are also some pretty nice sized bass being caught by anglers using snag proof frogs throughout the day.
New Melones Lake:
The trout bite is starting to pick up as the water is finally starting to clear. Most trollers are picking up mixed limits of kokanee/trout, while trolling shad patterned lures or rolling fresh shad. The bass bite continues to get better as the water temperature has been around 58 degrees during the day. Bass are being caught by reaction baits as well as jigs. The bigger bass have been caught while using jigs and dragging Carolina Rigs along the bottom. Big catfish are also being caught by those fishing coves with running water in them. Supposedly the catfish are stacking up in the backs of these coves waiting for an easy meal brought to them through the spring run off the lake has been getting.
Lake Don Pedro:
Fishing for trout has been hit or miss lately. Anglers trolling for trout are fishing from Fleming Bay to Middle Bay from the surface down to 20 feet deep. Most of them are using blade and crawler combinations. Bass fishing remains good as there are a lot of bass being caught by anglers fishing from the bank down to 20 feet deep with a variety of different baits.
Lake Camanche:
The trout fishing has slowed a bit for anglers fishing Camanche. They have reported that the bite has been picking up at the day goes on and not necessarily in the early part of the day. Anglers fishing off the bank are doing well while fishing with Power Bait and anglers trolling for trout are trolling the top 20 feet of water for their limits. Bass fishing continues to get better as the bigger females are starting to show up on the beds found throughout the lake. Make sure to practice catch and release when landing a fish that was taken off a bed.
Lake Pardee:
The lake was recently planted with trout which seemed to have ignited the bite for a lot of anglers. The kokanee bite is also picking up as anglers are doing fair while trolling for them between 15 and 30 feet deep. For trout anglers are trolling or fishing off the bank while using Power Bait. There are a lot of trout being caught by anglers fishing off the bank in the launch ramp cove.
Tip of the Week:
A lot of boaters have a throw cushion on their boat that is required by the Coast Guard. Very few boaters have it readily available. I’m as guilty as anyone of having my throw cushion stored somewhere in my boat that I can easily get to, but isn’t exactly readily available. This year I’ve made it a habit of mine to make sure that it’s readily available, not in a compartment but right out in the open.
