CA Delta 04-09-2020

Yeah 2020 has started out rough and these times we are in are unprecedented but just like anything else we all just need to focus on the positives and try do what we can to better ourselves. I am fortunate enough that the delta is right out my back door, and I have been able to get out and practice my craft and some social distancing with the fish. I launched around 11:30 am and fished till sundown. I like late starts this time of year because in my mind the fish want that warm water and when we have constant fronts moving through. The afternoons tend to be a better bite for me. Obviously this isn't an absolute, just a personal observation. Anyways I ran into Owl Harbor off the San Joaquin River to start. because last time I was out I saw a lot of bigger fish staging, and I hoped to find a few of them on beds. The tide was almost bottomed out and it was cloudy and colder than I expected. The fishing was slow for the first couple of hours. All I could catch were some small buck bass guarding there beds the biggest weighing 2.40. Then as the sun came out and the tide began to rise I noticed that there was a lot more activity up shallow, I saw big females moving in and chasing other fish off of there bedding areas. I knew things were about to get a little crazy.

My first big fish came off a bed. She was locked on and it only took me 3 casts with my 7 inch green weenie Roboworm power shot to get her to bite. She weighed in at 5.15. As I slowly worked the area I started seeing more and more big one's positioning and setting up on beds. I found two more big fish locked on, one 5.65 and the other 4.35. Unfortunately I spooked a really big one that could of been my new PB, she was on a bed but after she saw me she never came back. I decided at that point to run some water with something faster. So I worked the inside weedlines with a fluke. After picking off a few smaller fish up shallow I finally hooked into a good one. This next part I swear is nothing but the truth, and I have video footage of it all. I made a cast into a pocket of a tule island and my reel decided to bird nest, as I was picking it out, my line knotted and got snagged on one of my rod guides so I couldn't reel in anymore.While I was trying to fix it and un-knot my line I saw my fluke start moving for deep water, so I whipped the slack in my line and set the hook, this fish started peeling toward the boat, with my reel down for the count I had no choice but to throw my rod down and start hand lining this fish in. I've heard of people having to do this before but this was a new one for me. After a couple of minutes of fighting this fish I got her next to the boat and into the net. My fluke just fell out of her mouth. She weighed in at a hefty 6.02 pound. My new personal best handline fish for sure. 😂

After that whole fiasco, I alternated between flipping a power shot and throwing the fluke around until sundown. I ended up losing another big one, after I pitched to a tule point where I saw a bed earlier in the day. She thumped it hard, I set hard and thought I had her pinned she came up and I saw her side, definitely another good 5-6 pound class fish, but soon after that she dove under the boat and came unhooked. I ended up finishing off my limit with a 3.10 male off a bed, not a bad sack for an afternoon of fishing. I got off the water at sundown battling my motor that seemed to only want to go about 3-4 thousand rpms back to the launch. Today was just one of those well timed out days of fishing where I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. It was the full moon, the weather was limiting the fish to a small window of opportunity to get up and do there thing. The water temps were right, and there were big fish in the area. I also think the tide had something to do with it as well. After speaking with a few buddies who fish the delta a lot I have drawn some conclusions on when the big ones are caught off beds. Obviously nothing is absolute and this is just my personal opinion but I believe the rising tide is your best chance this time of year to stumble Into a big one. I believe that the big ones are just waiting for the weather and the water temps to line up but I also think they feel a lot more comfortable locking down on a bed when there is a little more water over there heads. Once again that is just my opinion based on my own observations, I could be completely wrong. For equipment my power shot was rigged up on a Megabass Orochi xx braillist paired with a Shimano Curado DC, and 15 pound Seaguar Abrazx Fluorocarbon. The fluke was on my Megabass Orochi xx perfect pitch paired with a 13 fishing concept A and 17 pound Seaguar Abrazx Fluorocarbon. The water temps were between 59-62 degrees and the water clarity was beginning to actually get some color to it. I have been blessed enough to be able to get out on the water during this crazy time and I hope everyone is staying safe and still hitting there local waters to get a line wet, until next time keep on keepin on and don't forget to live fast and catch bass 🤘