Battling Poor Water

by Dan Mathisen with Ken Cook

Everywhere has been beat up by the wind and rain, and really this past couple weeks the river was pounded by storms. Whether you’re a weekend angler or a top pro, we have to compete in some of the worst conditions and anglers who can adjust to these conditions can catch a few fish. Bass anglers will be able to take advantage of some of the stained muddy conditions if they better understand the basses sight, hearing, smell and taste and the importance of each.

Since the wind and rain is keeping me in today I guess I found myself thinking some more about the biology of bass fishing as shared by Ken Cook. I spoke with Cook again the other evening and he shared some more of his thoughts on the subject. With the water clarity fading fast it is important to think of the sight, sound (both good ones and BAD ones) smells and taste.
Vision is probably the least important for the angler to be concerned with during the condition we will be facing here. Sight for the bass is not as good as we give him credit for especially during muddy conditions.

We all have caught fish during these muddied low visibility conditions yet how with such limited visibility. Baits need to have good presence in the water (jigs with good sized trailers are good bets). Cook likes baits that appeal to there other senses to really trigger strikes.
Sound is probably one of the most important senses to understand when fishing for bass especially in stained water. The bass really has two very different ways of hearing knowing these can really trigger the strikes. Yes those two small holes covered with a thin membrane are the bass’s ears. They are not most important as they are geared towards high frequency sounds; the bass has another way to really key in on his prey the Lateral Line. Nerve endings along the lateral line allow the bass to process low frequency sounds and really key in on their prey. Sound is so important as it travels five times faster in water. Ever wonder why many eastern pro’s use hand controlled bow mount motors? “It forces anglers to set up a constant speed on the trolling motor, this has much less of an spooking effect than the on-off habits many of us have while using foot controlled models” according to Cook.

There have been many studies on what triggers bass to strike. Cook reminded us that if you watch bass in a controlled environment there often would be baitfish swimming right with the bass. If you clip a fin of one of these baitfish and put it in the tank, it will become an instant target of the bass. The bass can’t see the tail was clipped the abnormal sound pulls the basses trigger.
Smell and taste are also factors when fishing, but which is more important? We all have bags of salted plastics is salt that important? Sure salt impregnated bait do get held onto a bit longer, but for the most part the salt is washed off before you get bit anyway. Smell is the most important. Cook said, “Smell will get you more bites”. Think about it bites are the key, if you can trigger the bites isn’t that more important how it taste?

Cook believes that by far the efforts of Berkley over the years in studying attractive smells to fish has put them on the top of the market with there Powerbait attractant. There are several things that are flat out un-appealing to the bass Sun Screen smoking, gasoline. If nothing else Cook tries to accomplish the task of fueling, putting on sunscreen early in the day then wash with plenty of soap and water. Then to further mask any foul orders wipe your hand with Powerbait or one of the new masking soaps.

After the storm door closes the stained water will warm faster with a few days of sunny weather putting the bass on the bite. As the temperatures improve so will the bass action. Are you really ready to get started bass fishing? Well, have the dreams started yet? Have any thoughts of grabbing your Rod? Do your dreams include a Brush Hog? What about hanging that Super Pork on the back of your jig? Maybe, tossing your Dominator? Oh’ you must not forget, twitching' your Boom Boom Tube? Yea, your anxious to get some bass to the boat Ah, you know what I’m talking about, pre-spawn bass are getting ready to go on the attack.

Yes, it is that time of year again when the bass fishing is just about ready to show signs of improvement has we are heading into the pre-spawn period for bass. By the end of the month, water temperatures will begin to rise in Delta and lakes as more sunshine starts to prevail. As the water temperatures rise into the mid 50, the strong populations of black bass in the Delta (and Foothill Lakes) will start on a binge. Bass anglers will soon be enjoying improving action if we ever get few days of warm weather on the Delta waters. Many anglers will start to toss jigs and worms. I'll probably start searching again with spinnerbaits in the South Delta again this year. Big thumpin' blades rolled slow on points and in the clearest water I can find.

Those that know me will tell you that most of what I toss are just plain ugly, with a lot of thump. How-about black/red skirts with biggest single chartreuse Colorado blade I can find for a start. Of course standards whites and chartreuse will also draw the strikes. On finding the clear water, it is a matter of searching for the dead current areas. Dead-end sloughs are the easiest to find yet they are also the easiest for anglers to locate with a decent map. Some exploring will pay-off as many areas will surprise you the high water gives the impression that everything is wiped-out yet it also give anglers and fish access to protected areas. Some of the best areas early in the year may be areas that you can't get to after the spring run-off is gone. Often these areas with the lack of current and thick cover (I like Wood) will filter out the water leaving behind just pockets of clear warmer water. Exploiting these areas can yield some nice fish. Enjoy!

 

Dan Mathisen
FishDelta.com - All Species, All Delta
The Ultimate Resource For California Delta Fishing

---

Would you like to use this article to add content to your website or newsletter?
Send an email to: articlerequest@fishdelta.com
Inlcude your name, your website, and the name of the article you would like to use.
And we'll respond back to you within 48 hours or less with the details