CA DELTA REPORT
Updated - 8/1/2006
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Bob’s Bait Report www.themasterbaiter.com

The hot weather has lasted over the past week with temperatures mostly above triple digits. This is the main reason for a slowing of most outdoor activities except for water ski, Jet Ski, or swimming.

Fishing activity is definitely slow due to this weather condition. However, anglers who went out fishing last week still got some good size striped bass or dozens of catfish including channel catfish, and big head catfish.

During this time, small striped bass are the one to take your bait before a big one has a change to get. Be prepared for more than the bait you are usually need during fishing and go with a variety of baits rather than concentrating on just one kind of bait.

Normally, grass shrimp are good for keeper striped bass rather than anchovy, or sardine. Fresh shad can be used to make it more attractive to the fish. Butterfly is one of the good ways to hook the shad and get striped bass.

Catfish fishing is really hot in Georgiana Slough and Mokelumne Rivers. Before dark until midnight is the best time to have catfish actively feeding. Catfish baits can be anchovy, sardine, night crawler, chicken liver, clam, crawdad tail meat, or fresh shad. However, crawdad tail meat and fresh shad are the best baits to get very good size of channel catfish.

Last week, there were a number of striped bass reported at the Isleton fishing pier, Isleton Bridge, Tyler Island Bridge, the mouth of Georgian Slough and Mokelumne River. Some striped bass weighed up to 30 lbs.

Salmon fishing was not reported even though the season opened last week. There were no anglers at all who were willing to troll for salmon last week. Hope the weather will get better and the water temperature drops below 60 degrees to make way for salmon run upstream to spawn. Best luck to you all and have a nice coming weekend.

The Wilson Files- Mark Wilson

Dan,

Monday, July 31, 2006...Jeff Boyle and Tony Lopes decided to brave the WIND and go striper fishing with me today. We had wind all day over 25 mph and up to 35 mph. Rollers and whitecaps which dirtied the water, especially at low tide around 2 p.m. Otherwise a good day of catching. We spooned some Crippled Herrings for 2 ugly squawfish (Jeff is Squawfish Queen, twice, for today), about 12 shaker stripers and 3 keeper stripers to 21", That was kind of slow so we decided to go trolling on the West Bank with Red Head/White Body B16 Bombers in shallow water. Another 4 shakers, or so, and 6 more keepers. Tony caught a 10 pounder right away. Then, I had my way with some little keepers to 5 pounds. Jeff followed up with a pretty good "miss", which took some line out before it got away. I turned the boat around and went through the same area and Jeff hooked up again, only this time it stayed on. A really good fish. Jeff was yelling at me that he was out to 320' of line off his reel. I already had the boat in reverse. The fish headed into the grass, then turned towards a snag out in the river. It never got around that snag and we got the fish to the boat. After netting the fish, taking some pictures, we released Jeff's striper which hit 42" and 29.5 pounds. Jeff exclaimed that it was his biggest striper ever. He finally beat his son's 20+ pounder. Good going Jeff and Tony. The water stayed dirty and the wind kept blowing, so we called it a day and headed for home. I made it after traffic and yes, we saw Mt. Diablo all day. That's it. Good luck. Catch you later - Mark.

Trout And Kokes Slow a bit

Angels Camp- We are seeing very few rainbows taken by trollers- most are catching kokanee. The best bet for Trout is at night, and you may get a big surprise. .John Martin from Galt was also night fishing, but for bass, when he caught a 10-pound, 27” long brown trout on a plastic worm!

If you are fishing from the bank for trout, you will have the most luck in the local rivers and creeks. The Department of Fish and Game planted Angels Creek and White Pines Lake last week, so those will be two good places to try. We are seeing some rainbows taken at night under submersible lights. Dan Owen, Naomi Raymond, and Tom Dutil all had limits of 2+ pound rainbows caught at night.

Don’t Forget, Every summer, we hold a tournament to help Calaveras Bass Anglers purchase Florida super-strain black bass to plant in New Melones Lake. These fish are released into the lake, and will reproduce with the native northern black bass, and improve the quality and size of the fish in Melones.
Our tournament is lots of fun. We start off with a big tri-tip barbeque, where you can eat good food and swap fishing stories with other anglers. We will hold a raffle, and give away lots and lots of great prizes. Raffle ticket sales will also go toward the bass plant. After dinner and the raffle, anglers blast off at 7 p.m., and fish till the weigh-in at one a.m.. The winners are determined and the cash is handed out, and everyone can go home and get some sleep, unlike those all-night tournaments! Call or e-mail me if you want me to send you a tournament brochure, which contains details and and sign-up form.
New Melones Lake is currently holding 2,053,000 acre-feet of water, and is at 85% capacity. The lake is full and beautiful. The lake elevation held steady last week, and is at 1,057 ft. above sea level and only 31 ft. from full capacity. Outflow is finally exceeding inflow, so expect the lake level to start to fall, as it usually does in the summer. This can slow the bite somewhat, especially for bass. Surface water is approximately 75-78 degrees. Water is stained, with prominent mud lines. Ramp update: All ramps are open. We are now using the uppermost ramp at Glory Hole and at Tuttletown. The lower parking lot at Glory Hole is underwater, so parking is somewhat limited on busy summer weekends- plan on arriving early until the water level drops and uncovers the big parking lot again!

Lake Pardee

Water conditions: The Lake water level is still right at spill and holding. Temperatures varied a little since the last report, 82 degrees at surface and 76 degrees at the 20-foot mark. Water clarity remains unchanged at 17 to 20 feet. All measurements and readings were taken in the Recreation Area.

Trolling-Blistering temperatures have kept all but the hardiest anglers off the Lake this week. Spoke to a group of friends that got some nice Rainbows Thursday afternoon trolling in 30 feet of water in Mel’s cove and the Woodpile-go figure. No first hand reports to verify it but chances are the Kokanee are still keeping to the middle of the River Arm at 100 feet and below. The most popular lures remain the same, hoochies in florescent pink and green along with small beaded spinners in pink, red, blue and tire track. Tip your lures with scented shoe peg corn and drag it all behind a watermelon or large silver/blue dodger or sidekick.

Bank fishing-Century mark Temperatures have also discouraged bank fishing. No first hand info to report so its up to you to catch ‘em, get your picture taken and info recorded at the Marina. Stony Point landing still a good bet early but bring some shade and lots of cool drinks. Cast out further and put your bait in the deeper channels 30 to 50 feet off shore, as fish will go deeper to find cooler water. As a rule the bite is early and the newly planted trout can’t resist silver/blue casting lures and black wooly flies. For the more experienced and smarter Trout use a sliding sinker rig with a night crawler or processed bait in rainbow or chartreuse with sparkles.

Some success stories from July-William (last name missing) from Valley Springs landed a 13.8 lb catfish in the South end with chicken liver, I think. Bob Fisher, a local, got another nice cat, 15.1 lbs at the Logjam. Last but not least Leo Mc Carver landed an 8.7 lb largemouth off Rainbow Point using a worm, color not divulged.

Trout Trollers Excel

Wallace-Trollers continue to catch fish using R-Lures and Ex-Cel lures in green/ gold, and blue/gold. Needlefish in the cop-car pattern have also been reported as successful this week. The water temperatures have warmed up, so the trout are holding between 40-65 feet deep, and the area from Hat Island to the dam has been very productive. A couple of locals from Ione, who fish Dike 3 regularly, report that the overnight fishing on Thursday night was terrific. They caught 2 limits of beautiful rainbows on Power Eggs, anchored in 50 feet of water. They both have 2nd rod stamps, and fish 2 rods each...they caught 4 fish in the first 30 minutes they were fishing, and later caught 4 fish at one time...one on each rod...all at the same time...that's some pretty fast action. Fishermen report that drifting night crawlers and Power Bait along the front of the buoy line has been producing fish also. Drop your bait down 35-50 feet and let the wind drift you along the front of the buoys.

The bass bite is still very good these days. Fishermen report a lot of bass being caught in the Lancha Plana area, fishing the rock piles and submerged islands. Camanche Jack's worms and leeches in smoke, green, or purple are the colors most often mentioned. Fish are being caught in the Narrows, working the deep rock drop-offs and boulders; and the Causeway Cove has been a hot spot also. The big bass for the week was caught by Don Mitchell, of San Jose. He caught a beautiful 5 pound largemouth on a plastic worm, near the dam.

The catfish bite continues to be red hot all over the lake. South Shore Marina has seen lots of limits of big cats this week, and report that mackerel and liver are the favorite bait. Fish the murky water in the backs of the coves in about 10-15 feet; throw out some smelly bait, or a night crawler. 15 pound test line is highly recommended for catfish. The Marina Cove at North Shore, Camanche Arm at South Shore, Camper's Cove, and Causeway Cove are all great places to start. The big catfish at North Shore this week was caught by Carl Wester, of Oceanside. He caught a beautiful 6 pound cat using mackerel. He was fishing with the Wade family, near the dam, in about 23 feet of water.

Lake Camanche's current elevation is 232.32 feet above sea level, a drop of 1.2 feet since last Sunday. The lake should drop slowly this week. Water is currently flowing into Camanche at a rate of 280 c.f.s., and is flowing out of Camanche at a rate of 1255 c.f.s. Lake Camanche is about 94% full. Surface water temperature at the dam is 79.82 degrees. The water is very clear, with a Secchi reading of 26 feet.

Pennies on the dollar for fishing rods, reels, baits, lures, and more? You be the judge!