Lures for bigger delta fish

Elo316 · Post by **Elo316** » Tue Nov 03, 2015 12:20 pm

Hi. I'm a Delta Rat. First step is admitting it. I feel I'm in between stages of fishing now as where I was excited to catch any little green dink to now wanting to catch big limits.

I started fishing from the bank with a walmart pole on the delta where I could have access (mostly whiskey slough area) and now am a backseater in a couple clubs with upgraded rods. Sidetrack, why is it that I caught more & better quality from the bank than as a backseater on a boat? Stealth? Location?

Anyways, back to my original question. I have some experience but still new-ish and always last place in my clubs. At first I didn't care because I was on a boat!! Yay!! Right? But now I feel like I want to do at least decent. I think my best 5 was like 10 pounds but rare-ish. Usually I get 3-4 for 5-6 lbs. And, by the way, getting 5 keepers is harder than it looks on tv lol. Thats my other goal is to consistently catch a limit. Is it because I'm a backseater?

Long story short, my go to techniques are drop shot (7" robos) followed by senko (6"). I've gotten 3s, 5s and 7's off them every 1 in 100 (never 5s or 7's in tournaments). I get so many small bites on them though that it builds false confidence and it's hard to put it down. I had a "full proof" plan to get a quick limit with a dropshot and cull later or find the fish with it and throw a bigger bait when I found them. Well, that doesn't work lol. Anyways, my new plan is to throw bigger baits from the get go like a jig, crankbait, chatterbait, frogs or swim jig etc. and maybe leave the dropshot & senko on the deck or at home.

Of course it'll depend on the conditions and I'll always try to throw topwater in the morning. My problem is that I don't feel like I know how I'm suppose to work baits I don't throw alot. I've experimented and caught some decent/better fish on jigs, cranks etc but I had no clue what I did different in that cast than when I didn't get bit last cast. But, I feel like at some point long ago I probably didn't know how to dropshot too and just figured it out right? So it should be the same with things I'm not use to throwing; it should grow on me right?

Anyways, am I on the right track? I feel like I'm rambling but I just found these westernbass forums and am addicted. I know there are alot of people catching 20-30 lbs consistently and it boggles my mind. I don't expect anyone to give up their secrets but just wondering what percent of getting those bags is prefishing, location, conditions, lures, colors, equipment, experience?

Lastly, I kind of left out punchin because for some reason most of my boaters don't do it or know it (?) The ones who do are the ones I done my best with so I feel pretty good about punching but most people I fish with don't do it. Anyways, this feels all mumbled and I hope that there's enough info on here to make out a question or more for someone to give some advice or tell me what they think. Thanks in advance.

Whoopbass · Post by **Whoopbass** » Tue Nov 03, 2015 7:30 pm

The Delta can be a hard nut to crack and the guys that do crack it are the ones that can consistently catch 20+ pounds during a tournament. I know I can't get on em like the top guys so I look more in the middle of the standings on how the fishing is for the normal guy. There are a lot of 12-15 pound bags in that range and that's usually with two guys contributing.
Some of these guys that place high in a tournament just do it once or so a year because they were in the right place at the right time tossing the right bait. If you fish enough tournaments you will usually have one or two good tournaments during the year. Now these guys that got it figured out always seem to do well.
If you want to get good on the Delta you have to put in the work. You need to figure out the tides, when they feed in a particular area, where they position themselves, etc.....You can toss all the big baits you want but somebody that knows how to fish the Delta will smoke you on a grub.
Sounds like to me your on the right track. You might want to experiment with not casting to where the guy in the front of the boat has already tossed his bait to. There are fish in tules that are a foot deep and there are fish sitting in 5-10 feet of water in the weeds.
Just get out there every chance you get and get confident in what you're throwing. You don't have to be an expert with every bait because anymore there are just too many of them. Fish hard and let the fish tell you what they want.

I was out there a couple weeks ago mainly fishing for stripers but when I did bass fish it seemed they were mainly interested in a crawdad colored crankbait.

SacRtrain · Post by **SacRtrain** » Tue Nov 03, 2015 8:51 pm

Punch and flip

mark poulson · Post by **mark poulson** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 5:27 am

SacRtrain wrote:Punch and flip

How do you know what to punch and flip? There's so much good looking stuff out there.

SacRtrain · Post by **SacRtrain** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 10:47 am

Have one of each tied on. If the grass is sparse at the base of cover, i.e. Tulie, flip. If you have thick grass or hyacinth with 12" or more depth, punch it. Dial up YouTube. Some guys made good videos to study. Do both next to moving water. You get less bites but they're consistently bigger fish.

mark poulson · Post by **mark poulson** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 11:04 am

SacRtrain wrote:Have one of each tied on. If the grass is sparse at the base of cover, i.e. Tulie, flip. If you have thick grass or hyacinth with 12" or more depth, punch it. Dial up YouTube. Some guys made good videos to study. Do both next to moving water. You get less bites but they're consistently bigger fish.

Thanks.

Elo316 · Post by **Elo316** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 11:34 am

Yeah, thanks Sac x2!

Wrknap · Post by **Wrknap** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 11:42 am

Yea, thanks Sac x2! Now if you could send me a map of where to go, I would appreciate it!!

roaddog · Post by **roaddog** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 4:38 pm

^^^THIS^^^

reddog · Post by **reddog** » Thu Nov 05, 2015 7:18 pm

There are NOT as many guys consistently catching 20# bags as it might seem. Don't get discouraged. I'm not going to say this is the end all of the delta cause that place still has my number but I feel there are 2 ways to fish the delta. 1. Run and Gun and look to pick off the active 1-2 fish at each spot then move. 2. SLOW down! When you were bank fishing there was only so much ground you COULD cover so you worked it very well, now your moving along in a boat and everything looks better just 5' away from your last cast. Watch some aquarium fish, they just ease up to the food and suck it in. Its not that uncommon for well fed fish to watch something for quite a while then slurp it up for no explainable reason. Next remember to always be greatful for the chance to fish out of somebodys boat but maybe their style doesn't really "fit" what your trying to do. Get some nail weights and you can add then to your senkos to fit how fast or slow your boater is traveling, but DONT stop throwing the senkos! They are probably the BEST way to pick up fish behind another angler.

The Jerk 936 · Post by **The Jerk 936** » Fri Nov 06, 2015 5:32 am

I have had some great days throwing the keitech swim jig, with a 5" fat swing impact trailer. It's one of the most efficient baits for the delta, as you can throw it anywhere, due its text posed hook design. I almost always throw the bluegill flash color. I believe bigger bass will always eat some bluegill. Good luck

Derrek Stewart · Post by **Derrek Stewart** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 11:58 am

(picked up on this a little late, this might still help)

Those are excellent questions. The thing that stands out for me when you mentioned fishing from the bank versus fishing from the boat is number one, you’re moving your presentation into the strike zone/funnel when you’re on the bank. When you’re fishing from the boat, typically you’re bringing your set-up out and away from the target. The layout and conditions of the Delta can truly intensify this. That in itself should give you much to consider when fishing the rear deck. How to maximize the funnel in that situation.

Don’t be too hard on yourself when you’re fishing from the back deck, it’s a unique situation. If the boater has control and this person goes to unproductive water or is there at the wrong time it generally doesn’t matter how good an angler you are. If you’re not around the right fish, you can’t get the right bites.

There are many excellent comments here. Don’t rule anything out, keep an open mind. Personally from the back deck Power Shotting the drop shot and the using the Senko are two of my best Delta back deck presentations. Especially when the front deck angler is doing something else. When the bite is stingy, presenting something different or in a different way can pay off.

Stick with it, keep progressing and look for the clues, they’re there. And always remember, The Fish Do Not Know Which Way the Boat is Going! http://thebbz.com/2013/4/2/the-fish-do- ... t-is-going

Robb R · Post by **Robb R** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 7:54 pm

I always like this type of post . Lived in the Bay Area for 50+ years but only fished the Delta twice .
My last time out at the Delta , landed an 8+ on a wacky Senko . In 35 years of bass fishing I have landed over a dozen 10lb bass and my opinion is simple . Big bass are much more intelligent and more opportunistic than smaller bass . They have seen all the latest lures , fades etc... Big bass live deeper most all of the time and only come shallow to spawn or eat .
I think big bass are most susceptible at night . Size of the bait matters at times , but I think location location location
is far more important .
My personal best is a 12.4lb bass caught on a 4.5" Magic worm rigged on a Carolina rig . Would that same bass hit a bigger lure --- probably yes --- if it was in the same location ( think deep water ) .
Stick with it , look for deeper water area's close to shallow water with a good food source most of the year .
Tight lines s,
Robb

ash · Post by **ash** » Fri Nov 20, 2015 11:09 am

Current, structure, forage - that is what I keep in mind when fishing the delta. Time of year will help me dial in forage, winter time SHAD SHAD SHAD - and some deep water crawfish.

Current direction and volume are things to watch out for, that magical time of the tide switch is a thing of beauty that we all love to be in but as a non-boater you have no control over so your job is to be mindful of current direction and speed. Looking at tulle islands there is always a deeper side and a shallower side, same thing as the river bends, that outgo is what undercut those islands - that is where the bait is being swept to - CHOMP.

Structure, grass, rocks sunken stuff. Mindful of changes in vegetation, getting ontop of the grass in high tide and working the grass in low tide.

For me delta, moving bait - crank, chatterbait, spinnerbait, Swimbait - Flip bait, senko, Punch, jig and topwater / jerkbait seasonal - as a non boater you can adjust to a heavy flip of 3/4oz to 1oz and punch the outter matt.

You cant control your boater so keep it simple, anticipate your angles and casts. Its better to wait for the good angle then get an extra cast in IMHO - I love that river.

Elo316 · Post by **Elo316** » Fri Nov 20, 2015 11:30 am

I just want to say thank you all who have posted replies. I have been definitely been keeping track and I highly appreciate all the advice (you guys have given great advice!) and made me feel a ton better.

I'm in the process of saving up for my first, likely older and used,bass boat so hopefully I won't have to worry about backseating anymore soon. But, I don't doubt that the advice given here will help as a boater too.