| New Melones Reservoir |
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This 12,500 surface acres and over 100 miles of shoreline make this lake a great challenge.
They must have made this lake on a Friday, due to all the trees left in it. Yeah, it was a Friday, as two workers stood there when there boss told them to clear out all the brush and trees before you fill it up. When the boss left the two workers look at each other and one said, you know if we remove all bush and trees it will take along time and I will miss my football game on Sunday. The other worker said, let’s just fill it up, they will never know. So to this day New Melones is covered with trees and bushes, just a side note the two workers now work for the Government.
I love this lake, clear water, island tops, deep water, steep walls, brushy flats and trees, trees, and more trees to make great bass habitat.
Now let’s go fishing, my day started by fishing underwater islands of course they had brush on them in about 10 feet that broke off into deep water. I started throwing rip baits in shad pattern and by 9am I had five nice bass, no big ones. As the sun made its way out I went to splitshotten and dropshotten as I ran around the lake. I mostly fished steep walls and long points in about 10 to 30 feet of water to catch 15 more bass. The worms I was using were Camanche Jacks Worms in the color Purple Weenie, Green Weenie, Morning Dawn. The types of worms were four inch Leech and the new four inch Water Dragon. Work the bait SLOW over each and every thing, working each rock and brush or tree inch by inch. I hope this will help you on your next trip. Good Luck
For More Information Call
Glory Hole Sport 209-736-4333
Camanche Jack’s Worms 209-296-6200
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The Delta Pre-Spawn |
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Water is starting to clear and you can now see past half a foot. This is where it starts getting good. A lot of shad located in water zero to ten feet. I just had a thirty fish day up to six pounds in 47 degree water, what a day.
This is what I call pre- pre spawn. It is when the first wave of bass start to position themselves in areas where they can fatten up before they move into spawning grounds. A lot of the Bass have positioned themselves in deep water on the edge of the weed line near rock walls. This is a run way for bait, like Shad. Some recommended areas to fish are Taylor Slough, Piper Slough, Holland Cut, Old River and Middle River, just to name a few.
At the high tide, work these areas with a deep running crank bait like a number five Strike King in the color white. It will dive ten feet deep which will cover the deep weed line areas. Use the stop and go techniques as the bait is cranked down, and it hits the weeds, STOP. Let the bait float away from the weeds, count to two, then jerk the rod twice to shake off any weeds that may be hung up on your hooks. Then start cranking again, work this pattern back to the rod and hold on.
At the low tide, a half ounce Persuader spinner bait with magnum willow leaf blades in the color white. The magnum blades will move a lot of water which will give you a great thump as you work it back. You work the spinner bait similar to the crank bait; slow roll the bait until you hit the weeds, jerk the rod twice then speed up for about two seconds. Remember, the spinner baits sinks so you need to keep it above the weeds this is the reason for speeding the bait up for two seconds. Then slow roll retrieve again. Continue this pattern as you follow the weed line down.
Because you will be fishing in heavy weeds, I recommend fourteen pound test Iron Silk Mono as it is a high abrasion resistance line and it can take the punishment of the weeds. Let’s not forget your Fenwick Flippin’Stik with twenty pound test line. Flip or pitch your bait to the bank but work it all the way back to find the edge of the weed line. Work your brown and purple Big Jig or a Texas rigged worm in the same color. Work it slow to cover all the areas. Good luck and have some fun.
Randy Pringle
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Telescopic Flipping' Stik™
HMG76XH-T |
| Length |
Pieces |
Power |
Lure Wt. |
Line Wt |
Guides |
| 7'6" |
1 |
XH |
3/8-2 |
12-30 |
8 |
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The Delta 'Big Bass' |
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Water is starting to clear and you can now see past half a foot. This is where it starts getting good. A lot of shad located in water zero to ten feet. I just had a thirty fish day up to six pounds in 47 degree water, what a day.
This is what I call pre- pre spawn. It is when the first wave of bass start to position themselves in areas where they can fatten up before they move into spawning grounds. A lot of the Bass have positioned themselves in deep water on the edge of the weed line near rock walls. This is a run way for bait, like Shad. Some recommended areas to fish are Taylor Slough, Piper Slough, Holland Cut, Old River and Middle River, just to name a few.
At the high tide, work these areas with a deep running crank bait like a number five Strike King in the color white. It will dive ten feet deep which will cover the deep weed line areas. Use the stop and go techniques as the bait is cranked down, and it hits the weeds, STOP. Let the bait float away from the weeds, count to two, then jerk the rod twice to shake off any weeds that may be hung up on your hooks. Then start cranking again, work this pattern back to the rod and hold on.
At the low tide, a half ounce Persuader spinner bait with magnum willow leaf blades in the color white. The magnum blades will move a lot of water which will give you a great thump as you work it back. You work the spinner bait similar to the crank bait; slow roll the bait until you hit the weeds, jerk the rod twice then speed up for about two seconds. Remember, the spinner baits sinks so you need to keep it above the weeds this is the reason for speeding the bait up for two seconds. Then slow roll retrieve again. Continue this pattern as you follow the weed line down.
Because you will be fishing in heavy weeds, I recommend fourteen pound test Iron Silk Mono as it is a high abrasion resistance line and it can take the punishment of the weeds. Let’s not forget your Fenwick Flippin’Stik with twenty pound test line. Flip or pitch your bait to the bank but work it all the way back to find the edge of the weed line. Work your brown and purple Big Jig or a Texas rigged worm in the same color. Work it slow to cover all the areas. Good luck and have some fun.
Randy Pringle
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Winter Bass on the Delta |
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When the water temperature drops to the 50’s and lower, it can be down right tough fishing. Throw in a morning fog and an afternoon wind; you have the making of a fishless day.
Your solution: Start with your Delta map by finding sloughs that are running east to west. These sloughs will have the longest period of direct sunlight throughout the day. Then look for sloughs that are long and dead end. The reason is that the far back water never ends up to the mouth of the main current. What does all this mean? Less movement, the water will hold heat longer. Add to your list, sloughs that have two exit points; this is where the water just drops in the middle. The current does not pull from one way or the other. Last but not least, big bays, flooded islands or marinas. This is where the fish can roam all over as if they were in a lake.
Baits: Let’s start with jigs, and plastic worms. Remember, the water is cold the fish will be cold so slow down your fishing retrieve. I mean slow, so slow that your hooks rust. This keeps the bait in the strike zone longer. Due to the heavy cover, rig your two baits weedless. Go with your colors of black & blue, black & red, brown & purple and greens. These are some of the most commonly used colors in the winter. When you fish these baits leave no stone unturned, work all areas of the water deep or shallow.
Don’t forget your hard baits: crank baits, diamond shads or rip baits in the following colors: Reds, Brown, Chartreuse and Shad. This time of year, hard baits can produce a lot of fish if fished correctly. Ticking the tops of weeds or deflecting off a rock or a piece of wood will attract more bites. A lot of the time, a bass will react on a hard bait because of the fish’s nature not just out of hunger. Cover the water thoroughly, for instance, a crank bait can be fished deep or shallow depending of the baits’ lip. In shallower water this is where the rip bait and the diamond shad have their place. Try your own methods, mix it up, and have fun.
Areas: Some of the most common areas to fish are White Slough and Disappointment Slough; fish the rip rap walls with stick ups , center berm points and the weed bed drop offs. Work Frank Tracks weeded areas at the low tied near current, and my two favorite places are Big Break and Sherman Lake, work the sparse tulles and back bays weed lines for best results. Winter fishing on the Delta can be tough, but if you set yourself up for success and do a little homework, your opportunities of boating more fish will happen.
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Mud on the Delta |
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Now you’re looking for clear water and there just is not a lot of it, so what do you do, “deal with it”.
Black Bass in the Delta just don’t stop feeding because of the muddy water. Fish your winter pattern, the fish are still there they just don’t see as well and they are tighter to structure.
Fishing muddy water, make multiple casts to the same area, this will give the bass a chance to target the bait. You will find the baits that make noise will be more effective.
Fishing muddy water, make multiple casts to the same area, this will give the bass a chance to target the bait. You will find the baits that make noise will be more effective.
 Persuader Baits make a unique spinner bait. The blades are not in-line. They are parallel. As you retrieve the bait, the blades hit each other making noise as the bait flutters. The bait is called the Assassinator in the color chartreuse & blue with gold blades is your best bet.
Try number five Strike King crank bait, in the colors chartreuse & blue or brown & orange. It dives over seven feet deep, which will allow you to bump the bottom, tick the top of the weeds and deflect off of trees or rocks. The Berkley Strike King Diamond Shad Chartreuse and Blue or brown & orange are another choice that works well in these  conditions. This bait sinks so you can work it in all depths.
Rattling jigs or brass and glass rigged Berkley Gulp (Turtle Back shown below) baits in brown & orange or black & blue, accent your worms with a chartreuse tails to help. Work these baits near isolated structures like logs, tulle clumps, brush, rock outcroppings, dock pilings, and my favorite: half way into the water shopping carts. Work them slow and hard. Make several casts to these areas.
 Try areas like Franks Track, Mildred Island, Big Break, Discovery Bay and any one of the many other marinas are your best bet for this time of year. Look for areas just out of current or back waters.
In the areas listed above, work these baits on the high tide, from the bank out and on the low tide, work outside the weed line for best results. Don’t get frustrated first thing in the morning as the bite will get better as the day goes on. Good Luck
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Lake Camanche |
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This is one of the finest lakes in the Mother Lode area. If you want to challenge your skills, this is your lake. For a lake, it has all kinds of structures to work on from old dams to creek channels, steep walls, big rocks, little rocks, mud flats and wood, but don’t forget the hundreds of island tops under the water and some exposed. This lake can be very rewarding. Due to their stocking program, which is some of the money that you pay to go in and fish, Camanche just produced a new lake record, 14 plus pounds, a Florida Bass. Now that’s a reward. Camanche is known for it clear water and fishing this lake from a boat, a depth finder is a necessity. For the bank fishing person you can have good days too. Let’s break it down for you.
In the morning look for exposed wood. For this time of year throw top water baits, one of my favorite are the Frenzy Poppers in shad, trout, and clown pattern. Also fish the points and any exposed structure out into the water, Keep the bait close to the cover at all times. Other baits to throw in these areas are Finesse worms, Camanche Jack worms are the choice for me. Go with the shad, the neon’s, and greens, 4 inch to 6 inch, drop shotting, split shotting, or my favorite is shaking a Dart Head. These areas with these baits will give you your best opportunities. Remember, bass are an ambush style fish. Structure of any kind can be an ambush spot for a lurking bass. The closer you get to the target, the better your chances are to catch one. After the sun comes up and you lose your low light visibility look for windy banks or mud lines. This is where the bass will stay in the shallow water making it easier for you bank fisherman to have fun. Bank fisherman, this is a lake that you have to be mobile so don’t stay in one place too long, move around. This lake is commonly known to have an afternoon wind. This can be to your advantage especially for you bank walkers, go to the wind blown bank. This is where bait will be blown to that area and the fish will be feeding.
Now you boaters, you have the opportunity to fish any one of the hundred of island tops in the lake. Using the same baits as the bank fishermen, start with your depth finder zero to thirty-five feet deep, working the baits slow, keeping the bait in the strike zone as long as possible. Six to eight pound Vanish fluorocarbon line is a must due to the clear water.. You will get more bites on this lighter line. Don’t stay too long on any island top as they are there or they are not. Work them from the top down covering the water thoroughly. When you get on an island top that has fish, it can be “Katie bar the door”
Lake Camanche, it’s not just a name, it’s an adventure…HA HA!
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