Top 10 Baits from the Cal Delta
Punching and vibrating jigs do most of the damage
The Costa FLW Series Western Division event presented by Power-Pole on the California Delta had a lot of punching as usual, but it was far from the only thing going. Due to the lush grass and windy and touch conditions, vibrating jigs and finesse played a big role as well. Blake Dyer earned the win with a 62-13 total and a handful of baits. Behind him, some pros opted to be “one rod Todd” and others kept their options wide open.
1. Claiming the wire-to-wire victory, Dyer caught the bulk of his fish on a 1/2-ounce green pumpkin Z-Man ChatterBait Jack Hammer with a Yamamoto Zako. He also caught keepers by punching hyacinth and hydrilla mats with a 1 1/2-ounce Woo! Tungsten weight, Dirty Jigs Punchin' Skirt in the big Texan color and a Reaction Innovations Spicy Beaver in the tramp stamp color.
2. In second place, Jason Borofka relied on a 1/2-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait Jack Hammer with a Yamamoto Zako trailer and a wacky-rigged 6-inch Yamamoto Senko.
3. Punching was the main deal for third place pro Austin Wilson, who alternated between a Missile Baits D Bomb and a Berkley PowerBait Bunker Hawg. He also caught fish on a 1/2-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait Jack Hammer.
4. A Snag Proof Poppin’ Phattie turned out to be Nick Nourot’s top producer. He also fared well punching a Missile Baits D Bomb in black/blue and California 420.
5. Mike Birch placed fifth by casting a Strike King Thunder Cricket bladed jig with a Strike King Rage Menace Grub trailer and punching a Strike King Rodent.
6. Punching a Strike King Rage Bug in two colors and casting a Yamamoto Senko led John Pearl into sixth place.
7. Taking seventh place, Michael “Bub” Fong amassed most of his weigh with a red Z-Man ChatterBait Jack Hammer paired with a red Strike King Rage Bug. He also caught some flipping fish with a Reaction Innovations Double Wide Beaver.
8. Bub Tosh employed his renowned punching skills to take eighth place. Fishing a bluegill shaped bait imported from Japan by SDG Tackle, he used a 2-ounce weight to penetrate dense mats.
9. Phillip Dutra says he used 16 different rods on the final day, but a 1/2-ounce white spinnerbait and a Toxic Baits Wade Hogg ended up accounting for most of his better fish.
10. Jamond Andrews kept a big stick in his hand all week and earned a 10th place finish by punching a Reaction Innovations Smallie Beaver in green pumpkin or bluegill colors.