Top 10 Baits from the California Delta
The kickoff to the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. Western Division on the California Delta proved to be another great event, with bass coming on a handful of techniques and popular lures on the fishery.
These top Delta lures were punched, flipped, cast and wound around the plentiful vegetation.
1. To secure his win, Logan Huntze relied on punching and throwing a frog. Punching, he went with a Missile Baits D Bomb in either green pumpkin or candy grass. He fished them on a 4/0 Gamakatsu Heavy Cover Flippin’ Hook with a 1 ¼-ounce tungsten weight.
His frog of choice was either a Snag Proof Bobby’s Perfect Frog in sparrow or a Snag Proof Phat Frog in the buck nasty color.
2. Phillip Dutra fished all over the Delta and covered 255 miles over the course of the three-day event. He also threw many different baits, including a River2Sea Whopper Plopper, a Bobby D’s spinnerbait, a Yamamoto Senko, a 7-inch Roboworm Straight Tail Worm (margarita mutilator) a punch rig with a Missile Baits D Bomb.
3. Mark Lassagne caught all but one of his fish targeting grass flats with a green pumpkin Z-Man/Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer. He alternated between a green pumpkin and green pumpkin orange Yamamoto Zako depending on water clarity. His other bait of choice was a swim jig.
4. After leading the event going into the final day, Ish Monroe dropped to fourth place. He got there by punching various vegetation types with a Missile Baits D Bomb in PB&J rigged on a 5/0 River2Sea “Ish Monroe” New Jack Flippin Hook and 1¼- and 1½-ounce River2Sea Trash Bomb Tungsten Weights.
5. Most of Nick Salvucci’s bass for the week came by punching hyacinth, primrose and hydrilla with a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver, a punch skirt and a 1¼-ounce tungsten weight. He also mixed in a while double-bladed buzzbait with a matching Zoom Z Craw.
6. Blake Dyer started each morning with a Bill Lewis Echo 1.75 in the red crawfish color. From there, he switched to a red and orange vibrating jig or to punching a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver in big Texan with a Dirty Jigs Punchin’ Skirt to imitate the crawfish colors he saw regurgitated by bass inside his livewell.
7. Michael Caruso plied a 7-inch Roboworm Straight Tail Worm in margarita mutilator fished on a drop-shot for many of his fish. He also fished a white tube for some bedding bass.
8. Michael Moreno fished multiple different sections of the Delta and mixed it up with moving baits and slowing down, depending on the conditions and tide.
He chose a Ladies Man Custom Baits vibrating jig in green pumpkin or bluegill colored with a matching hand-poured swimbait. For the spinnerbait, he opted for a ½-ounce Nichols model in both red and white depending on water clarity. Slowing down, he punched a Missile Baits D Bomb and cast a Yamamoto Senko in watermelon with red and black flake.
9. Tuan Nguyen caught his fish on a 3/8-ounce Z-Man/Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer with a Strike King Blade Minnow trailer. He also used a white River2Sea Ish Monroe Phat Mat Daddy Frog and a punch setup consisting of a 1 ¼-ounce weight and a Missile Baits D Bomb in mudbug with a green pumpkin and red punch skirt that he makes himself.
10. Focusing on postspawn bass, Jordan Collom stuck with a punch rod for most of the event. His setup included a 1 1/2-ounce weight, punch skirt and a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver (bloody Mary). Collom also landed two keepers on a green pumpkin Z-Man/Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer with a matching Z-Man Razor ShadZ trailer.