Top 10 Patterns from the California Delta
The patterns represented among the Top 10 at the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. Western Division event on the California Delta were textbook examples of how to fish the famed tidal fishery.
Punching vegetation, throwing a frog and winding a vibrating jig all played roles for the top finishers. Add in the drop-shot and fishing a Yamamoto Senko, and you’ve covered most of the bases from this event (and many previous stops on the Delta).
2. Dutra Rallies on Final Day
Phillip Dutra jumped from 10th to second on the final day after bagging the second biggest total of the tournament. His 26 pounds, 12 ounces vaulted him up the standings and gave the winner Logan Huntze a real scare.
Dutra started the tournament with a 20-plus-pound bag, followed it up with 15-7, before his biggest bag of the tournament on the last day. His final day went as planned with a “go big” approach once he knew he made the Top 10.
In total, Dutra covered 255 miles of Delta water during the three-day event, fishing upwards of 60 spots. Relying on his vast experience on the fishery, he mixed it up with different techniques along the way.
“I caught some on a River2Sea Whopper Plopper, Bobby D’s spinnerbait, some cranking,” Dutra said. “I also caught a 7-pounder one day on a Margarita Mutilator Roboworm Straight Tail Worm, some punching a crawdad color Missile Baits D Bomb, and some on a Senko.”
While it may seem haphazard, Dutra put himself in the right areas at the right time.
“I focused on being in the right area depending on the weather and tides,” he said. “Today, I went big and focused on areas that I know hold bigger fish.”
3. Lassagne’s Second Straight Third-Place Finish on the Delta
One of the most consistent anglers in the field this week, Mark Lassagne’s three daily totals were all within 2 pounds of each other. Lassagne scored his second straight third-place finish at the California Delta, and he did it with a straightforward approach.
“I was fishing grass flats with a green pumpkin Z-Man/Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer,” he said. “I added a Yamamoto Zako as a trailer in green pumpkin or green pumpkin orange depending on how clear the water was. That’s pretty much all I did the whole time besides one fish I weighed in on a swim jig.”
Lassagne targeted the northern Delta because of the quality of the vegetation in the area.
“I have around 50 spots up there and would run and gun to each spot,” he said. “The grass up there seems to be cleaner and you can rip your ChatterBait through it without getting all of the moss and junk on it. It also seemed like the high outgoing tide was the best because I couldn’t get a bite at low tide.”
4. Monroe Sticks with Punching
After leading the tournament on Day 2, Ish Monroe slipped to fourth after catching 11-10 with just four fish on the final day. Throughout the event, he stuck with his punching program.
“I was punching mats all week, doing what I like to do best,” Monroe said. “The low tide was key for me because I was targeting hydrilla mainly. Primrose and pennywort did play a role on the second day, though.”
He targeted areas from the southern to western section of the Delta and focused on hydrilla since he feels some anglers don’t punch it as much as other types of vegetation.
“Most people aren’t thinking of it since it’s not as visual above the surface at higher tides and you can only see the hydrilla mats on the low tide,” Monroe added.
Monroe punched 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. Salvucci’s One Rod Approach
After two consecutive bags over 20 pounds to start the event, Nick Salvucci managed 12-14 on the final day to finish fifth. He kept things very simple throughout the tournament.
“It was one rod and one bait every day,” he said. “I was punching hyacinth, primrose, and hydrilla and had four different spots I would rotate through depending on the tide.”
Salvucci’s areas spanned over 20 miles throughout the west and central Delta, with the key being deeper mats.
Salvucci’s punch setup was a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver, a punch skirt and a 1¼-ounce tungsten weight.
6. Dyer Makes Another Top 10 on the Delta
With three bags in the teens, 2019 Delta champ Blake Dyer was able to secure sixth place this week. He mixed it up with a crankbait, ChatterBait, and punching for his fish during the event.
“Each morning, I started with a Bill Lewis Echo 1.75 in the red crawfish color,” Dyer said. “I’d catch them good early on that each day during the high tide.”
After that bite died, he switched to a ChatterBait or punching (using crawfish colors).
“The fish in my livewells were spitting up tons of crawfish,” Dyer said. “I punched with a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver in Big Texan with a Dirty Jigs Punchin’ Skirt. I also used a red and orange ChatterBait.”
7. Caruso Goes Finesse
All week long, Arizona’s Michael Caruso went with a spinning rod, both for sight fishing and casting blindly.
“I stuck with the drop-shot,” Caruso said. “I was planning to sight fish the first day, but had engine problems and couldn’t get to my fish. The second day I was able to catch some of those fish on beds.”
His drop-shot bait of choice was a 7-inch Roboworm Straight Tail Worm in Margarita Mutilator fished on a 3/0 Decoy Flippin’ Straight Worm144 Hook with a 3/16- to 3/8-ounce weight.
Caruso targeted grass and tules in Frank’s Tract and White’s Slough and says fish preferred different cover, depending on if they were spawning or not.
“I was looking for the cleaner tules when I was just casting the drop-shot,” he said. “It was weird that all of the spawning fish were in the nastiest, slimy tules and grass.”
8. Moreno Mixes it Up
Michael Moreno started each day in Fisherman’s Cut and continued his progression toward Sherman, Mildred and Seven Mile. He mixed it up with moving baits like a vibrating jig and spinnerbait and slowing down with a Yamamoto Senko and punching.
“It was mainly the vibrating jig and spinnerbait and a little punching with Missile Baits D Bomb,” Moreno said. “When the water was really clear, I also caught some long casting a Senko in watermelon with red and black flake.”
His vibrating jig of choice was a Ladies Man Custom Baits model in green pumpkin or bluegill color and a matching custom hand-poured swimbait. For the spinnerbait, he opted for a ½-ounce Nichols model in both red and white depending on water clarity.
He bounced around to different areas, depending on the tide.
“The incoming tide was the deal for me and when I caught all of my better fish,” Moreno said. “I was just fishing grass and it seemed like the fish were relating to the troughs in the grass and just sitting in there.”
9. Nguyen Frogs and Punches
Tuan Nguyen scored his first MLF Top 10 by fishing a vibrating jig and frog in the central Delta, as well as Beaver Slough.
“It was nothing special,” Nguyen said. “I was throwing a 3/8-ounce Z-Man/Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer with a Strike King Blade Minnow trailer. I got some key bites with a flipping stick and also some with a frog.”
The key with the ChatterBait was fishing slowly and deeper into the grass.
“If you worked it too fast, they weren’t eating it,” Nguyen said. “I did that the first two days and fished a frog all day on the last day. I also caught some punching this week.”
His frog of choice was a white River2Sea Ish Monroe Phat Mat Daddy Frog and his punch setup consisted of a 1¼-ounce weight and a Missile Baits D Bomb in Mudbug. He added a green pumpkin and red punch skirt that he makes himself.
About the vegetation, he was looking for a few key ingredients.
“I was looking for the mats that had clean hydrilla,” Nguyen said. “It also seemed like they were relating to current because if you didn’t have enough moving water around the mats, they wouldn’t bite.”
10. Postspawn Bass Key for Collom
Canyon Lake, California’s Jordan Collom spent the tournament focusing on postspawn fish as he mined areas near Frank’s Tract and Sandmound Slough.
“I was looking for the first tule berm or cut out away from spawning areas,” Collom said. “I was catching fish on their way out. They were all skinny with big heads.”
He primarily punched vegetation and also weighed in two keepers on a green pumpkin Z-Man/Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer with a matching Z-Man Razor ShadZ trailer.
He wasn’t picky with what he punched with a 1 1/2-ounce weight and Bloody Mary Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver.
“I flipped to anything that was in front of me,” he says. “It could have been hydrilla, hyacinth, cheese mats, or anything around the boat.”