Top 5 Patterns from the California Delta – Day 1
BETHEL ISLAND, Calif. – A mirror-like surface greeting bewildered anglers on the California Delta during Day 1 of the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. Western Division finale. For weeks, a stiff wind has made for choppier conditions than the virtually blemish-free waterway at launch. And throughout the day, the wind picked up only marginally, barely enough to be felt by even the birds in this prolific wetland environment.
Tournament leader Ronald Lorenzo keyed in on the calm by creating a ruckus up top that lured a big bag over 27 pounds into his livewell. And while Lorenzo hopes to repeat the pattern on Day 2 with the same level of success, a competitive field of anglers touting big bags of their own nips at his heels. Here’s a look at the leading contenders headed into Day 2.
2. Bub Tosh – 24-11
Stephen “Bub” Tosh was a heavy favorite coming into the event, and he remains so headed into the second day of competition. Tosh weighed two fish over 6 pounds on Day 1, but said he missed three fish that were all substantially bigger than any of the ones he brought to the podium.
Tosh relied on a combination of punching and throwing a frog to boat his bass; but also said finding new areas to fish each day is a necessity for the well-known Delta hammer.
“I know guys are wed to the places that I hit more than once today,” Tosh said. “Unfortunately, when people see me fish stuff that’s the end of it. I never get to see it again. It’s hard every single day to fish like a brand-new day, but every day is choice-based. It’s all luck of the draw, so we will see how lucky I can get tomorrow.”
Tosh said his goal weight for the event is 62 pounds. He wanted to catch 22 on Day 1 and ended up with 25, perhaps providing himself some wiggle room on Day 2.
3. Cristian Melton – 23-11
Cristian Melton spent Day 1 sight fishing his way to a quality bag just under 24 pounds. Melton focused on tides and timing to make the difference.
“Honestly, it’s being at the right spot at the right time,” Melton said. “I saw a bunch of fish in practice and they were still there today.”
On Day 2, Melton will need those same fish to linger to have a chance at repeating his success without a changeup.
“There have been times when I go back and they are not there,” he said. “It was warm today and that was right up my alley. They came up and wanted to play.”
4. Ken Mah – 21-13
Delta veteran Ken Mah is thrilled by the lack of grass spraying as of late in the Delta. The result is an abundance of habitat that he is using to target postspawn fish.
“It’s as healthy as I have seen it in four or five years,” said the Elk Grove, California, angler. “There are crawdads and bluegill everywhere. The whole ecosystem is exploding. The grass is so beautiful and crunchy, so anywhere that I can get like 4 to 7 feet of clean hydrilla with a little current, that’s where I am going to target those postspawn fish.”
Mah said he was surprised by the weights from Day 1 and expects the top weights to begin to drop throughout the week.
“That said, somebody could have 70 pounds,” he said. “This is the Delta and someone can do that.”
5. Randy Pierson – 21-9
Randy Pierson spent Day 1 running tides on a limited stretch of the Delta that he plans to key in on throughout the event.
“I’m not going to get caught up running around,” Pierson said. “There were certain areas where I wanted to be at during high tide, middle tide and low tide. So, I was just kind of bouncing around from spot to spot catching them pretty much all on a reaction bite.”
Pierson said he spent limited time on the Delta during practice, opting instead to spend more quality time with his family. That move may prove to be an advantage, as he believes it also removed the temptation of finding too many spots and worrying about covering too much water instead of fishing.