Winter stripers are biting. It is December and the fog has become a part of the daily winter grind. Water temps are in the 40s with day time highs in the 50s. For those of us willing to battle the early morning cold air the reward can be awesome. At the moment I am catching fish on one of these three baits a Lunker Punker, Optimum Titan Swimbaits and an IMA Flit. Throw these baits around moving water and current breaks and it will produce good bites from now until the spring. Slow is the key!
I have been fishing for stripers my last few outings. The bite has not been as productive as in years past and everyone on the boat has to work hard for the reward of a big tuxedo fish. I have been getting 5-10 quality fish each trip.
In low light conditions the top-water bite using an IMA Big Stick in rainbow trout is producing the bigger bites. In the middle of the day I have been using a Basstrix paddle tail or an IMA Flit in shad color patterns.
Pictures to follow soon!!!
I can only say that now is the time to throw swimbaits on the California Delta. Largemouth bass and big stripers are keyed in on all the shad that are in the system and it can be extremely rewarding for those of you who love to throw swimbaits. Optimum Baits has a Line Thru swim bait that is producing the most aggressive strikes from monster bass. My favorite colors this time of year are the AYU, Shiner and Sex Shad.
I recently visited Clear Lake and it was incredible with wolf packs of 3 to 5lbers cruising the banks and docks all around the lake. I used a Perfect Buzz and an Optimum Bait’s swim bait in chartreuse shad and CL hitch colors to search for active fish. Once I found active schools I would slow down and cover the area with a Snag Proof Bobby’s Perfect Frog over the grass beds and an IMA Flit in the open water areas. This, complimented with a Big Bite Baits 6” trick stick, worked well for me throughout the week.
Not much to report other than the IMA Flit is a killer bait on the California Delta! Big girls are starting to feed on shad take advantage and match the hatch.
This was a fun productive week for me on the Delta. I had a client that wanted to learn how to punch, flip, and pitch and that is exactly what we did.
The day was most productive when using a Big Bite Bait YoMama in watermelon red and sunfish. If you are looking for a big bite, try slowing down and tossing this bait around heavy cover. Trust me — it will pay off!
Delta Toad caught with a Bit Bite Baits YoMama
This giant bass decided it was time to eat a frog. The delta was good to me this week flipping a YoMama and throwing a frog produced the bigger bites. The IMA Shaker was the bait of choice for quantity of fish.
Snag Proof comes through again!
The delta is a big go with reaction baits. My week has consisted of throwing spinnerbaits, rip baits, and crank baits for quantity bites. That is correct, I did say quantity, I have been catching a lot of fish using these techniques, however the quality bite has not been there for me using these patterns. If you stick with these baits throughout the day you will have fun catching fish up to 2 lbs. My bigger fish are still coming on the frog and swimbaits, however you have to have more patients to get bit. Patients will pay off if you stick with it. Ask my clients from this week……..one of them brought a 24 lbs striped bass to the boat on a ripbait. Go figure!
I got to spend some time throwing a swimbait with a great fisherman and repeat client. We managed to catch quality fish on an Optimum Bait’s swimbait. All I can tell people is if you are interested in a big bite on the California Delta, throw these swimbaits. This particular day I was throwing the Titan line of swimbait, with its top hook design I can throw in and around cover and over grass beds without worrying about the bait getting hung up. I have been throwing these baits with Bobby’s Frog Rod by Falcon Rods using a 5:1 Shimano Chronarch reel. The slow retrieve is a must to get bit consistently. If you are not familiar with the diversity of Bobby’s Frog Rod check out this video.
Rod Video Link