The Delta is rife with many different types of baitfish and crawfish, making skirted jigs a logical choice. (Photo by David A. Brown)
September 03, 2024
By David A. Brown
Ken Mah picked me up at Paradise Point Marina in Stockton, Calif., and told me to hurry up and load my gear because he needed to go punch someone. A retired Correctional Safety Fugitive Apprehension Team member, Mah’s a capable guy, but really, he’s not like that—unless you’re a largemouth bass.
About an hour later, the pro from Elk Grove, Calif., proved as much by hauling a 7-pounder through a bucketful of matted hydrilla. The highly effective punching technique worked that day and it will work most any day of the year on the Western gem known as the California Delta, as will multiple techniques.
“The Delta is a labyrinth of waterways with many different habitat features,” says Mah, who has won multiple tournaments on these waters. “This is a fishery where a guy can fish the way he likes to fish, from power fishing to finesse.”
A nature lovers dream, “the Delta,” as it’s locally known, abounds with birdlife, turtles and mammals such as minks, beavers, muskrats, otters and sea lions. Anglers find loads of crappies, bluegills, catfish, salmon and striped bass, but the star of the show is the stocked Florida-strain largemouth bass.
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There’s a lot of fish in this system and a lot of water to search. Plan a trip here and this unique fishery is sure to impress.
MASSIVE SYSTEM FOR BASS Draining California’s Central Valley, the Delta unites the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, along with a vast network of secondary rivers, canals, sloughs and flooded farming tracts. With more than 700 miles of waterways, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area (Delta NHA) was designated as California’s first National Heritage Area in 2019.
Diligent searching will reward even first-timers with a bent rod, but you can’t go wrong with some of the perennial favorite spots like Frank’s Tract, Big Break, Mandeville Island, the Holland Track, White Slough, Disappointment Slough and Hog Slough.
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Abounding in bass-friendly habitat, the Delta’s waterways, bays and small lagoons sprout hydrilla, hyacinth, pennywort and sprawling stands of tules—a giant sedge growing in large berms rooted by the Delta’s dense peat moss. Complementing the vast vegetation, the Delta also features laydowns, docks, old barge tie-ups and lengthy lines of riprap levees.
“The most important thing I look for is healthy vegetation,” says California pro Luke Johns. “I’m not too picky about the species; I just want to find a mixture of vegetation. If I have a hyacinth mat, I like to have hydrilla growing up against it. Anywhere you have two types of vegetation growing together, it’s more attractive to the fish.
Flipping mats of hyacinth is a productive tactic in summer, especially mats that abut a secondary type of vegetation like tules or hydrilla.(Photo by David A. Brown) “Also, I like to have matted vegetation and then something growing up under it. That gives fish more cover, more crawfish and more baitfish. It’s just a healthier ecosystem.”
Stretching from Sacramento south to Tracy and from Stockton west to Pittsburg, the Delta defies the one-size-fits-all summation. As Mah explains, success requires seasonal considerations.
“At the beginning of the year, I want to be more west and southern. Then, as the entire system gets into spawning mode, you can catch 25 to 30 pounds (5-bass limit) almost anywhere,” he says. “I love the central part. If you’re not from here, you can launch at Bethel Island and catch fish within a 5- to 6-mile radius of Frank’s Tract.”
With so much of the Delta covered in vegetation year-round, largemouth bass seek out the hard bottom—natural rock, dock pilings and riprap banks—for spawning. Mah’s favorite is a riprap bank with a bare trough bordered by grass or tules. With warmth and security from the riprap and the vegetation serving as a privacy curtain, such areas are Delta gold.
“For planning a vacation, April is probably the safest month,” says Mah. “The weather is stable and the fish are far along in the spawn. But it’s a great fishery all though October. November can get cooler and foggy, but you can catch fish here year-round.”
EBB AND FLOW Once the Sacramento and San Joaquin join forces, the water flows westward through the Carquinez Straight and into San Francisco Bay’s upper end. This explains the numerous sea lions scattered throughout the Delta. It also explains a key element that profoundly impacts the fishing: tidal fluctuation.
Except for the extreme western reaches, the Delta’s a freshwater fishery, but the Pacific Ocean’s daily pushing and pulling brings rising and falling water. Same as any coastal fishery, incoming and outgoing tides create a mix of opportunities and limitations, owing to water height.
A definite game-changer, tides regularly present tournament anglers with a feast-or-famine scenario. As Mah points out, Delta fish are so accustomed to waterborne food deliveries that they’ll often display brief, intense feeding windows.
“It all looks the same, but it’s not all the same,” Mah says. “The tide affects everything.”
For Johns, there’s something magical about the Delta tide switch. From slack to moving—in or out—the water awakens from a brief slumber and life happens.
“That switch throws the whole ecosystem into [a flurry],” Johns says. “The water’s going a different direction, baitfish and crawfish are pulled out of their areas, and that’s when bass have their easiest feeding. You can catch multiple big fish on consecutive casts. They get dumb and eat anything.”
There are two primary strategies on the Delta—dissecting one spot and running the tide. The latter involves moving up or down the river as the tide shifts to stay within a target depth. (Photo by David A. Brown) RUN THE TIDE “If you’re going to come and fish the Delta on your own, I would suggest picking days when you have a high to incoming tide in the morning to mid-afternoon,” says Mah. “It makes it easier when you have water coming to you, because you can fish wherever you want. On a negative low tide, the grass is too shallow to fish and you have to be careful of [navigational] hazards.”
Given the Delta’s size and the time it takes for incoming and outgoing water to snake through all the arteries, tide stages vary dramatically from north to south. This creates a strategic opportunity to “run the tide”—moving up or down the tidal plane to stay with the desired level.
Time it right and you can fish through whatever part of the rise or fall is producing, move north or south a few miles to work the same scenario, then repeat the cycle until you run out of time or geography. Once the tide switches, anglers will often retrace their course to run the tide back through their area.
On the other end to the strategic spectrum, Delta anglers might opt to park in one area and get to know its features and tidal windows. You might give up some potential consistency by not running the tide, but more actual fishing time often makes for a prudent tradeoff.
“Don’t worry too much about the tide,” Johns said. “I would suggest to first-timers to hunker down and fish through the tide windows. Then, when you get more comfortable, you can run the tide.”
Mah agrees. “Park in an area, learn the area, then expand out and run the tide as you determine the window that works for you. The tide will offer different bite windows, and if you’re spending a few days on the Delta, you’ll uncover when those bite widows are.”
TOP FISHING TACTICS Diversity is the name of the game, so bring a broad selection of baits and chances are good you’ll find an applicable scenario. Mah’s typical lineup offers a good template for Delta success.
For search baits, he likes a 1/2-ounce Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap , an SB57 squarebill and 3/8- and 1/2-ounce vibrating jigs. For matted vegetation, he’ll flip or punch a Big Bite Baits Yo Mama with 3/4- to 2-ounce weights, depending on vegetation density. For summer kicks, a buzzbait or a plopper-style bait will bring the big ones charging forth with nefarious intentions.
And don’t forget the finesse rigs. Along with the ego-boosting powerfishing techniques, scratching around with lighter stuff on spinning gear can fill in during the slower times, or maybe even push a hesitant fish over the edge.
“A lot of Delta tournaments are won on a drop shot with 1/0 hook, a 3/16-ounce weight and a Roboworm in the Marg Mutilator color,” Mah says.
TRIP PLANNER The California Delta offers a wide array of lodging, dining and guided fishing options. LODGING DINING GUIDES For launch facilities and other information, see visitcadelta.com .
This article was featured in the West edition of the August 2024 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe.
