Tough
Delta bite for now....Big potential for later
Story
by Matt Pangrac
Posted
- March 10th, 11:20am CST
Stockton, CA – The start of the 2010 Bassmaster Elite Series brings with it big water, big bass and big expectations.
The California Delta boasts over 1,000 miles of waterways with countless ponds and sloughs, many of which are capable of producing impressive limits on a variety of different presentations. Historically, local anglers have had success on the California fishery. In BASS competition, Ish Monroe, Skeet Reese, Jared
Lintner, Fred Roumbanis, Aaron Martens, Mark Tyler and other left coast aficionados have all relied on their West Coast roots to notch Top 10 finishes on the Delta in past years.
When the Elites last ventured to California in 2007, Aaron Martens was victorious on the tidal fishery with over 85 pounds of Delta bass. Then rookie, Derek Remitz, Arkansas pro Stephen Browning, and home state favorite Skeet Reese, followed Martens in the standings.
Photos
by Mark Jeffreys & Matt Pangrac
Leading up to the Duel In the Delta, many of the pros were talking about the potential of 30- to 35-pound limits as well as egg-laden females exceeding the 10 pound mark. However, just as in the Bassmaster Classic last month, back-to-back cold fronts have slowed the migration process of big females to shallow water.
While the highs are expected to be in the mid 60s throughout the tournament, at launch on the final practice day, air temperatures were hovering in the low 40s. As Terry Scroggins said, “Man, I feel like I’m back in Florida fishing when those severe cold fronts move through.”
But as we have seen in the past, pre-tournament predictions are often shattered once the tournament begins. “Right now, it’s a cat-and-mouse game but I think that the weigh-in will blow everyone away,” said Byron Velvick.
With
the eight event regular season one-quarter
complete by the time the Elite Series anglers
leave The Golden State, there is added emphasis on
getting a strong start to the 2010
campaign.
Here’s what some of the competitors told The BASS ZONE about their first two days of practice on the Delta:
Ish Monroe
“It’s fishing a little tough for this time of the year because March is one of the great times to be on the Delta. There will still be a lot of big fish caught in the tournament but it’s a little tougher than I expected. Before practice, I was thinking it would take around 17 to 18 pounds a day to get a check but now that may get you close to making a Top 12 cut.
“I like the slug fests because I know where the big fish live. The bass are still there because they really don’t have a deep spots to go. They’re still going to be shallow so some warmer days will really help.”
Byron Velvick
“I think that a lot of guys are sandbagging, to be honest. There are guys that are catching them. That being said, it is pretty tough out there and the guys that are catching them are going to be pretty tight lipped right now. I can honestly say that I’m not catching them very well but I haven’t been a strong Delta rat for a long time.”
Dean Rojas
“It’s been pretty consistent for me. I’m not
getting a lot of bites but when I do, it’s
usually a pretty nice one. With the weather going
in and out it could change some things but
hopefully things will settle down a little and
we’ll catch them.
“I
think we will be able to spread out. There
are some areas that are community holes and
they’ll catch them in those areas but this
place is a fish factory and there are a lot
of bass in this place.
"It’s
just tough right now because it’s cold and
fronts are coming in and out. I don’t know
if we are going to see the true Delta this
week or not.”
Shaw Grigsby
“It’s been really windy and I would love to see it warm up but it’s been really cold the whole time. It’s going to warm up and we are going to have lows in the 40s and highs in the 60s the rest of the week. It may not be enough to get them going.
“The fishing is OK but it’s not stunning. It’s just such a massive area with the canals and ditches and it’s just a hard place for me to figure out the particular details.
“The majority will be prespawn bass. It’s all 53 to 56 degree water temperature and we really need it to be around 60 for the spawn. The problem is that you need the lows at night to be around the water temperature to gain temperature. Right now, the lows are in the 40s and so it’s tough for that water to warm up.”
Terry Scroggins
“Right now, it’s tough and practice has been right in the middle of a cold front so hopefully the weather is going to straighten out for the event and they’ll start biting. I’ve just been driving around looking for areas that look good.
“The water temperature is at 52 to 56 degrees so it’s going to have to get extremely warm in a hurry if we’re going to catch any spawning bass. We are also in between moon phases so I think that it will be all prespawn. Right now, I would bet that it will take less weight than 2007 to win this one.”
James Niggemeyer
“It’s completely not typical for what you would expect for March in California. I think the bass are actually not quite in a prespawn state and still in a post-winter phase. They’re getting ready to move but the weather just isn’t consistent. It may bust loose during the tournament but right now it’s been pretty tough.
Edwin Evers
“I definitely didn’t bring enough clothes out here on Monday and I froze. It’s amazing how cold it is. For me, fishing has been tough. I’ve caught a few small fish but other than that I haven’t seen anything over three pounds so I have my work cut out for me.
“I’ve seen a bunch of empty beds, so with some warm weather there’s a chance that it could happen in a hurry.”
