Postspawn poundage

Stren Series anglers expecting heavy stringers on Cal Delta

OAKLEY, Calif. – For human mothers, the weeks following childbirth bring great concern over shedding “baby fat” and regaining that girlish figure. For largemouth bass, the postspawn period finds a bunch of hefty gals looking to gain a few dress sizes, and that explains the giddy optimism among the field of Stren Series Western Division anglers heading into the Cal Delta.

“We’re going to see some big fish,” said Tournament Director Chris Jones. “There were some 12- and 13-pound fish during practice.”

Delta bass may spawn as late as June, but most have released their eggs, thereby making room in their girths for lots of shad, bluegill and anything else they can catch. Unlike bed fishing, in which the name of the game is pestering a big fish into biting out of protection and annoyance, postspawn fishing means showing the food to a bass that’s probably already geared up to eat.

“I’d say about 80 percent of the fish on the Delta are in a postspawn pattern,” said Land O’Lakes pro Ken May of Elk Grove, Calif. “Almost 100 percent of the fish that I was catching in practice had spawned. They’re (thin and stressed), but they’re starting to fatten up.”

Light clouds draped the horizon and diffused a rising sun that will quickly gain intensity. North winds are supposed to increase to 16 mph by early afternoon, but morning through midday should see calm, hot conditions.

As he waited for his pro partner, co-angler Clint Smith mulled over his expectations for day one. Leaning against his tackle bag, Smith’s rods carried topwater plugs, frogs, crankbaits and beavers. The latter, he said, should get a good workout today.

“The bite has been different for me every day in practice,” he noted, “but I think there’s going to be a good plastics bite today. It’s going to be hot and the wind is supposed to die down (during midday).”

When the afternoon breeze gains momentum, he’s not ruling out a surface game. “That topwater bite does turn on later in the day.”

Mah said windy conditions earlier in the week had stirred some of the traditional go-to areas like Frank’s Tract across from Russo’s Marina. The logical move, he said, will be to seek cleaner conditions in backwater areas.

“I think a lot of people are going to end up going into the sloughs,” he said. “There’s going to be a good topwater bite somewhere if you can find that clean water. You’re also going to be able to finesse quite a few fish on dropshots with 8- to 12-pound line.”

Mah looks for a 22- to 23-pound bag to keep him in the top 10 of the Pro Division. Smith said his division will also demand high productivity: “On the co-angler side, I think you’re going to need over 20 pounds (a day) to be competitive.”

It will be interesting to see how pros Philip Garcia of Yuba City, Calif., and Wade Curtiss of Lincoln, Calif., fare. Curtiss led the previous Stren Western Division field for three days at Clear Lake in mid-April, until a final round stumble allowed Garcia to slip past him for the win. Oregon’s Christopher Ricci, who just won his first FLW tournament at Lake Mead, will be trying to capitalize on his momentum.

Tournament logistics

The Stren Series event, which runs May 14-17, represents the fourth of four regular-season Western Division tournaments. The total purse for the Cal Delta event is $275,225. The winning pro could earn as much as $65,000 in cash and prizes if various contingencies are met, and the winning co-angler could earn as much as $35,000.

Action continues at today’s weigh-in, scheduled to take place at 2:30 p.m. (Pacific Time) at Russo’s Marina located at 3995 Willow Road in Bethel Island, Calif. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the marina beginning at 2:30 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 4893 Lone Tree Way in Antioch, Calif., beginning at 4 p.m.

Wednesday’s conditions

Sunrise: 5:57 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 68 degrees

Expected high temperature: 93 degrees

Water temperature: 70 degrees

Wind: N at 8 to 16 mph

Humidity: 25 percent

Day’s outlook: mostly sunny, windy in the afternoon