Tough bite just got tougher
Cold front has Delta anglers scrambling to find fish
OAKLEY, Calif. – First the wind and now the cold.
Anglers competing in the Walmart FLW National Guard Western Division tournament on the California Delta can’t get a break. A tough pre-fish bite has continued through the first two days of the tournament. Thursday brought high winds that muddied the water and eliminated the topwater bite. Friday morning the wind picked up again from the northwest and ushered in a cold front that will complicate matters even more.
Could a tough bite get even tougher?
Yes, says local pro Bobby Barrack of Oakley, Calif., who’s currently tied for 10th place with Nicholas Kanemota of Elk Grove, Calif. Only the top 10 pros after today’s weigh-in will advance to Saturday’s final, and Barrack knows the weather has put his back against the wall.
“I wish this tournament started at noon and we weighed in at dark,” Barrack said. “When the water temperature drops the fish suspend.”
Suspended bass are tougher to catch. Bass suspending under whitecap-covered water can be nearly uncatchable. The proprietor at the Hook, Line and Sinker, a bait shop on the docks at Russo’s Marina, said he’s sold a lot of plastic baits the past few days, indicating that finesse tactics have taken over.
Anglers will run and gun across the Delta in search of sheltered coves and river channels. The goal for most is a five-fish limit in the high teens, which is what’s been needed to be competitive. Leader Mike Reynolds of Modesto, Calif. pulled 22 pounds on each of the first two days and has a 6-pound lead over second-place Ishama Monroe of Hughson, Calif.
Monroe was one of three newcomers to the top 10 Thursday. Shaun Bailey of Lake Havasu City, Ariz. improved from 17th to fourth place, Timothy Venkus of Wilton, Calif. jumped from 12th to sixth and Mark Tyler of Vian, Okla. went from 11th to seventh.
For a pro who’s in third place, Ken Schmitt of Livermore, Calif. sure looked glum when he launched Friday morning.
“I was punching vegetation with a three-quarter ounce Gambler Ugly Otter when the water went chocolate on me,” Schmitt explained. “With this wind I lost that whole pattern. I couldn’t catch ’em pre-fishing any other way, so…..”
Schmitt said he will motor around this morning in an attempt to find cleaner water. And yes, the cold front will make the bite tougher.
“It’s all but eliminated the topwater bite,” he said. “I could get a limit doing that before, but not anymore.”
Today’s weigh-in begins at 2 p.m. at Russo’s Marina. The co-angler champion will be crowned today. Current leader is Justin Lucas of Folsom, Calif., who has a 13-ounce lead over second-place Michael Bryant of Discovery Bay, Calif.
Friday’s weather:
Sunny and windy with a high of 72. Winds north-northwest at 20-30 mph with gusts over 40.