RICH THIEL: CAL BASS GUIDE

ARTICLES by Rich Thiel

Fishing Ledges on the California Delta

This article was written to help both the novice to the advanced bass fisherman that fishes the California Delta either for fun or for a tournament. The intent is to give the reader an approach to finding ledges with your eye or with depthfinders on the Delta and an approach in catching largemouth bass by using some of today's artificial baits from these ledges.

The California Delta is over 1000 miles of natural and manmade waterways defined by a complex network of levees. There are three types of ledges that are found in the Delta. They are (1) the main outer levee itself, (2) the inside berm, and (3) the natural and artifical breaks in the center of the waterway. These ledges were formed one of two ways: by the flow of current or by dredging of the Delta by clamshell cranes used in the early to mid 1900's.

Before I get into this, I would like to tell you a story in how I became a fisherman of ledges. In the late 70's, I purchased my first Ranger Boat. I was fishing with a group of guys that were well known at the time for winning or doing very well in the Delta tournaments. One day, just after Christmas, I was out on Frank's Tract flipping tules and came across this downed tree. I knew I was going to catch a fish by it and did by throwing a hair jig between the forks of the main limbs. I could only get one fish out of it, as in the past. One evening, I was over at Dee Thomas' house and told him about it. He said "Let's go out tomorrow and you can show me where that downed tree is". We went out together. He got up on the trolling motor and proceeded towards that tree with a flipping stick in hand and a jig tied on. One flip and wham. "Bingo, get the net", he said. I told him I could only get one fish out of the tree each time. He looked at me and then the depthfinder in which it indicated 6 ft. Hmmmmm, he hit the trolling motor sideways and the depthfinder showed a severe drop from 6 ft. to 12 ft. He brought the boat back to the 6 ft. mark and proceeded to boat 7 more fish in a row on the ledge and on the side. On the 5th fish, I ran over the front end of the boat trying to net it. He looked at me for a split second and said "Son, get your %(*&*&* back in here and net this fish!" From that day on, I searched for ledges and found more than I could count. In the 80's, and even up until today, I still catch fish on them, as many of the avid well known Delta fishermen do today.

The Main Levees today are the most commonly fished pattern out on the Delta. What I found to hold up the most is the windy sections of the Delta. What to look for is "Inside Bends" in the levee. What I mean by is the part that proceeds "in" from the furthest part out. Over time the Delta current will wash the bank out of softer material creating a harder bottom, thus creating a ledge. Once you find one you will notice that your depthfinder will read a deeper depth closer to the main bank than the outside point does at the same distance if it has current flowing in this section. Most likely, it will have a top of a 5 ft. ledge somewhere along it with a severe break at least double the top of the break. The fish will be up on the top at high tide and move down the ledge at low tide. Because of the tides, bass want of find structure that they can hold to whether it is high or low tide. They tend to gather at areas like ledges with vertical structure. To fish it, approach the ledge while keeping in mind its location, watching your depthfinder for secondary breaks or any odd looking structure that may be under water, such as logs or rock piles. Most commonly used lure is a jig with a head designed that falls vertically. Fish are commonly found at three locations on the ledge: the top, the middle, and the bottom. When the fish are in the middle they are suspended and are harder to catch. At the bottom, you will find them within a depth range that is a comfort zone to them and you can fish them accordingly.

Center berms are found throughout the Delta in many forms. They typically range from a couple of feet wide to huge island in size. A lot of the berms in the Delta have one side deeper than the other. This is easy to find by using your depthfinder and just going around it to see which side is the deepest. Ledges made by clamshell dredging are usually found along the sides of a berm. You can tell by observing the irregularity of the bottom and sometimes with your eye the sides of the berms. The bottom of your depthfinder will show a sharp dropoff if you move the boat just a couple feet. This type of ledge is usually found on the side of the berm that has very little current. Ledges that are found near or on the point were made either by the current or by the clamshell and over the years have become smoother because of the current. The most commonly fished is the current side. What you look for here is a break in the bank itself, that changes the flow if the current is creating a back eddy. Frequently, this is where you will find a secondary ledge down around 7 - 9 ft. dropping off to 15+ ft. The side of the berm with lower current you may find them on the point, but rarely in the middle with the exception of spring. Pilings are well known to have some sort of ledge on them in depth. They were used to tie up barges that were used to load and haul out produce and equipment or just to tie up barges for later use. Some have 3-ft. ledges and some have as much as 15 ft. in depth. These types of places can be found on either main levees or on large center berms throughout the Delta. These locations were created by the clamshell creating a hole in the immediate area. If the piling are near current, it probably has a hard buttom. With no current around, it would have a softer buttom.

Good luck in finding the "Honey Holes" of the California Delta.

Berryessa: Fishing the Northeast Side

This article is written to help bass anglers increase their catch when fishing Lake Berryessa and the angler that has never fished Berryessa before. The northeast side of Berryessa contains many small submerged creek channels, minute compared to the many other creeks that are found throughout the lake. With their small bays, the bass use these creeks to migrate into their feeding grounds. The bays maybe on the average from 5ft to 8ft with outside area between 12ft to 25ft, gradually tapering off into a flat area or bowl. What I have frequently observed is anglers fishing the NE area too shallow, consequently catching only 10% of the potential bass in the area. I will explain in detail how to catch a much larger percentage of the bass that are present at the time you choose to fish.

Depth Finder

When using a depth finder, look for irregularities on the bottom and grass beds. The grass beds in question are formed during low water conditions or clear water conditions when the sun can penetrate down creating a growth. This is what I call a secondary grass line. Once I have located the above described area I will parallel the main bank in 10 to 12ft of water looking for any kind of clumps of grass or a break line of 2ft. When I come to a creek channel I always check and see what the difference in depth is between the flat area and the center or side's of the creek. Two feet is fair, three feet is good, four feet is exceptional. At 3ft, I will definitely stop and fish it, looking for clumps of grass with my Depth Finder. I will further watch the depth finder as the water becomes deeper until it turn's to a flat bottom with no sides.

Rigs

There are only four rigs needed to fish NE Lake Berryessa: (1) Texas Rig with 10lb McCoy Fishing Line (Mean Green). (2) a Gary Yamamoto five inch Hula Grub on a 3/8 to 3/4oz football head. (3) a Mojo Rig with 6lb McCoy with a swival, using a 12inch leader at the end a No. 2/0 hook (Gama EWG works well), dressed with a GY twin tail grub. (4) A suspended jerk bait for "ripp'in" like a Luckycraft Pointer SP Clown. My favorites are the Texas Rig 3/16oz brass with glass and the Mojo Rig. With these rigs you can cover all depths throughout a water column of 10-14ft and be confidently in full contact with your bait. With the Texas Rig, I shake with a Ivino SP-20 spade tail. This tells me how active the fish are. If I find the fishing slow and I know there are more fish there, I come back with a Mojo Rig, dressed with a Black & Silver flake grub using a sweeping motion with my rod. The sweeping motion is subtle but steady, simulating a swimming shad, and then dying on the fall. Both techniques are done at a depth of ten to fourteen feet. If I find fish in this water column I then move in to shallower water with my "ripp'in" rod looking for feeding fish. Catching the 10% that are there, be alert for any detail such has a one feet breakline or a significant amount of grass that may hold a fish. Keep an eye on the depth of the boat compared to the depth where you had caught a fish. Positioning of the boat is often critical in shallow water conditions. Once accomplishing this, move back to 10-14ft of water and work below 14ft until you find the edge of the growth that was holding the fish, this can be as deep has 18ft. At 12 to 18 feet, it is not unusual to be as far as 150 yards from shore. Below 14ft I use a Hula Grub "swimming" it along the edge of the grass line picking off aggressive fish that haven't committed to moving in shallower to actively feed. One of the key's to catching fish in deeper water with a 3/4oz football head is that by "swimming" it, the bottom becomes stirred up, mimicking a crawdad attempting to get away.

When to fish the NE

When to fish the NE is darn near anytime of year with the exception of when a cold front from the north comes in from Alaska. Normally from Feb 15th all the way thru November you should be able to catch a limit or two of bass there.

Wind is a key issue to observe for while fishing the NE corner of the lake. Wind, normally will blow from the North first thing in the morning causing a slow bite or movement of fish into feeding. The North wind will stop usually between 9-10am in the morning and the Northwest wind will start to come up for the rest of the day. This is the best time to venture into this area. Best bite is between 10am until 1pm in the afternoon. Don't ask me why, it just is and I don't question mother nature ha ha!!!!! har..... Best bite is when you get that ripple on the water, thus, cutting the sunlight penetration down causing the fish to move up to feed or into feeding depending on the depth there in. There are always other fishing patterns occurring around this lake, but this pattern will hold up under MOST weather conditions. Remember to note the depth where you have caught fish and the position of the boat at that time. Usually you will find a group of fish in a 30yd area. You can very easily run out of the zone, so pay attention. A little secret known among the fisherman that know the NE corner well, is that if you are catching small fish or legal tournament fish and they just suddenly turn off, just wait 20 minutes because the bigger fish are moving in.

Good Luck to ALL that try these techniques. Hope it helps!

Enhancing a Jig & Pork

In this article I'm going to explain to you ways of enhancing a "Jig & Pork" combination. There are many ways to do this. With many companies on the market today, its hard to say which company makes the best jig head design combined with the best skirt material. I'll start off by saying it doesn't matter which head you are using, this can be done with most head designs on the market today. Im leaving this up to you which head you prefer and have confidence in. Material here is the main concern. There are many materials on the market today. I use standard rubber or synthetic coupled with standard pork. What I'm going to try and explain is in the ways of cutting the materials to enhance the appearance of the jig & pork combination. There is only one tool that is required, a pair of narrow scissors.

The Jig

Most companies today make and package their jig with a excessive amount in length of material. Usually when hanging a 1/4 to a 1/2 inch below the bend in the hook. Sometimes this hinders the action of the jig depending on how much material is incorporated onto the jig. Most fisherman will cut the material a 1/8th to a 1/16th below the hook hanging dry. By doing this, it allows the pork to function properly. This procedure right here most experienced jig fisherman will do. To enhance the jig appearance more, take the jig and lay it out on a flat surface and spread the material out in a fan position facing the head towards you. Take the scissors an place it anywhere from 1 inch to 1 1/2 inches on the outside edge of the material above the head (should be a 33 to 45 degree angle to the back of the hook) and cut it. Repeat this on the other side. Note: with live rubber I can cut it leaving an inch or a little more, more so than if it was synthetic material, reason here is the limpness of the material. If you cut the synthetic material to short it will kill the action of the outside material. Another appearance to the jig is if your using a two color combination is to cut the main color shorter than your secondary color and this will overlap into your pork, but will not kill the action of the pork in most cases. A fourth way is to cut it to your desired length and thin the material out of the head to obtain the more streamline look. This is seldom done because the manufacture has the amount of material down pat in obtaining opt performance in appeal.

The Pork

Here again, their are many companies on the market that solely manufacture and sell pork. But, they have one thing in common, the material is the same "Pork". It just comes in different sizes and shapes. Another thing in common is that they all have a "fat" section. This is what I'm going to talk about. Here, you will need a regular pocket knife or a razor. I prefer a pocket knife myself because of the thickness at the top of the blade that will spread the fat apart. Being they come in many sizes, you can cut them from 1 slice to has many has 5 slices. On a standard size among the companies 3 slices is adequate. Here are some of them. Take a standard size piece of pork and lay it flat. Take your knife or razor and make your first cut just behind where the hook will come out. The rest of the cuts there after will depend on the length and size of the fat. You should at least get two cuts to obtain performance with the smalliest of pork so it will bend or that wavy like action at the top of your lift-fall. On your cuts, cut only down to the skin of the pork.

Above is one way. To even get more performance from your pork slice it 1 or 2 length wise cuts. This will even enhance it more so.

Anotherway is to cut a section of pork completely off just behind the hook, not normally done, but fisherman are known to do this.

A way of making a large pork look more streamlined to your jig is to cut a little off the sides of the pork. You may say its downsizing the appearance of the jig to obtain a faster fall than if you left the enlarge section as is, you would have that slow fall.

The above is just some of the ways of obtaining opt performance from your "Jig & Pork" combination. There are many ways, but here are some of them for the weekend fisherman to mentally and physically play with. I must WARN you that experimenting with new jigs can be hazardous with your pocket book. I'd advice first to use older jigs for experimental purposes to optimize the action.

Good Luck with the Jig & Pork

Etiquette of a Professional Bass Fisherman

ENCROACHMENT

Tournaments today are many, with many recognized Organizations on the West Coast, fisherman today have to pick their circuits in a manner that they can participate and can afford. Most all the organizations today have Team Events, with the major organizations having Pro Events Only. All have one rule in common "Encroachment".

Encroachment means, anyone coming within a specified distance, can be ask to leave, in which he will have to or back off to that specified distance. Each organization has a specified distance, which is the distance between boats. They vary in distance of 25yds to 100yds depending on the rules of that particular organization that you are involved with. Before the event starts, ask the attending "Director" what is the distance? He will be more than welcome to answer it, believe me.

Most tournament fisherman today are well disciplined and are all out for the fun of the sport, but there are some that are not so!!!. These individuals can cause a big concern in the sport, to the boat in approaching and to the Tournament Director. They know who they are!.

As a Tournament fisherman since 1974, a past Director for 6+ years, I've run across it in conversations, seen it, been approach to judge on it, and even been challenged in a tournmant in the past on it. It's a mental approach that you have to take to overcome the endurance of the subject.

Example

As a tournament fisherman myself, I pre-fish before I enter a tournament, I therefore should have a clue of whats going on at the lake. I go home and set everything up to WIN. The next weekend is the tournament and I enter. I'm on fish!... My draw number is boat "1", Great . I blast off and I go to my Number 1 hole, I'm on it and catching fish, another boat sees me and comes over and tries to barge in on my good fortune. If the gentleman is a gentleman, he will stay within the set distance, if not, he maybe disqualified for encroachment if turned in. Which in reality, know one really wants to do. Solution: Ask him to back off and leave or be disqualified. Do all this in a gentlemanly fashion.

Now, lets reverse this situation and I drew the last boat out. I get to the first hole and I find that a boat is sitting on it. What do I do?.... I ask the boat first if he is in the Tournament (if you don't recognize him). If yes, move on, as a tournament fisherman you should have backup spots, at least 3 to 8. They maybe different in techniques but what else are you going to do? If all else fails you can come back later to see if the boat is still there.

Another situation, a boat is sitting there on one of your spots that you had plan on fishing during the tournament and isn't in the tournament. What do I ask him (I don't want to ruin his or her day, nor give the sport a bad name). Ask the boat first if you may fish behind him, never pull in front of him. The latter is a good way to start a bad situation. He may just let you have the hole if he knows you are in a tournament. Talk to him and make him feel confortable with you there, if he or she looks new to the sport, tell him what to try if they are not catching fish. If they are fishing for something else, it's a judgement call. Call it "Oh Well" and go on to another hole or spot.

We fisherman have to remember (in most cases) the other boat pre-fished also, and he has put in time on the water to win also. For you to come in and encroach is not good etiquette. DON'T DO IT. It may cost you then and down the road in future tournaments.

Most, encroachment rules are broken during a Team Event and very seldom broken at Pro Events. But, it has been known too happen.

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