VOL. 37 • ISS. 07

EAST DELTA

Cold Water Temperatures Require Slower Presentation for Largemouth Bass

STOCKTON- The early spring that was appearing a few weeks back is on hold for a bit with the arrival of cold temperatures and windy conditions in the Delta. At press time, the bass did not show signs of backing off of the shallows, but an extended cold spring may change the action.

Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, said,“ Right now it is time to slow things down as the

with lures. On the contrary, I love lures, but I’ m not a purist. I believe in the deadly effectiveness of natural baits.

Natural bait is just that … It’ s what the fish naturally feed on. Shad, mackerel, herring, anchovies and other baitfish have put some big fish in the boat for me over the years.

Whenever you talk about fishing with dead baitfish, preparation and preservation of your bait become central issues. Bait brining is at the heart of this.

Beyond the arena of preservation comes the question of whether you can enhance the effectiveness of natural bait by changing its color or adding UV qualities.

The answer is a resounding yes. I’ ve seen days on the lingcod grounds when a green dyed mackerel would out fish a natural colored bait by a ratio of 3 to 1. Likewise, I’ ve encountered king salmon that wanted their anchovies dyed blue and stripers that preferred chartreuse green shad!

If you’ re a dyed in the wool( LOL) bait briner and dyer, or if you are just looking to get into this crazily addictive game, the team at Atlas-Mike’ s offers up a full line of top notch products. For brining and dyeing at the same time there is Brite & Tight 3 In 1 Herring Formula. For dyeing only Super Dye is a great product that you can add to your favorite brine or directly to your bait.

Brite & Tight Herring Formula Salmon anglers have long known that brined herring holds up better than herring that have not been brined; especially frozen herring.

Mike’ s Brite & Tight herring formula makes brining herring as easy as unscrewing the cap, pouring the cure into a container or zip lock bag and soaking your herring overnight. What could be simpler?

Not only does Mike’ s Brite & Tight Herring Formula brine your herring so they last longer and are brighter so they attract salmon better, but they have taken it a step further by adding dye and scent to further improve the performance of your herring.

Brite & Tight is UV enhanced which adds even greater visibility to your brined baits. Particularly in low light conditions, UV provides an important advantage that results in more fish!

Mike’ s Brite & Tight is not just for herring. Use it on shrimp, prawns, anchovies, minnows, crayfish, alewife and more!

This easy, no mix cure makes great prepared bait every time that will give you the edge professional anglers depend on in their businesses. Cure it right, use Brite & Tight!

water temperature has dropped with this series of cold fronts moving through. Last week’ s temperatures in the high 20’ s caused the water temperature to plummet, and you have to fish extremely slow.

You can still catch fish, but you have to find current out of the breeze with clean water. The ima Flit 120 ripbait in shad patterns or Olive Herring continues to be effective, but you have to keep the lure in the strike zone as long as possible. The a black / blue jig on a ½ oz. jig head tipped with a Berkley Max Scent Chunk as a trailer is also effective, but it is important to stay out of the wind.”

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Trout

SUPER DYE & BAIT BRIGHTENER

Spice up your baits with Brite & Tight Super Dye. Just add to your favorite bait cures or directly to bait... easy and effective! Super concentrated... won’ t easily wash off. UV enhanced Brite & Tight Bait Brightener adds intense shine to your fresh baits and helps rejuvenate old or frozen baits.

Atlas-Mike’ s Brite & Tight Super Dye Atlas-Mike’ s Brite & Tight Super Dye works great for most natural baits … herring, sardines, minnows, alewife, eggs, prawns, shrimp, anchovies, etc. Every angler is looking for an advantage.

Dan Mathisen of Dan’ s Delta Outdoors is hosting another tournament for his circuit out of Big Break Marina, and he said,“ There is a reaction bite once again as the water has clouded up, and I would stick with chatterbaits or 7-inch Senkos in white / white or orange. The bass are chasing a little bite, and split-shotting in the pickle weed on weights up to 1.5 ounces is also working. A few stripers are showing up, but they are moving around all of the time.”

Alan Fong of the Fishermen’ s Warehouse in Sacramento reported plug casters are finding a number of small stripers on the

Salmon

Quality Baits For Over 80 Years

Steelhead

March 16- 30, 2018

13

Marisa Escareno had a great time fishing for crappie at Clear Lake this February.

Photo courtesy of MARISA ESCARENO, Fish Sniffer On Demand.

by Cal Kellogg

Spice up your baits with Brite & Tight Super Dye. Just add to your favorite bait cures or directly to bait … easy and effective! Not only is it super concentrated, but it won’ t easily wash off.

For more information go to atlasmikes. com

www. AtlasMikes. com

No other company gives you more fish catching products for salmon, steelhead and trout than Atlas-Mike’ s. Salmon eggs, floating trout baits, marshmallows, fish attractants, bait cures and brines plus salmon / steelhead accessories, we have it all! Every angler’ s looking for an edge, tip the odds in your favor with Atlas-Mike’ s.