Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3911 May 2020 | Page 14

14 May 2020 VOL.39 • ISS. 11 Gone Fishing n terms of Delta striper fishing, there is a long-standing debate whether trolling, casting or soaking bait produces more stripers over the course of the year. In terms of total numbers, I believe that bait fishing has the edge, but when the water is clear and the temperature is in the 60’s it is tough for bait anglers to keep up with trollers and pluggers. With the spring running hitting its stride right now, this is a great time to learn or at least review the basics of trolling and plugging for delta linesides. Now if I had to choose between trolling and plugging and excitement was the criteria, I’d choose plugging every time, yet if overall productivity and consistency was the measure trolling would get the nod. This being the case let’s get started by consid- ering trolling. In days gone by, the typical delta troller used a short stiff “meat stick” rod teamed with heavy 25 to 30-pound monofilament. continued from page 1 This rig was tipped with a spreader rig. A large minnow plug was rigged on the top of the spreader and a leadhead jig worked off the bottom of the spreader. Now while this tackle arrangement was certainly effective, it greatly muffled the fight of all but the largest bass. Today light rods, braided lines and single lures are in vogue. Not only are these rigs effective, but they make the fishing fun even if the bass are not huge. Stripers might hit a variety of different trolled lures, yet you Firm white striped bass fillets are a Norcal staple during the spring months. Here we see an array of can limit your lure selection to delicious fish tacos in their natural habitat! two different models without Photo courtesy of DELTA PRO FISHING, Elk Grove. hurting your success rate. For shallow work in water that is 6 to 9 feet deep, Bomber Long A’s are the of color you’ll want plugs in red head/ actively patrol shoreline structure in way to go. At times white body, rainbow trout and chartreuse search of prey. When you begin a day when it is necessary initially. You can add more colors as you of trolling you want to start out working to work deeper gain more experience, but in reality, these shallow water tight to weed beds, tules, water, say from 12 tried and true colors will catch fish 90% of rip rap, snags and irrigations pipes. Ideally to 16 feet deep a the time. you want to seek out water that is about 8 deep diving Yo-Zuri *Trolling A unique aspect of delta trolling is the feet deep. Crystal minnow is Motors addition of a 6-inch plastic worm to the For this shallow water work your the choice of most *Fishfinders back of your minnow plugs. The worm trolling speed and the distance you put anglers. Deep diving *GPS most often used is a white Trick Worm, the plug behind the boat is critical. You Rebels will also *VHF but other brands and colors of worms will want to be moving between 3.5 and 5 work, but the knock work. The worm adds vibration, action Radios miles per hour and you want the lure 140 on Rebels is that and size to your plug. feet behind the boat. This combination of *Radar they often don’t run So how do you use these lures and speed and backdrop will put a Bomber *Batteries true out of the box tackle to troll up a mess of stripers? Well Long A just above the bottom in 8 feet of and and it is up to you let’s begin by looking at a couple common water. Chargers to upgrade the poor mistakes anglers make. First of all, most If you fail to hook up in shallow water quality hooks. anglers that are new to trolling delta or are marking fish in deeper water, it Yo-Zuris run true Largest Service waters tend to work water that is too deep is time to switch over to a deep running and come with Center and they usually troll too slowly. Yo-Zuri. For this work you’ll want to in the West! strong high quality Stripers are aggressive hunters that shorten your line to about 100 feet and hooks. In terms Marine Electronics Sales • Service • Installation Electric Marine ONE DAY SERVICE on Installations with appointment (916) 487-3868 Sunny’s CONTINUED ON PG 15 You want to remember the fish, not the sunburn. carvercovers.com 1 (888) 48 COVER Quality Carver Bimini Tops Available at your local marine dealer