I’ve lived in the same house for the past 31 years.

Other than my time spent away in the military, I’ve been in the same place. Eighteen years ago, I purchased this home. Living 31 years in the same house can make a person think twice about moving. But, changes in the neighborhood and a variety of other factors have finally pushed me over the edge. 

Trying to get a jump on things, I rented out a storage unit and have been moving things into storage this week. While going through one of our closets, I uncovered a stack of old fishing tournament plaques and military awards I had earned years ago. I had forgotten all about them and wondered where they went. 

So, they all went into a box titled “Dad’s!” So far, I have one box with my items in it from a downstairs closet and will soon be packing up things from upstairs. Most of my stuff is in the garage or backyard. 

I’m not looking forward to packing up all my work benches and emptying out my sheds. Fortunately, those two places will be last to get packed. Until then, who knows what I’ll discover.

Delta

Shade is the most important factor when fishing for bass on the Delta. 

Really pay attention to the banks and look for any shade pockets. This past weekend, the bigger bass were caught on Sweet Beavers on the shady side of isolated islands. The top-water frog bite has remained excellent for those willing to toss it all day. Anglers are catching frogfish in both open water and above matted vegetation. 

Catfishing has been very good recently along Whiskey Slough for anglers fishing with clams and anchovies.  

New Melones Lake

For numbers of kokanee, anglers are focusing on other lakes. For size, it’s tough to beat the size of kokanee that are currently being caught on the lake. 

The kokanee are averaging over 16 inches with a few pushing 20 inches long. The bites are scarce, but for those who are hooking up they’re hooking up with big fish. The fish are being found between 70 and 80 feet deep. The most popular area for anglers trolling is between the spillway and the dam. 

Bass fishing has been good for smaller fish on small plastics during the day, and top-water lures early morning and right before sunset. There are a lot of islands becoming visible due to dropping water levels, try fishing on the deep side of the islands for schools of bass. 

Catfishing has been good for night fishermen fishing just about anywhere on the lake. 

Don Pedro

Fishing on the lake seems to have slowed down. 

There are very few fish being caught by anglers trolling for trout, salmon and kokanee. Most anglers looking to troll for fish are focusing on Lake Pardee. 

Bass fishing has also slowed down for a lot of anglers. There are still fish being caught but the numbers and sizes are down. There was a recent tournament on the lake where the winning five-fish limit was just shy of 12 pounds. 

There is still an early top-=water bite but during the day anglers are having to slow down and finesse fish for them. It’s still hard to beat a wacky rigged 5-inch inch green pumpkin Senko or a Ned Rig.  

Lake Amador

Lake Amador is a night fishing lake this time of year. Not many anglers are braving the heat, as the fish have become very sluggish during the day. Bluegills are about all that is being caught. 

At night, there are some big catfish being caught and even an occasional trout for those fishing the dam area. There are also reports of crappie being caught on minnows at night by those fishing around the dock area. 

If you do plan on fishing Amador at night, make sure to get there before 9 p.m. as the gates are locked after 9 p.m.

Featured Product 

This week’s featured product is Power Pro braided fishing line. 

Over the past 20 years, braided line has really changed how people fish. Like with any new product after a while there are a lot of choices out there. 

I was turned on to Power Pro by a friend after several bad experiences with lesser lines and haven’t looked back. It’s true that there are less expensive braided lines that will get the job done, but if you’re looking to try braided line and want the best, I’d go with Power Pro. 

To contact Jarod Ballardo email jgbbass@yahoo.com.