(Stockton) Largemouth bass are moving into the banks in preparation for spawning, but there are still large females holding in slightly deeper water. The chatterbait bite has been hot for experienced anglers, but fishermen will be transitioning to Senkos as the fish move closer to the banks.
For largemouth bass, Alan Fong of the Fishermen’s Warehouse in Sacramento found great action this past week for largemouth bass with fish to 9.14 pounds.
He said, “I landed an 8 and a 9 one day, followed by another 9 the next day with everything on chatterbaits off of the shoreline at depths to 10 feet. I have had one of the best springs ever with 13 bass over 7 pounds with three of these over 10-pounds, all on chatterbaits. The big fish are getting ready to move, but they are off of the shoreline, and once they move in, I will switch over to Senkos. The water is clearing, and I think it is becoming too clear.”
James Netzel of Tight Lines Guide Service has been finding great striped bass action in the normal trolling locations along Eddo’s Marina, the mouth of Three-Mile Slough, the Sounding Board, Prisoner’s Point, and the San Andreas Shoals with shallow-diving P-Line Predator Angry Eye or Yozuri Crystal Minnows in chartreuse or red/head white.
“We have been averaging 40 to 50 fish per day with some larger bass at 7 and 11 pounds with most keepers in the 4-pound range. The San Joaquin has been better than the Sacramento due to clearer water,” he stated.
J.D. Richey of Richey’s Sport Fishing was on the San Joaquin during the week, and he said, “The water is clear enough to throw topwater lures and swimbaits, which is my normal program. The water is dirtier in the Mokelumne River, but the flows out of the Cosumnes are slowing down, so the water should clear quickly..”