Delta bass

[mar]

Tides looked good in the south delta yesterday so I went on a last-minute striper trip. First stop was a dinkfest.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0668b.jpg


Got buzzed by a few wakeboats so I bailed. Headed to a secluded slough and had the place to myself. Started chucking the little Kiene-purchased froggie and had a very nice topwater session.

The tiny one are fearless, attacking the frog violently:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0484b.jpg


Got some slightly bigger ones as well:

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0689b.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0680b.jpg


Missed some huge blow-ups and had some nicer fish on for a few seconds then popped off.
Then there was that one toilet-flush blow-up that almost made me soil my pants. I’m still thinking about that fish. I’ll be back…..

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Great post MAR......

I think the Delta fishes well for LMB/SMB in any warm month.

Your pictures are tops and very inspiring.

I love top water and I too like to use that Umpqua Swimming Frog.

[mar]

Thanks Bill. Might need to stop by the shop and pick up a few more frogs. I'd like to take credit for the pics but that's all due to a better camera i'm afraid. Learned a lot from all the fine pics posted by some fine photographers here. Having fun with that aspect of this crazy sport.

[TPO]

Thanks for the post and the great pictures. Glad to see you had a good day out. I was out there early Sat morning myself. I had high hopes after having a lot of hits the week before, but it was a bust for me. Pitched topwater, my own deer hair poppers/divers mostly, for a few hours for only one dink landed and no other hits. I tried subsurface for a little while too for nothing. Oh well, not sure why the bit was off for me but that's fishing. Still enjoyed getting out there.

Tom

[mar]

Got off work early and hit the evening topwater bite with the little one.
Got some really nice blow-ups on the swimming frog.

Little bass for the little dude:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0692.jpg


Good eat at the edge of a weedline. I did the hooking, he took it the rest of the way:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0699b.jpg


Nice chunker to hand:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0706b.jpg


Can't get enough of the delta sunset:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0718b.jpg


What a kick-a$$ way to fish. I gots to do more of this.

[mar]

Some more Delta bass. North Delta smallies this time.
Cooler, clearer water. You can actually see these buggers come up from the depths and attack the frog kamikaze-style.

Some are dark-colored:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0759b.jpg


Some are lighter-skinned:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0764b.jpg


They eat the fly with gusto:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0772b.jpg


Not a bad way to spend a 'sick' day :D

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Very nice...thanks.

[TPO]

Nice fish, and nice photos. I've never fished for smallies in the Delta, or anywhere else for that matter. Looks like a great time, thanks for the post.

Tom

[mar]

Can’t tie a deerhair swimming frog to save my file. But I still want to catch some bass on topwater bugs of my own creation. Found some foamheads and gave it a shot. Tie on some fluff on the tail end, add a weed-guard and shove the foamhead on top.

Took it out for a spin and the bass seemed to approve.

Second cast and this little guy charged it after a couple of pops.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0466b.jpg


Got some slightly bigger ones:

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0473b.jpg


This one really liked it:

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0486b.jpg


A nice session with my ugly fly. Need to tie a few more.

[Darian]

Those are some good looking Smallies!! Ugly bug?? That's a great looking fly!!! I have a few of those myself. Charlie Bisharat designed a similar bug that Kiene's carries called the Bubbleicious(?). Now produced by Umpqua. I like the traditional deer hair heads but when they get soaked up, I switch to the foam heads, too.

Thanks for sharing.... :D

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I like that bug......

[mar]

Those are some good looking Smallies!! Ugly bug?? That's a great looking fly!!! I have a few of those myself. Charlie Bisharat designed a similar bug that Kiene's carries called the Bubbleicious(?). Now produced by Umpqua. I like the traditional deer hair heads but when they get soaked up, I switch to the foam heads, too.

Thanks for sharing.... :D

Thanks Darian. I guess 'ugly' relative to some of the works of art crafted by some of the great tiers out there. I need to put something on place to keep the tail fibers from wrapping around the hook. Maybe something similar to the the tail-end of the Poledancer.
I hear you about the water-logged deer hair bugs. I usually have 2-3 in rotation during each outing to make sure I keep fishing the dry ones. These foam divers doesn't quite have the same pop as their deer hair counterparts but they seem to do the job and they don't get water logged.

[Hatch]

Hey Mar
did not see this post till today, Awesome! Great shot of your kid-Nice smallies-Great pictures. You rock !!!
HATCH

[mar]

The adventures of the foamhead bass bug continues. Went back to the north delta with my good luck charm. She took some pics.

Hookset after a nice eat:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0048b_zpsd85eb2a1.jpg


This little guy had no fear:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0046b_zps5df82497.jpg


The bug works on north delta smallies:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0054b_zps12294510.jpg


And north delta lmb’s:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0044b_zpseeea62f7.jpg

Another nice fishing date with the wife.

[k.hanley]

Say hey Mar,
For my eyes that North Delta Smallie portrait is terrific. Great colors, excellent fish, that foam bug is making magic.
Cheers, Ken

[Jake O]

incredible pics---magazine worthy. Thanks for sharing.

[Darian]

OK Mar,.... I thought so much of your bug that I copied it as best I could and tried it out on the north delta (Potato Slough) last week and can report that it's the real deal. Can't say I caught numbers of Bass but did catch some even tho it was slooowwww.... Neap tides and wrong time of day (hey!! Ya gotta fish when you can).

The best part was I gave the chartreuse model with a weed guard a good test drive. This thing is indestructible. I cast it up against the rip-rap and buried it in all kinds of mud, moss and debris. Then, I dragged it thru the tule's and several low hanging branches without snagging. Still fished and looked great. Check it out:

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o31/jockscot/DSCN0804.jpg

Can't wait to try out the other colors.... 8)

[mar]

Wow! Nice ties Darian! I need to copy your copy :D
Yeah, these foamheads are bulletproof. Let me know if you need help field testing the black one :D

[Darian]

Mar,.... Check your PM's.

[ssy]

Where do you get those foamheads?

[Darian]

ssy,.... You can buy Rainy's Foam Diver Bodies from The Fly Shop in Redding or other Internet websites (there're several). If you're in the Sacramento area, you could have Kiene's order them for you. Kiene's carries Rainy's foam products. If in an other area, try your local fly shop. :D

[mar]

Darian was kind enough to let me field test his black foam-head diver. I finally got a chance to take it out for a spin this morning. Short 1-hr north delta smallie session before going to work.
Third cast into the drift, nice blow-up but no hook-up. Things are looking good. Further downstream, a small lmb hammered it. Next cast, it was this smallie’s turn:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0064b.jpg

On to the next rockwall. Only had one blow-up and I expertly missed the hookset. At the end of the drift, I noticed some commotion on the opposite side and I thought it was an otter. It turned out to be a fish feeding on small baitfish right up against the rocks. Side-arm cast into the overhanging branch and the diver gently landed right up against the rocks. A couple of pops and it got blasted.
My biggest smallie so far:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0068b.jpg


A nice session with the ‘DuB’ (Darian’s ugly Bug) :D
Thanks again Darian!

[Darian]

Hey Mar, you da man!!! =D> Those're some good looking smallies.... The "Dub"!!! Good name for that bug. Glad it worked so well for you.... :D

ps: Forgot to mention that when retrieved with the tip of the pole in the water and a short, snappy retrieve, da Dub will walk the dog....

[mar]

I had the pleasure of fishing with another board member TPO a few weeks back. He was kind enough to let me take a couple of his beautifully-crafted bass bugs after our nice fishing session. I fished one of the bugs in the south delta and had some success. Got a few smaller lmb's early in the day.

Fished waters like this:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0117b.jpg


The calmness and silence were interrupted by the awesome gurgling sound of TPO's bug. This fish attacked from an angle, blasting the bug and launching itself a foot off the water. What an awesome take.

4.5lbs on the boga:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0107b.jpg


TPO's beautiful bug:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0111.jpg


Thanks again Tom! I might be begging you for another one :D

[TPO]

Mar, great post, and great fish! That 4.5 lb'er is a beaut! I was out last weekend in my float tube and the fish were active on top. I caught four in a few early morning hours but nothing of any size. I've caught some fish in the past on the pattern you used above, basically a sculpin shaped head (broad, fairly flat) with some red in it and a rabbit strip tail. I have it in brown/tan, green, and olive. It's more of a slider pattern, it doesn't move water like a popper or diver but the fish seem to like it just fine. Thanks again for the kind comments about the flies, I get a kick out of tying and its great to see they worked for you. Keep the posts and pictures coming!

Tom

[Darian]

Beautiful photo's. You're really catchin' 'em. I gotta get back out there. I sure do like a good looking deer hair bug. My only objection to 'em is that that soak up too much water and become submarines. :lol: I'm still gonna use 'em tho. :D

[Spicytuna1]

Got out for an hour or so Friday night. Had a Dan Le Count huge streamer pattern still on my intermediate rod from a trip with him a few weeks back and decided to see what what would eat it. I went 1 for 2 in an hour on the water and was very happy with the result even though it was not on top.

[Darian]

Kinda looks like a Sculpin pattern you were using. Must've been just what the doctor ordered.... Good looking Bass. Keep those reports/photo's coming.... :D