Mike Andrews Fishing

I did not get a chance to get out this week on the Delta, we made out annual trip to Lake Pardee instead. I like to get a change in scenery a couple times a year. It was beautiful up there. We caught one top water fish (an 8 pounder on a Go-2-Minnow) and 6 more fish on Jigs up to 6 pounds. The Smallies are just starting to make beds, but none were locked on. We did catch 3 little guys, the other 4 were Largemouth’s

The Delta fishing is good right now. Water is staying in the low 60’s and the bass are moving up to bed. There are a few already on, but I would expect the major move up on the next full moon (April 9th). You can catch fish on just about any bait you like right now. Senko’s, Jigs, Chatter baits, Spinner baits, Crank baits to name a few. There are also some top water fish already being caught! Next weekend there is a Won Bass Super team tournament on the Delta out of Russo’s Marina. There will be some huge bags of bass weighed in and some big ones too! Come on out and win some money while you having fun. We will see you there.

Good fishing,
Mike

Is getting a little better day by day, not as fast as I expected due to the up and down weather but the water temp is up to 62 * and the big fish are starting to show up. The Won Bass Team tourney at Russo’s Marina yesterday took 30+ pounds to win and the winners had a bass almost 12 pounds! I have heard about a few other big fish being caught this last week up to 14 pounds, so the big ones are biting you just have to put in some time and have a little luck.

I was out yesterday (Saturday) by myself. The morning started off good with 7 fish from 2-3 pounds with in the 1st 30 minutes then I went the next 2 hours without a bite. I just kept moving around covering water until I got a bit, then slowed down and worked the area and started picking up some nice fish. I ended up catching 20 bass including two over 7 pounds and three in the 5 pound range! They came on Bobby D’s Chatter baits, Jigs and Senko’s in 3’-5’ of water.

Things are starting to happen on the Delta. The next few weeks will be the best of the year. If your planning a trip, now is the time.

Good Fishing,
Mike

This week on Delta was beautiful! Great weather, good fishing and the spawn is just days away. My team partner (Bobby D) and I got out yesterday (Saturday) and was met with overcast skies and 20mph wind! That toughened thing up a bit and kept us off some of our favorite fishing spots so we decided to go towards the middle Delta where it is easier to get out of the wind. We had our best success in the connection slough and Mildred Island areas. We caught some fish on Bobby D’s custom Chatterbaits and Osprey swimbaits. Shad colors worked best. We ended up catching 9 bass for the day up to 6 ½ pound, and our best 5 going 25+.

If you headed out this week I would recommend staying in and around the flooded islands like Mandaville, Franks Tract, Mildred to name a few. Senko’s are hard to beat in the spring, but cranks, swimbaits, chatterbaits, jigs will draw some bites too. In the coming weeks you will see the top water bite produce some giant fish! The Black Dog Lunker Punker is THE bait to catch a fish of a life time! I have already started throwing them and have had some huge blow ups, but its just a little early for them to commit. The new injected 6” or 8” are the ticket.

Get out there and catch a fish of a life time. Now is the time!

Good Fishing,
Mike

Winter on the Delta is by far the toughest season for most. The fish can really disappear on you this time of the year. They will follow the shad into the dead end sloughs and marinas or anywhere out of the current and be pretty easy to find as long as the shad are there. When the shad die off/leave, that’s when it gets TOUGH! I recommend ripping a pointed 100 or 78 in char/shad or white on a 704cb Dobyns rod with 10 pound fluorocarbon line. You are trying to match the shad they have been feeding on for the past couple of months. I like to do the rip rip pause….rip pause technique. This will work on most days. Some days (when the water drops below 48*) you will need to make long pauses. Up to 5 or 6 seconds. This doesn’t seem long until you do it. I like to fish fast, so it really seams long to me. Another great and reliable way to catch them is on a dropshot. I like to use a 3/16th ounce dropshot weight a 1/0 wide gap gammy and a 6” Robo worm. The MMIII and the People’s Choice are the best producers for me. I use a  702c Dobyns rod with 8 pound mono. I just pitch it up around boat docks and banks in those same areas as the rip bait and shake it. Some times they will hit it on the fall, but mostly you will get the bites just shaking it in one place. Most of the time you will not feel the bite, but the rod will just get heavy. When this happends, just lift the rod and reel set the fish. I see so many people miss dropshot fish my setting the hook. With these high end graphite rods, you don’t need to do that and it will cost you fish. The last way I would recommend trying in the dead of winter is a jig. It’s the best way to catch a trophy fish, but the most frustrating! You can go days with out getting a bite, then catch the fish of a life time on the next flip! I start with a 805 Dobyns flipping stick. If I’m flipping rocks I will go with 20-25 pound fluorocarbon if I’m flipping wood, tullies or weeds I will use 65 pound braid. It will be tied to a ½ ounce Bobby D’s flippin jig. Black-n-Blue is hard to beat in the winter. I use both pork and plastic trailers in the winter. Whatever I use it will match the jig. There are so many variables to talk about when flippin/Pitching jigs this time of year. Water temp, water color, weather all play a big roll in where and how I fish. If it is  sunny out and the water is clear, I will stay out off the bank in 8’-12’ of water. The fish will be a little spooky with the clear water so I will keep the boat about 30’ off the bank and pitch up and work the jig out into the 12’ of water. If the water is stained/muddy you can get right up there and flip them. The fish will be a lot shallower with the off colored water too. This can be intimidating to a lot of guys. Cold dirty water can be tough, but can also be one of the best days of your life if you know what to do. The fish will move up tight to cover when the water turns dirty. They can be in as little as 1’ of water. I try to stay in the 1’-4’ range. I will flip that jig into the thickest bunches of tullies, wood, bushes as I can find. Make sure you stay out of direct current, but it don’t have to be far. Just enough to create a break so the fish don’t have to fight it.  Shake the jig for a few seconds to get their attention. Make sure you use a jig with a rattle when the water is  dirty. If you follow these guidelines you should be able to catch a few to hold you over until the spring.

The Delta this week toughend up for most. The water temp is staying around 55 degrees but the water is very stained. I fished a tournament yesterday and was only able to catch 8 fish up to 3 pounds. 27 pounds won so some pople are still catching them. The up and down weather is responsable for the tough bite, BUT this week will be sunny and I expect the bite to bust wide open by next weekend! The staging fish will move up into the shallows and the pre-spawn bite will be good. Look for shallow flats adjcent to deep water. Baits like senkos, jigs, chatterbaits and spinnerbaits will produce good fish. If you want to catch a new prsonal best, the next couple of weeks on the Delta is the place to do it!!