The California Delta is a massive inland river delta and maze of sloughs and levees located between Sacramento and Stockton. The two major rivers in the system are the Sacramento River and the San Joaquin River. Other tributaries include the American River, Mokelumne River, Cosumnes River and Calaveras River, all of which eventually flow into San Francisco Bay. All told, the California Delta comprises more than 1,000 miles of waterways.

Be sure to pack your shorts and short sleeves because this tournament is going to be hot, just like the tournament held May 30. Air temperatures will most likely be in the 90s while water temps should be in the mid-70s to mid-80s in the backwater sloughs.

The delta is a labyrinth of shallow canals with tons of cover. The average depth is 5 feet in most places with some areas around 10 feet. This is a tidal system though, and the water can fluctuate as much as 6 feet. The water should be fairly clean with 3 to 4 feet of visibility.  

Primary cover at the delta includes  tules  and   hydrilla .  At low tide, the   hydrilla   will be just under the surface and the  tules  will be high and dry in most places. When the tide rises, the water will flow back into the  tules , and so will the fish. Delta bass also like to hang around the  riprap  that lines most of the jetties.  Hyacinth , which grow on the surface and form floating mats, are another form of cover not to be overlooked this time of year. The hyacinth grow together to form a thick canopy that provides shade from the midday sun.  Shad  and  crawdads  are the primary forage.

Your two primary patterns will be topwater and flipping. Typically on the high tide, I lean toward flipping  tules  with a  Berkley 4-inch PowerBait Chigger Craw  or a  Berkley PowerBait Mud Critter . I like to use green-pumpkin if the water is clear and June-bug if the water is stained. I also rig the baits with a color-matched 3/8-ounce  Tru-Tungsten Flippin’ Weight .  On the low tide, I lean toward topwater offerings like the  Lucky Craft Gunfish 115  in chartreuse shad, a swimming frog like the  Zoom Horny Toad  or  Stanley Ribbit  in black or white or a floating frog like the Reaction Innovations Swamp Donkey in black or white. I fish the Horny Toad and Ribbit like a buzzbait and prefer to fish them weightless. Under the midday sun, punching through thick hyacinth mats or mats of dead tules and grass with a 1- to 1 1/2-ounce Tru-Tungsten Flippin’ Weight can produce nice fish. Stick with the Mud Critter for this technique, but switch to a 70-pound braid line. You should also come prepared to drop-shot a  Berkley 6-inch PowerBait Hand Pour Worm  or a 6-inch  Roboworm  in purple or oxblood colors. A weightless wacky- or Texas-rigged  Yamamoto Senko  in watermelon or green-pumpkin is another good option. The influence of the tide is very important. The fish are much more aggressive when the water is moving, and you usually only have an hour or two to take advantage of it. I typically have the most success at low tide when the top of the grass is just below the surface and holes in the   hydrilla   become visible. Bass will congregate in these holes or on the outside edges of the grass until the high tide, then they will move back into the  tules  where they are much harder to catch due to the thick cover. Specific areas you might want to check out include Franks Tract, Discovery Bay and Mildred Island. For more information on the tide, click  here .

Here are the five rod-and-reel combinations I recommend:

The California Delta is a great place to catch big bass. If you have any questions that I have not answered, please e-mail me  here . Be sure to put California Delta in the subject line.

Good luck!

- Brent Ehrler

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From:   Corey Sheehan, Sonoma State

I was wondering if there is really any specific time in the day that a frog should be thrown or if the tide has anything to do with that? I know most people say morning, but my partner and I got a 7.7 and a 6-pounder frogging around 2 in the afternoon the other day while prefishing. Thank you.

Good question, Corey. The bite is tide specific, so look back and check what the tide was doing when you caught those fish. The tide is everything on the California Delta. Time of day is secondary. Good luck!