1. Mah’s Dead Mat Delving
Where: california delta
When: late February through march
8’-12’ at high tide
loose mats of dead grass
blown into pocket
deeper channel
Ken Mah’s Stats:
Hometown: elk Grove, calif.
Top 10s: 7
Winnings: $108,458
Background
66
costa FlW series standout ken mah has made his
name in the last few years flipping and pitching his way
through the miles of canals, levees and sloughs found on
his home waters of the california delta. mah’s favorite
time to do it is when the vast majority of his competition
isn’t.
“in that late-February-to-early-march period, lots of
delta rats are more likely to be throwing moving baits to
prespawners grouped up on flats,” mah says. “that can be
some good fishing, but i catch my biggest bags during that
period by targeting prespawn giants underneath mats of
dead vegetation.”
this type of punching is not a numbers game. mah is
targeting fish that just happen to come up a little early to
feed – stopping underneath dead mats that drift around
and collect throughout the delta’s many sloughs and
pockets.
“they’re not thinking about spawning yet, and for that
reason there aren’t a lot that move up,” mah notes. “a good
day will be eight or 10 bites, but if you land five of them,
you’re going to be bringing back a mammoth bag.”
Presentation
“the first prespawners are usually the biggest fish in the
area,” mah says. “they pull out of deeper areas in late
February and stage underneath thick mats of dead tules
and vegetation. the best mats are deep enough that they
have 3 to 5 feet of water on them at low tide, and close to
8 to 12 feet of water at other times.”
one of the benefits of this pattern is that, because the
mats are dead, they’re loose and relatively clean under-
neath, which means an angler can effectively fish them
with a heavy jig.
“i’ve found that punching with plastics results in far
more lost fish than a jig,” mah says. “in the summer, you
need a plastic bait to get through all the grass, but
around dead mats, once you’re through the bait is free
to move.”
FLWFISHING.COM I FEBRUARY-MARCH 2017