MANAGING THE WATER
Occasionally snagging and ripping is part of cranking , but because he was working a narrowly defined zone , Schlander upsized his line from his typical 15-poundtest fluorocarbon to 17- pound test to keep his crankbait running a little higher . The change allowed him to fish aggressively and hug the grass edge with less |
concern about snagging . He threw the crankbait on a 6- foot , 5-inch Daiwa rod . For his Senko work , Schlander used a 6-foot , 7-inch Daiwa Tatula rod and matching reel with 17-pound-test fluorocarbon .
Keys to Victory
Having seen in practice the types of scenarios and reluctant fish he might be
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confronting throughout the duration of the tournament , Schlander formulated a game plan that addressed not only location and tactics , but also the technical elements of hooks , line and rod . Through pre-tournament experimentation with various multiple baits and tackle setups , he finally settled on the winning combination for covering a |
lot of water and getting reaction strikes .
“ The rod that I was using had a lot of flex to it so the fish could really get the bait ,” he adds . “ When I ’ d get them to the boat , it seemed like the bait was completely in their mouth . When I set the hook , the rod had so much bend that it wasn ’ t pulling the bait away from them .”
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CONDITIONS
Weather | mostly sunny ; post-frontal , with no precipitation Air Temperature | highs in the mid-70s on day one ; upper 60s on days two and three Water Temperature | 62 to 65 degrees Water Clarity | 6 inches to 2 feet of visibility Wind | calm on day one ; WNW at 15 to 20 mph on day two ; W at 10 to 15 mph on day three Moon Phase | full Predominant Lake Features | tule berms , hydrilla , hyacinth , pennywort , primrose , riprap and shallow wood Fishery Type | tidal waterbody formed by the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and encompassing a massive network of Central Valley sloughs , canals and flooded farmlands
CO-ANGLER CHAMPION
Name : Jordan Pinasco Hometown : Galt , Calif . Winning Weight : 40-04 ( 15 fish ) Winning Program : Pinasco kept a diverse arsenal handy and caught his weight with a straight-up junkfishing effort . His top performers were a Texas-rigged Damiki Stinger with a 1 / 4-ounce tungsten bullet weight fished along the primary grass line and a Zoom Horny Toad fished in sparse tules or over isolated grass clumps .
In the early morning hours , when the sun was low and the tide was high , he caught fish on a Damiki spinnerbait and a 1 / 2-ounce Blade-Runner Tackle Wobble Head Swim Jig with a Damiki Knockout trailer .
MANAGING THE WATER
Schlander fished three riprap banks , each a few hundred yards long , and his best bite was during high tide . With early mornings bringing the last of an incoming tide , he had about two and a half to three hours before his first spot expired . After that , he “ ran the tide ” to stay with his preferred stage .
“ You had to catch your fish fast because once the tide would go out the weeds would suck up to the rocks and you wouldn ’ t be able to fish it with your crankbait ,” Schlander says . “ I ’ d start on the Central Delta , and as soon as it would switch , I ’ d run south and try to catch that high water .
“ The only thing that was difficult was managing the boat traffic ,” he adds . “ There were a lot of people fishing the banks I was fishing , and it just seemed that you had to be in fresh water . If you saw someone hitting the bank you were hitting and they got close , you had to pick up and run to another spot .”
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