California delta bluegill spawn

[JBplusThuy]

Anybody know about when the bluegill spawn gets going in the California delta? Looking forward to introducing my kids to fishing over spawning beds.

Thanks!

Jonathan

[Bluegill Chaser]

I was wondering the same thing, here is what a knowledgeable guy not far from the Delta said:

The heavy rains means it will take longer heating up to where the Bluegill are active. Most years you might start to see them come to life in late March/early April if you got a hot spell in mid-late March. With all the rain and snow this year, the water temps are going to stay low for probably a month longer than the previous few years and to expect the activity to start in late April with full blow spawning probably starting mid-May. He said there are exceptions where certain sloughs or parts of the Delta that are sluggish and are far off the main current may start up sooner or activate during a hot spell that lasts more than a few days.

[JBplusThuy]

Thank you very much for that info, BC! My usual spot out there (and they only one I know, really) is Bethany Reservoir, up near the wind farms, a mile or 2 west of Clifton Court Forebay. It has loads of bluegill and I caught a 9" redear last time I was there, in the fall. The water levels tends to fluctuate quite a bit as they move water in and out - I've seen it rise a few feet in just a few hours - so not sure how this will affect the spawn, but like I said, it has loads of bluegill, so they're coming from somewhere.

Also saw lots of tiny first-year largemouth bass when fishing for bluegill in summer and fall, caught and released dozens, some as small as 3 inches. Also caught about an 8" baby striper while bluegill fishing. Have seen schools of stripers hitting on the surface around sunset, too. Best thing about Bethany, though, is hardly anybody goes there.

[Bluegill Chaser]

I know you've mentioned it before, I'll be checking out Bethany this spring some time. Busy prefishing for a local bass tourney or I'd be out at local ponds with my ultralight trying to target the slabs. Heck, I'll be bringing my ultralight while I prefish, if I spot some gills, I can't say no.

[JBplusThuy]

Hey BC,

Been out to the Delta? How're things looking out there? Got my float tube, my waders, my fins, will be getting my 2010 license Real Soon Now. My Evil Plan (TM) is to take a day off work, load my fishing stuff the night before, drop the kids at school and head out to fish from there. Will probably do my old standby, Bethany, although I've heard Los Vaqueros can be good and have been thinking of trying it.

If you also have an Evil Plans (TM) involving weekday fishing, wanna go fill a cooler with bluegill? :-)

JB

[Bluegill Chaser]

Alas, if not for my job, there would be many Evil Plan weekdays. Plus, my wife is full of roe and it has limited my fishing chances lately, heh.

Of note, I have seen bluegills in the shallows for the past week, although I was fishing for bass when I did. Going to get my first gill trip in this weekend I hope!

[JBplusThuy]

Did you make your gill trip? I took the day off on Thursday and went to Bethany and used my float tube for the first time.

Day got off to a slow start, fished for hours with just a smallish redear at the place where my wife and I had caught 21 of them in the early fall last year. After a while, drove back over to the launch ramp area, where things got a little better. Picked up a 10 inch redear, my new personal best by an inch. My old personal best was also from Bethany, caught last summer. Got a few other average bluegill in the same spot, and caught a 13" bass on my fly rod just after sunset. It was too dark to see what it was until I had it in the net; I was thinking "Huge redear!" until I saw it. I'll tell you, even a smallish bass like that is a pretty good fight on a 5-weight fly rod! :-)

Saw no sign of spawners in any shallow areas, although it's possible that they might spawn deeper at Bethany b/c the water level can fluctuate several feet in a day. Water seemed fairly cool. When the thermometer in my car said 64, the water finally felt warmer than the air, so I'm guestimating water temp at < 70 degrees. Certainly felt cool when wading in my lightweight waders.

How's your wife doing? Our first trip to Bethany was when our third was still just a hatchling. I hope the influence of that will make her fish when she's big enough :-) Her sisters, who are in first and second grades, love it.

Jonathan

[Bluegill Chaser]

I was actually fishing in a small bass tourney on the delta on Sat the 15th. Fished the Frank's Tract area, and man that was some stained, murky water. Caught a few fish, but fishing was tough for everyone. I walked the dock looking for bluegills early and late that day, but didn't see a one. Funny enough, when I talked about bluegill, one of the fisherman in the tourney mentioned Bethany as a place that has big bluegills.

Glad to hear someone is catching good sized panfish! I'm going to hit up Bethany sometime soon for sure. The wife is coming along, thanks, I think I'll be buying a used bass boat once I'm done protecting the fry from my upcoming spawn (read when then kid's a year old), and really figuring out the delta system for gills.