Yes, there's a five-bass limit in Elite Series events. Some guys cull their way through a bunch of bass to get their biggest five. Chris Zaldain is strictly on a big-bass pattern. Part of that is dictated by what he can see on spawning beds. But a lot of the big bass in The Delta are caught "just fishing," as in not looking at them, but having a good idea of where the big fish live. You can also influence the size of those bites by lure selection – big baits equal big bass, for the most part.
"In The Delta, you've got to look for six bites," Zaldain said. "I'm just trying to put myself in bedding areas. When I caught that 7-pounder (Thursday) that was in my main area. I saw a bunch of big ones in there (Wednesday, during practice). I only caught that one (Thursday) and I left. There's a bunch more in there.
"I didn't practice in that area where I caught (the 12-pounder). I just knew what lives there."
So Zaldain will take six big bites and live with whatever the best five weigh. On Day 1, they weighed 30 pounds, 7 ounces. That total could have easily been five or six pounds heavier, as he had "a couple of rats" in his livewell. (Disclaimer: The definition of a "rat" varies with the fishery. Currently, a rat in the California Delta is a 3-pounder.)