The Striper Bite

[John H]

The striper bite is not very good right now. Either the water is too cold or my flies are terrible or I can't cast a lick or the fish all went back to the bay or I am in the wrong part of the Delta or there are no stripers left in California or they all got caught and eaten by someone else or I just plain don't know how to fish but whatever it is bites are a little hard to come by right now. We might get another wave of fish but the water is 50 degrees already so it might be the fun is over for the Fall. My plan is to keep fishing just in case the fun is not over and a bunch of bruisers come to town looking for a tasty Clouser.

We did not get many bites today but my buddy and I did get one really nice bite as the sun was coming up. Sixteen pounder. The biggest striper I have seen caught. Not the best pictures I have gotten but good enough. Fun stuff.

http://i.imgur.com/W4VZthw.jpg (https://imgur.com/W4VZthw)

http://i.imgur.com/ZTNn67U.jpg (https://imgur.com/ZTNn67U)

http://i.imgur.com/VWgwgEi.jpg (https://imgur.com/VWgwgEi)

http://i.imgur.com/jGwChrH.jpg (https://imgur.com/jGwChrH)

[MThompson]

Every year is worse than the previous. Just think how bad next year will be.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

In 2022 that is big Striper.........................those photos made me shiver.

Thanks John.

[Mike Churchill]

A couple of my buddies were out Friday. They were looking like skunks until late afternoon, when they brought 4 Stripers and a Squawfish to the boat. One of them was 37 inches and 16 pounds, which provided some redemption for my friend who broke off a fish at least that size last year.

I was out twice in the last few weeks. One day we picked up 6 or 7 , topped by a 4 pounder, and the other saw us slinking home smelling like skunk. But at least we are having beautiful days on the water instead of hunkering down at home.

[John H]

Those trips sound a lot like my last three trips although I did mix in a trip last week with Bryce Tedford. He is a good guy to fish with. We caught a good number of stripers but we made a lot of casts to get them. When the guide runs the boat you can pretty much cast non stop for 8 hours. I could not do that two days in a row.

Back in 1980 when I was getting interested in stripers everyone said it was no good any more and it had really gone in the tank since the ‘60’s. I imagine in the ‘60’s they said it was terrible and had really gone downhill since the ‘40’s. 20 years from now these will be the good old days.

It was a cold boat ride in the morning but if we had showed up at 9:00 that fish would not have been caught. I am starting to think the windshield is the way to go in the Delta.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Captain Andy Guibord says he wants a windshield on his next Delta boat.



Working most of my life in the fishing tackle business in Sacramento I can say all fishing is on a steady decline.

_________________________________

In 1960 I was 15 living in south Sacramento and my brothers, dad, uncle, cousins and school friends all hunted and fished.

There was no "catch-n-release" then either. We ate everything we caught and killed.

We hunted ducks and pheasants on our relatives farm north of the big airport.

Opening day of pheasant season out that way looked like World War II?

In those days we did a lot of "road hunting" where we drove around out in the country looking for pheasants.

I fished and hunted Snodgrass Slough from my Sears 12' aluminum Jon boat I bought new for $75 with money from my paper route.

Bought an old 6hp Elgin outboard motor and worked on it with my dad who was an aircraft mechanic in WWII.

___________________________________

I would say that the Great Generation had some of the best hunting and fishing in America before World War II.


I guess the Native Americans saw it at it's best before the White man arrived?

[John H]

Bill - back in the 60’s when you caught some stripers or salmon did you put them in the trunk of you car? I have seen some old pictures where people had a bunch of fish laying in the trunk. Seems like the trunk would have gotten smelly. Did you tow that boat or put it on top of you car? What kind of car did you have to haul the boat around?

[Lucas Dement]

Ive had a hell of a hard time getting any stripers these past 2 weeks. 2 weekends ago got skunks on flies and conventional tackle from the kayak. This past weekend I fished liberty island and managed one measly 16 incher

[John H]

I got two yesterday so your one last weekend is kind of what is happening right now. Maybe I will see you out there some day.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Ive had a hell of a hard time getting any stripers these past 2 weeks. 2 weekends ago got skunks on flies and conventional tackle from the kayak. This past weekend I fished liberty island and managed one measly 16 incher

I always suggest that you partner up with someone and get out with a top Delta fly fishing guide once and a while.

The guides might find you a partner or you might find one here?


Oct/Nov are usually top months, on average.

October for top weather and November for the most action?

December, as the temps get colder, it usually gets tougher.

March can be good too.


In the summer many Stripers are up the cooler large Valley rivers or in the bays and the surf.


In the Spring they spawn on the Sacramento river up near Colusa, April/May/June.



I think kayaks are good for top water LMB but would seem harder with fast sinking lines for Stripers?

Any comments?



Remember, most of my info is from the top Delta locals and the top Delta guides.

I'm not some legendary fly fisherman, I just have a lot of info from being around fishing my entire adult life.

[John H]

Kayaks work for stripers but…..you have to be able to stand up to cast and you have to clear everything out of the front of the kayak so you can strip your line into it without getting tangles. Boats are much better for casting and covering water but they are a lot more effort. For one person I like the kayak. If there are two people the boat is worth the effort.

[steveg137]

I'm toying with a kayak for the bay near San Rafael

John thanks alot for your info I'll contact you eventually when I get round to buying a kayak.

[Lucas Dement]

Kayaks work for stripers but…..you have to be able to stand up to cast and you have to clear everything out of the front of the kayak so you can strip your line into it without getting tangles. Boats are much better for casting and covering water but they are a lot more effort. For one person I like the kayak. If there are two people the boat is worth the effort.

I love fishing from my kayak just because of the simplicity, I can comfortably cast 40ish feet sitting down which is more than enough if you are targetting specific spots and arent spooking fish, the biggest problem is wind. Having to deal with it with both my boat and tackle becomes nightmarish at times, and will tank efficiency because you have to paddle back into position after each cast. Standing is nice but thats only on the most windless days. But the ability to take it anywhere is definately a big bonus.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

The Hobie fishing pedal kayaks are probably the most popular, especially for longer distances.

https://www.hobie.com/kayaks/ike-mirage-pro-angler-14-360/#fishing


Their 14' top of the line is around $6,000.00 with sales tax (watch the videos above).

I think most would need a trailer too?



I know they have a few good fishing pedal competitors now too.


You can not stand and cast from about 90% of the average kayaks out there.


Kayaks are popular now, World Wide.

[Jcolin]

I thought it was a great fall on the Napa river this year but it's only my 3rd year targeting stripers so I don't have the reference to compare it to long term trend like you guys do. Disappointing to hear that the striper fishing is in a longterm decline, I was naively hoping that it would be a good sustainable alternative in the future to my steelhead addiction as the outlook for SH long term is pretty bleak. This fall was the first time I got into some good sized stripers consistently and it was an absolute blast. I use my outcast pontoon with fins (don't use the fins in big tides when current is ripping for safety), its not ideal of course but like a kayak it can work.

[John H]

I need to get to the Napa River but I have been saying that for awhile. I have also only been fishing stripers on my own for a couple of years. I did some guided fishing back around 2006-2010. It was a revelation when I figured out I could do it in my kayak and did not need a boat. The revelation came when I was fishing for bass on October 27, 2020. I caught a 14 pounder and thought maybe I should be fishing for stripers. It was kind of like when Christopher Lloyd fell and hit his head and invented the flux capacitor in Back to the Future.

[steveg137]

It's the same for me, getting on the water for a fish given it's hard to get away for over night trips for trout.

I sent you a pm.