I fished for bass this week but decided it was time to bring the striper rod along and see what was out there.

I mostly caught a bunch of dinker bass but did get one good one and briefly had another good one hooked. I saw a guy on TV who said you have to wait a second with the topwater so they will turn and get hooked when you set. If you strike too quickly you can pull it straight out of their mouth. My hook up ratio on big bass is far from what I want it to be. I am sick and tired of getting the big blow up and not getting the fish. I really do not like losing big bass. I am thinking maybe the quick hook set is the problem. We will see if I can slow it down a bit and hook a few more fish.

The first day I fished for stripers I caught a bunch of twelve inchers which I assume are delta residents and have not yet been to the bay or the ocean. The second day I fished for stripers I went to a few spots the good ones like to hang out and got one fish. It looked like a fish that had been to the bay or the ocean but who knows. My conclusion is there are not too many around. They might be way downstream somewhere but I don't want to go down there looking for them. The striper sure does pull hard. I hooked a fish the other day and thought it was either a nine pound largemouth or a 20 inch striper. In my experience those are the two fish sizes that generate equivalent pulling strength. I suppose I disrespect the largemouth a little but I am not far off. It turned out to be a 20 inch striper.

It really felt like our version of fall out there today. Light winds and blue sky with a few clouds. Very nice.