Stripers Close To Home

[Tony Buzolich]

If you’ve been chasing stripers over on the Sac around Colusa you know things have started to quiet down. For the last couple of weeks Tisdale seems to have been the hot spot. But even though a lot of guys quit, there are still fish scattered throughout the river system and will be clear into September.

I’m still fishing over on the Feather and the stripers are still around here too. With old age comes all the aches and pains and sore joints we all get. The last couple of trips out I started using my 7wt.SAGE One with a Rio 24’ Sink Tip line. I did this for two reasons. One being the sore shoulders and with this set-up casting is a breeze. Second, with the low water in the Feather there are lots of shallow areas that hold fish but are too shallow for my normal 8wt. and heavier lines.

Today started out at the ramp with almost no other boats around. Didn’t see any fish breaking like usual but we knew a few of their favorite spots. After several casts I get my first grab in only 5’ of water. I was using an old sardinia pattern with no weight or dumbbells again to make casting easier. The striper came up from the bottom and hit the 1/0 sardinia like a trout would hit a dry fly.
Whamm! What grab, and on my 7wt. First fish of the day a nice 10 pounder.
Geez, that felt good.



The rest of the morning was steady with one fish here and one there until about 9:00. Jim and I were staying fairly even and only a couple were undersize till we found a small school holding in an area we normally pass by.
Jim had just got a nice keeper and I made my next cast and hooked up quickly thinking we had a double. I pulled in line quickly as the fish swam toward the boat, but then, it turned and showed itself. Wow! Jim yells, “It’s BIG”. My line is now tight and the fish has started it’s usual tug-of-war as I’m trying to regain my line. In the clear water we could both see the size and the twisting fight briefly til it through the fly. Again, another GEEEZ ! that felt good..

So, hopefully the Feather doesn’t drop any more and we can still chase these wonderful fish.
Tony Buzolich

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Thanks Tony

I was up there a few times in your neck of the woods, maybe 10 years ago, with guide Shane Harden and buddy Terry Thomas.

In May, there were tons of boats out fishing, mostly guides, drifting minnow with customers.

How many boats are out on the Sacramento River recently?

[Tony Buzolich]

As of a couple weeks ago there were hundreds of boats on the Sac around Colusa. Yes, there were lots of fish there too. But if you were a fly-guy you knew there had to have been multiple boats going over where you wanted to cast and spooked those fish down. Almost all the boat there were either using minnows or trolling Rapala's with worn trailers. Since then the schools seem to have dropped down river to some degree and there are fewer boats upriver.

Now that the shad have come in the remaining stripers are gorging on them too. Ol' Doc Cedar used to use a two fly set-up then when he was fishing around Verona. He'd put on a Clouser for the stripers and at the same time add a dropper with a shad fly trailering behind. It worked.

The other day Jim got a big hen shad while casting for stripers too on a 3/0 Clouser. Ya never know
Tony

[John H]

It must be nice to have a river full of stripers right close to home. I don’t like the sound of all those boats but I might get used to it. I do have Berryessa close by and the bass are pretty catchable for a couple of months a year. For stripers Liberty Island is not too far for me but it is too muddy. I am guessing the wetland restoration they did there is causing the muddy water. If the restoration area fills up with tules that might fix it. I also went with Shane once maybe 20 years ago. As Bill said - I remember lots of guide boats drifting minnows. Thanks for the report.