striper outing

[Dustin Revel]

we headed out for our first srtiper outing thursday on the lower sac. didn't catch any of the striped beast, but we did learn alot about the preditory world. we saw what looked like a 8" trout leap out of the water three times before it was engulfed in a swirl of water.

while waiting for a school of stripers to come close enough to cast to I was throwing a 3/0 black clouser to some bass that were willing to eat it if stripped quickly using a hand retrieve, and to my surprise a 12 inch squaw ate it as well decided to feed it to the srtipers.

I had a good time and will definately repeat it soon. It is definately gets the adrenaline pumping a little more than the average trout outing does.

Dusty Revel

[JerryInLodi]

This may be a very strange year for stripers since large numbers have never left the rivers and migrated back to the bay. Big stripers still inhabit the Sac, Feather and American in numbers. Are there even greater numbers in the bay and ocean that will be coming inland or are the fish that are already here the majority of the adult striper population?

Anyone hear of catch rates on bay party boats working the towers, beaches, etc? What about the slot at The Brothers?

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

April, May and June is the normal time for finding very large numbers of Stripers on the lower Sacramento River that have come upriver to do their spring spawning. They will concentrate somewhere around Colusa depending on the flow level that year.

Up that way the river seems to be more channelized with a pretty high flow so we usually find them just out of the current behind snags and off the edges where the water slows some.

Shane Harden guides up that way with a jet boat and is very successful.

I am sure that they get some resident population in the summer just like we do in the Lower American River. They would probably be above Colusa up to the Red Bluff Diversion Dam.

[lee s.]

Well Dusty,
I SURE do like your reports! We do a LOT of trips just like those.
Went to a fav water hole yesterday too, with thoughts of top-water enticement on the resident denizens. NO such luck. Only 12 hits and most were at least as small as the bugs used.
Leave it to Loretta though, to land the first top-water striper of the season on our little plastic vessel yesterday.
Might be up your way in Sept. to see if we kin dry some runny noses on some of your "local" LM's. We'll give you a shout.
.....lee s.

[Dustin Revel]

still want to go fishing with you. when you make plans to come up this way send me an email.
Dusty

[JerryInLodi]

Bill, this is the end of August! I know they're up river in early summer, it's almost fall and I still see reports of large numbers of fish upstream. Usually at this time of year some fish are up stream but this year the numbers seem to be overly great. Then again, it may speak to the health of the striper population. It may be much healthier than judged by DFG. I sure hope that's the case because if so, it will herald a monstrous fall!

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Jerry

We fish them through September in the American and then in October most here head for your area in the Delta.

[matt johnson]

hey Dusty,

Thanks for the striper report. Where on the Sac were you fishing? Not too many fly fishers ply the Sacramento for stripers outside of the Colusa run in the spring. There are some big fish out there all summer long however. Most of them are taken at night with live bait. I fish the Woodson bridge/Los Molinos area with limited success. They are cool fish! Even the little ones are bigger than most trout! Matt.

[Dustin Revel]

woodson bridge area