Striper Question

Mike Kontes · Post by **Mike Kontes** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 11:32 am

Gentlemen Who Know:

When do you fish for stripers in the dead end sloughs, when do you fish for them in main channel, when in the flooded islands and why?

I am a beginner and want to learn. I have a professional trip scheduled and I am going to ask these questions, but want to get ahead of the learning curve.

Why Big Break and Sherman? Why Discover Bay? Why Beaver or Sycamore? And when do be in these areas????

If you want to share something personal, please PM me. Remember, I am learning and need details, not spots.

Thanks,

Mike

Austen · Post by **Austen** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 11:44 am

Great questions with tons of answers im sure. Im a beginner myself. Love to see what everyone has to say.

Austen

JustinD · Post by **JustinD** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 11:49 am

Mike we have spoke before.......Best Best Best Best advice anyone can give you is to fish and fish often. The tackle and the like you can learn from a pro/guide and these little tricks in rods, baits, line, knots, ect.....But nothing and I mean nothing can beat time and all out effort. Can't remember if your retired, working, or what but just start before day and fish all day long for several days (into dark) and eventually one day you'll be in the right place, time, date, tide, wind, school, baitfish, ect.....Then just take all that fun...and it will be fun...and sit down right after and enter intio your dome everything. Don't forget it and recreate it the best you can as you explore the river. And no matter how long you have been fishing the river there is always new things to learn and explore.

CBoat · Post by **CBoat** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 11:49 am

The answers to your questions can fill a book. These are not simple questions. We have all caught fish where we thought stripers would hang out, then other times we have all caught fish in spots we least expected. It takes time on the water and a good guide will give you a tremendous head start.

Evenings and mornings are always best and I think mornings are the very best. As an example, I can catch fish in a particular spot in the early morning and not touch a fish there all day long again. Or I can run up to a spot on high tide and nail them but you will never see fish on that spot on low tide and visa versa.

Other spots hold fish all day.

So time on the water is critical. Have fun on the guided trip, you will learn in leap and bounds. Take notes, not just fishing spots.

CBoat

JustinD · Post by **JustinD** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 11:58 am

Lots and lots of variables......My best stripers 40#+ came on a bright sunny day at 4 p.m........Stripers are like hungry wolf packs and they are chasing bait.....PERIOD. If you see sea lions the linesders are there. Took me 4 years to nail down certain areas to find stripers on a consistant basis and I'm NOT looking for 5-10#'ers....I want the biggin's. Its a lot of work but that makes it all the more dramatic and so ever time consuming. The hunger has to be there. To do it on your own the way you want......You did it....Not someone else showing you because the next frickin' day you'll be sitting on their spots and not thinking outside the box......

Mike Kontes · Post by **Mike Kontes** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 12:06 pm

I appreciate the reply guys, but I cannot spend a lot of time on the water, thus the reason for my questions and guide trip.

I have a job that deals with helping people and their struggles, thus when I get out on the water, I am clearing my head and enjoying Gods nature.

I do want to be more productive and know what to look for. I used to fish for largemouth, but I then caught a striper and that has messed everything up.

Thanks,

Mike

JustinD · Post by **JustinD** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 12:21 pm

Me either Mike.....but you have to make time......Early morning before work....late evenings after.....I'm going tonight......all be it for only a few hours......It'll come. Lots of work to do at home also. Good map sites......Tide charts......NOAA site reading the water gauges (everything including dissolved O2)........Gear...Knots......

bselsor · Post by **bselsor** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 2:28 pm

Don't give up on largemouth. remeber, you can catch them year round. New to stripers myself, they are a kick. See a lot of action off of tracy blvd. second bridge look east on stone wall. Just down from Tracy Oasis Marina. Lots of boats & guys from shore. Most throw rattle traps or swim baits. I' ve used guides before & is well worth it.

Kaidenh0 · Post by **Kaidenh0** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:50 pm

Excellent thread! I've been at it for a year and 2 months now and the road traveled (or waters explored) has been fun. What I found is that you have to do what Justin and the other guys have said, fish and fish often.

I have friends that have been out with guides and were disappointed.

I have been out with other guys that are considered knowledgeable on striper fishing. We have had good results and bad results.

I try to explain to my boys that they have to get out there. They always want to go when I come home after a good day fishing but the next time is a so so or not so good day.

Well, on Saturday, my son finally went with me just to go and we got into some fish. I use info I find on these posts: tides, ledges, etc.

In any case, I discovered LMB and that fills the time when I'm not catching stripes! Good luck and be safe.

J.D. Madden · Post by **J.D. Madden** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 3:59 pm

Mike I was reading this thread and was a little suprised at the responses. I understand that the best way to learn is to fish, but I hope I can help a little to answer your question.

The stripers are constantly on the move. They come into the system this time of year around September. Usually you can find good fish early in the season in areas like Sherman and Big Break. This is strictly because this is the travel path they take to deeper spawning areas. The stripers in these areas will chase bait up onto the flats in the early morning and evenings. This is why a top water lure works well. People are correct, look for birds and lions and the stripers will be working the area. They will move fast.

The stripers continue to run up the system and a lot pass through Franks Tract. Right now there are plenty of fish being caught in the Tract. The openings and deeper weed edges are working. As the season progresses and temperatures continue to drop, the fish will start to pile into areas like Disco Bay. There are a lot of BIG stripers caught in Disco Bay in late Nov. and Dec.

My favorite is top water, followed by swimbaits and rattle traps. You can troll big jointed rapala's or drift live minnows. It all will work. If I was to go out right now I would work the Tract or the Break. Both have had good numbers of fish and I imagine with this rain we will see more fish move into the system.

I hope this helps pass on some of the information I've learned. It's a big Delta and there is plenty of room for all fisherman.

Have a great time out there fishing.

J.D.

acm95301 · Post by **acm95301** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 8:03 pm

That was a pretty good answer. And I'm sure I have less experience than most, but keep in mind the the strippers are comming in and are after food in quantity. They are eating crawdads, shad , and crabs, eels, etc.

The find the birds, especially the terns is good advise because the birds are after the same food as the strippers. using topwater lures or swimbaits, rattle traps and flukes for a shad pattern.

Try rip rap walls , becasue the stripper are after the crayfish and thus red speed traps, and rattletraps work.

run and gun, looking for shad boils.

fishing intersectsions and opennings.

all good advise.

danlee · Post by **danlee** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 6:15 am

JD that was a good reply. i also am fairly new to chasing stripers so thank you. you said they feed in the morings and evenings in the flats. so do they move deeper into dropoffs and channels when sun comes up? would you then fish for them with spoons and jigs?

Mike Kontes · Post by **Mike Kontes** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 9:51 am

Thanks guys, this is helping out alot!

Anymore knowledge people willing to share some info? I would like to compile this info and put it to work.

Cooch · Post by **Cooch** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:39 am

Mike,

Striper are feeding machines, period! They go where the forage is. When the Herring are in the surfe you find them stacked along the coast outside the gate. When the anchovies are abundant in the SF Bay, this is where ya find the best action. As the Pacific Ocean and Bay begin to cool, both the herring & Anchovies move way off shore to warmer waters, the stripers do not follow them out, but infact turn to the fresh water estuary in search of the Shad. They also find plenty of craws and gills to forage on when here.

We always have a monster run in early September as that saltwater forage leaves. Thes fish came racing in here 3-4 weeks ago with a frenzy, but did not find the vast supply of shad and have moved back out to the west. The shad are starting to show again, and with the recent cooling, they will be back any day now. There are still fish scattered in many areas, the key will be moving around and locating them. Circling birds are a key. But there are two types of birds and activity to be looking for. If you find the gulls, circlig high above right now, you'll find small schools of willing stripers. You'll also want to keep an eye of for the dive bombing Terns, they are a tall tell sign when dropping, that stripers are in the area pushing bait to the surface. The terns have not been so active the past couple of weeks, so I have been relying on the gulls.

Our water temps here are in the 50's right now, so the shad are still out in the deeper channels and have not began to migrate into the dead end, no current areas yet. Once they do, you'll find the stripers close behind. In the mean time ya need to understand their migration roots from the bay to the inland areas. They follow these routes like clock work. Areas off the main Sacramento and San Jaquine out west, are the starting point, hence why Sherman is so productive, it is right at the influence of these two rivers. From there the two rivers T, and the stripers will go one way or the other insearch of forage. As the forage becomes more predictable, so do the paths of the stripers each day.

In the fall, they are here to feed, in the spring, they are just passing thru as they head far up river to spawn. Learn the bait patterns and follow the shad, you'll better locate where and catch them more often by doing so.