Napa River Striped Bass Trolling Tips???

[NGT]

Just got my boat motor back and I'd like to get out on the Napa River for some striped bass this coming Sunday. My luck from shore since my motor went down hasn't been too good this summer and fall. Now I have my boat back and figure trolling (at least out to the spot/s I want to fish and back) would raise my chances of bringing something home. I've never trolled before and was wondering if anyone could give me some tips on getting started. Lures, techniques, etc...

thanks!

[NGT]

nobody?

[Burke]

I've never fished the Napa River, but will give you some help with trolling for stripers. I fished Montezuma Slough with a buddy of mine and he likes to do a lot of trolling. My favorite lure is a 1.5 oz Rat L Trap - clear with blue or black back (there's a seller on eBay selling them for $5.50 each - they normally sell for around $12.00). My rig is a Powell 711MH with a Quantum Energy PT770 reel spooled with 50 lb Power Pro. We put out about a 100 feet of line.

I like to use the PT770 because it has a 7:1 gear ratio and I can crank the 1.5 oz trap if I want to exercise my arms.

Use your electronics to find a area that is fairly flat with access to deep water. With the Rat L Traps, we find areas where the flat area is about 12-15 ft deep.

Boat speed is dependent upon whether you are going with the current or against the current -- we go as slow as possible so that the Rat L Trap is just vibrating (A lot of trollers move faster so that they can cover a lot of area, but we like the slower speed).

Hang on to your rod because when the striper hits the lure, it'll feel like you snagged something on the bottom.

Good luck.

[NGT]

thanks! I have only been out that way once but it was shore fishing and driving through the wildlife dirt roads back to the pumps takes forever. I'd much rather launch and troll back there. Thanks for the tips! I'll look into the lure for sure! I have some things people said would work, but I've never actually talked with someone who's done it. I'd love to get someone out there who could show me how it's done, but the only guide I talked to wanted $300 to go out with me for the day. I can't do that.

[Burke]

Forgot to mention that I change out the stock split rings and hooks on all my lures so that I don't lose fish to hardware failure. I use heavy duty split rings and 4x VMC hooks.