Delta Striper Advice

M3AN Bass · Post by **M3AN Bass** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 3:32 pm

Hello all,
I'm taking the boat out to the Delta this Saturday in search of striper. This will be the first time I go after striper from my boat, typically I'm fishing lakes for black bass, and its not set up for trolling. I'm going to bring some bait and a bait rod just in case but we're focusing on fishing lures. I'm thinking lunker punkers/spooks, rat-l-traps, and maybe A-rig. I think we're going to launch near three mile slough and fishing Decker Island and maybe Sherman but I'm open to other locations.

Does anybody have any advice? Spots, lures, etc....?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Hitman · Post by **Hitman** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 2:29 pm

Starting at Decker island is always a good idea...you can catch them on lures along the outside wall of decker and past down the power lines below decker. Rattle traps and swimbaits have been money the past 3 weeks for me. White or shad swimbaits and chrome/blue rattle traps. you'll see a number of bait fisherman also parked out in the middle of the river soaking bullheads and anchovie. if you have a trolling motor you can also go into Sherman and fish the edges. Look for the birds they are a dead giveaway to striper action. Stay out of the stained water...they tend to prefer the clear water. good luck...

Hitman

M3AN Bass · Post by **M3AN Bass** » Thu Oct 31, 2013 4:09 pm

Hitman,
Thanks so much for the advice. I'm glad to hear that I'm on the right track. I'm going to leave Santa Rosa around 2:30AM and launch at Delta Marina Yacht Harbor hopefully around 4am. Below I inserted a tide chart Friday night thru Sun. The high tide is at 4:25AM and sunrise is at 7:34. Do you think I'm launching too early? I''ve read the outgoing tide is best so that's why so early. And thanks again for the response!

Tightlines!

2013-11-01 10:51 PM PDT -0.02 feet Low Tide
2013-11-02 4:25 AM PDT 2.74 feet High Tide
2013-11-02 7:34 AM PDT Sunrise
2013-11-02 10:17 AM PDT 0.74 feet Low Tide
2013-11-02 3:47 PM PDT 3.63 feet High Tide
2013-11-02 6:06 PM PDT Sunset
2013-11-02 11:36 PM PDT -0.16 feet Low Tide
2013-11-03 4:16 AM PST 2.79 feet High Tide
2013-11-03 4:49 AM PST New Moon

surfk9 · Post by **surfk9** » Thu Oct 31, 2013 6:32 pm

Not sure what hitman may think....but I launched two weeks ago(on FULL MOON) outa Brannan Island @ 5:45 it was serious O'Dark Thirty...even with the full moon...if you're not familiar with the area I would suggest starting a little later (factor in daylight savings) maybe 5am....good luck be careful and safe, especially if the fog is in...surfk9

SacRtrain · Post by **SacRtrain** » Sat Nov 02, 2013 8:56 pm

Agreed. Launch at first light. Most of the time the fish depend on low light for the initial feeding period. So about 30 minutes before sunrise. There's no moon and the chance of catching something is small with no light. Plus it's not safe to run and you can't see where you are casting.

M3AN Bass · Post by **M3AN Bass** » Sun Nov 03, 2013 9:36 am

Thank you all for the advice. We launched Saturday 40min before sunrise. Water and weather were great, but it was a slow day. 3 people fishing from my boat and the only one to land fish was my fiancé's father who does not fish. I had him using one of my spinning rods/reels. The striper he caught was small, about 2lbs. It came by way of a 3/4 oz. bone white rat-l-trap. His second fish was a 1.5lbs largemouth that was on a 1/2 oz blue chrome bleeding shad rat-l-trap. Slow day but I have a felling I'm going to love fishing the delta in the future. Thanks again for the info.

Hitman · Post by **Hitman** » Mon Nov 04, 2013 12:08 pm

Sorry for the late response...don't check the forum but once a week or so. Sounds like your trip wasn't a complete waste of time. The best advice i have for striper fishing is networking with others, reading the reports and timing your tides. These fish are constantly on the move in search of food before they move up river to spawn. So it's a timing issue - one day they're there good and next day they are gone. And if you can't spend lots of time tracking their movements it can be a needle in the haystack kinda deal. You have to cover lots of water but after time you'll find the migration routes and usually feeding spots. You'll end up with a good milk run and can usually find them somewhere in that run each and every time with good success. I ran 43 miles on Sunday and found them in my last spot on the way back to ramp...that's how it goes sometime.

Hitman