Target California stripers in spring across three connected fisheries: the West Delta out of Brannan Island, the Sacramento River, and the Feather River. Minnows are king, drifted or anchored over sandbars in 10 to 12 feet of water. Trolled plugs and cast swimbaits and A-rigs also score. The run peaks over a 4 to 6 week window and fish push to spawn once water tops 62 degrees. Small tube jigs like the Trout Trap take them too.
Where can I catch striped bass near Sacramento?
Fish three connected systems. The West Delta launches out of Brannan Island near Colusa. The Sacramento River holds fish from Colusa down through the Meridian Bridge to Tisdale and lower. The Feather River runs a parallel spring run. Brett Brady bounces between the Sac and Feather depending on which is dialed in on a given week.
When is the best time to catch stripers on the Sacramento and Feather?
Spring. Brett Brady works a 4 to 6 week window as fish move up to spawn. The bite peaks then tapers as fish spawn off and drop back out of the system. Early May often marks the peak on the Sacramento. After the run, guides shift to kokanee, trout, and landlocked kings.
What is the best way to catch river stripers?
Minnows are king. Most consistent anglers anchor or sit on picks and fish minnows over sandbars in 10 to 12 feet of water. Trolling plugs produces good afternoons. Casting swimbaits and A-rigs shines when fish are grouped and aggressive, like the West Delta bite Brett Brady filmed out of Brannan Island.
Feather River or Sacramento River for stripers?
It depends on the week. The Feather runs cooler and clearer and can fish slow even with good clarity. The Sacramento runs warmer and a little dirtier, often around 58 degrees in early spring, and can fish medium when the Feather is off. Brett Brady checks both and fishes whichever is producing.
What lures and baits work for river stripers?
Threaded and drifted minnows are the near guarantee with clients. Swimbaits, fish trap style plastics, and A-rigs draw reaction strikes, and trolled plugs work in the afternoon. Small tube jigs catch them too. A Trout Trap tube jig turned up in a Delta striper's mouth on Brett Brady's footage.
How do flows and water clarity change the striper bite?
Watch the flows. When water is cut back, fish stack up in the system and you have to move to find them. Rising fresh water pulls new fish in and cools things off. Muddy water and a full moon push fish out and can foul your gear, so dirty water often shuts down trolling and even minnow drifting.
What water temperature triggers the striper spawn?
Around 62 degrees. Brett Brady notes that once water climbs past that mark, fish shift into spawn mode. Early spring temps sit in the mid to upper 50s and low 60s. As each wave spawns off it drops back out and new fish move up until the run winds down.
Watch the technique
Striped bass fishing on the Sacramento River, Feather River, and West Delta FAQ
Brett Brady launches at Brannan Island for the West Delta striper run. From there anglers work the West Delta throwing A-rigs and swimbaits. His Delta footage showed a crew putting a whooping on stripers, with fish grabbing plastics including a small tube jig.
Minnow fishermen who anchor and sit on picks target sandbars in roughly 10 to 12 feet of water. That is the zone Wes Hoskin points to on the Sacramento. Trollers cover water higher in the column with plugs. Read the water and fish the sandbars and transitions first.
Yes. Once fish spawn off they work their way back out of the system, so numbers thin after the peak. Hot temps, big moons, and fluctuating flows can make fish hit the eject button and drop downstream fast, which is why the bite gets inconsistent late in the run.
Yes. Afternoon trollers pulling plugs report good days mixed with slow ones, just like the minnow crowd. Trolling only works in reasonably clean water. When debris and mud come downstream you cannot keep your gear clean, so trollers get shut down until clarity improves.
A combination of a full moon, hot temperatures, and fluctuating water pushed fish out of the system. Wes Hoskin ran from Colusa Landing down to Tisdale and could not relocate them, ending with two legal fish and a dozen shakers in dirty, debris-filled water.
Guides pivot to still water. Brett Brady moves to kokanee and trout trolling plus landlocked king salmon once the striper window closes. That transition lines up with warming water in the reservoirs as spring turns to early summer.
