California Striped Bass Fishing?

by Frank
(New Jersey, USA)

I'm planning a trip to California and am wondering about the striper fishing there?

I have some family there that I will be staying with over the course of about two weeks. Some live in the Sacramento area and some down further South closer to San Diego. I want to divide my time up between the two.

I use your site all of the time so I know that you are from California and hope that you could give me some tips and pointers for what I might need to know about catching stripers there.


Jason's Response:

Yes I do live in California. Let's see if I can answer your question and help you out a little.

The California Delta, which runs through the regions of Sacramento, is a great place to fish. The stripers migrate from the San Fransisco Bay waters and they run through the rivers and sloughs throughout the Delta.

The numbers in the Delta and Bay area have been dropping recently because striped bass are no longer stocked in the Delta water systems. Although, you can still have fun and catch a bunch. But you're allowed a 2 keeper limit at a minimum of 18 inches.

The Southern California area is another story if you want to have a blast banging them out. The south has a constant stocking program down there. There are so many striped bass there that trout fishermen can get a bit irritated. There is a 10 bass limit with no minimum size restrictions.

Recently, another loyal website visitor sent in a few of his striped bass pictures with his stories, and also gave some really cool tips on how he hunts down trophy sized stripers here in California. You can check out his srtiper tips and techniques here: Dream Come True by The Striper King.

You can also have a look through our striped bass fishing section for more striper fishing tips and techniques if you haven't already.

I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, feel free to post them here.

Enjoy your stay in California. Good luck striper fishing. Be sure to take your camera with you and send in your fishing pictures.

(The size limit laws mentioned above are valid at the time of this writing for 2011. Check with the California Department of Fish & Game for updated rules and regulations.)