i am just starting to explore the labyrynth known as the calif delta... i've been mainly fishing at italian slough and clifton court forebay, ... i bring a rod or two for panfish - and now one for stripers. for the stripers, first i threw a daiwa floating minnow. that caught tons of weed in it's lip, so i stopped using it. there's weed in lots of areas, and it's often submered, very hard to see.

i'm casting as far as i can - maybe 40 to 50 yards once i switched to a big 1 oz strike king silver spoon, on a 25# mono leader, and 20# braid main. the spoon doesn't get that much of the weed stuff, and if i were a striper, i'd definitely go for it. however, no bites.

is a silver spoon good to use to look for the stripers, or does it need certain conditions - such as bait fish, etc?  ,   should i keep heaving it? i thought of a lipless crank --- didn't try that yet. i guess i'm trying to avoid the salad bar, at this point. kastmasters?  bucktails?  should i not cast so far?

for rods and reels - i used my surf rod, a 9' okuma rockaway, 12 to 20 lbs line, 3/4 to 2 oz lure rating, 20# braid, penn battle ii 4000 reel.  

my other two rods are too light for the lures i'm throwing - but are they okay to try for stripers...?

one is a shimano combo bait caster, mh 7', fast action, p pro rating 20-50#, lure rating 1/4 to 3/4 oz, and line rating 10-20#...  idky the p pro rating and a separate line rating. it has 20# braid.

then a mh kastking perigee ii spinning rod, 7',, 8-14# line, 3/8 to 3/4 oz lure rating...  20# braid...

thanks so much!

 

ok - doing reading on this site for stripers and spoons... just after posting this.... 

Cordell bone Pencil Pooper works everywhere for stripers.

Tom

I find for Stripers, I usually do better in the Forebay vs Italian Slough.  For numbers I would use a jerkbait like a Lucky Craft Pointer in the 100 size.  Just start walking along the shore and casting.  If you can find some submerged grass I’ve found some good luck fishing the edges.  You should be able to get a decent number of schoolie stripers.  Usually if I don’t get a bite in 30-45 minutes, they aren’t around. For bigger fish, I do better on larger swim baits especially a 5” Big Hammer.  Another bait which I have done well on is a Spro Aruku Shad

23 hours ago, WRB said:

Cordell bone Pencil Pooper works everywhere for stripers.

Tom

tom, do you try to throw it when the fish are chasing bait fish, or can you throw it anytime?