Trying to catch bigger striper in the American River

Hope this is the right location to post this. I’ve been spending a couple months fishing the American River and can only seem to catch striper around 12”-18”, usually only a couple pounds. I have been using 4-6” keitechs and jerkbaits with moderate success, but I’m wondering if I need to try a different method, or search in some other waters. Maybe I should try the Delta?

Hope this is the right location to post this. I’ve been spending a couple months fishing the American River and can only seem to catch striper around 12”-18”, usually only a couple pounds. I have been using 4-6” keitechs and jerkbaits with moderate success, but I’m wondering if I need to try a different method, or search in some other waters. Maybe I should try the Delta?

I am not a striper fisherman, but I have found found the "big baits catch big fish" montra to be resoundingly true.

I thought the big ones went to saltwater in the summer?

Was thinking about hitting Benicia on a striper mission soon, but not expecting anything very big. I heard numbers were good though.

I've caught my biggest in the delta in November/December. Maybe 30"? Not catching monsters but not tiny either.

I usually troll rattle traps, bucktails, swim baits, and occasionally an Alabama rig.

I thought the big ones went to saltwater in the summer?

Was thinking about hitting Benicia on a striper mission soon, but not expecting anything very big. I heard numbers were good though.

I've caught my biggest in the delta in November/December. Maybe 30"? Not catching monsters but not tiny either.

I usually troll rattle traps, bucktails, swim baits, and occasionally an Alabama rig.

30" is a monster to me! I was planning to try somewhere in the Delta this weekend, didn't realize the big ones went away in summer though.

Big big big baits (seriously you probably can’t use one big enough). You have the swimbait idea right, but maybe look into some of the monster sized glide baits.

Some big stripers have come from the American River during the Shad run. That’s not a coincidence, they’re eating the 12+ inch Shad.

While the bulk of the stripers tend to go back and forth between the salt and river there always seem to be some giants caught in the river almost all year.

I thought the big ones went to saltwater in the summer?

Was thinking about hitting Benicia on a striper mission soon, but not expecting anything very big. I heard numbers were good though.

I've caught my biggest in the delta in November/December. Maybe 30"? Not catching monsters but not tiny either.

I usually troll rattle traps, bucktails, swim baits, and occasionally an Alabama rig.

30" is a monster to me! I was planning to try somewhere in the Delta this weekend, didn't realize the big ones went away in summer though.

Oh, don't get me wrong - a 30" striper is definitely a big fish, and my biggest is in that range. But there are guys out here who catch 40"+ stripers every winter. Follow some of the delta guides on YouTube and IG - they catch some true beasts in the right seasons.

I've seen a lot of reports of folks catching decent stripers on the beaches near SF. I think my next trip to saltwater I might mess around near the surf and see if I can't get one.

There is a lot of great and knowledgeble folks that have contributed stories in the past of their chase of the AR Mogans. The site's search feature leaves a lot to be desired, but I found what I was looking for and will hopefully inspire you: https://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=38526.msg416338#msg416338  I think if you have specific questions the local expert I'd contact is Ricci aka FishWorks https://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=32291.msg343115#msg343115

There is a lot of great and knowledgeble folks that have contributed stories in the past of their chase of the AR Mogans. The site's search feature leaves a lot to be desired, but I found what I was looking for and will hopefully inspire you: https://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=38526.msg416338#msg416338  I think if you have specific questions the local expert I'd contact is Ricci aka FishWorks https://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=32291.msg343115#msg343115

Thank you, I did find the search function to be a bit difficult but saw some of the locations people were going. Thanks for the recommendations! Still a lot of research to be done.