Personal best Delta Striper 10-13

Finally got out on the water yesterday thanks to Columbus Day, Gotta love union holidays!  I recently moved and there has been no time for fishing, so I was psyched to get out and chase some delta stripers.  I dug out (most of) my gear the night before, and let the morning wind situation decide if I would go or not.

Monday morning winds were down, so I headed for the "central" delta and was on the water by 8:00.  I let out a yo-zuri and started a shallow troll.  Minutes from the launch I noticed alot of birds dive bombing the water.  No sooner than thinking of throwing the sammy, my rod doubles over and I boated a nice 6 pounder for the bbq.  During the fight a nice boil was going with alot of fish surfacing around my line.  Unfortunately, it was over by the time I landed the fish, so more trolling was in my future.

I got a couple of shakers in the next few hours, and another solid 5 pounder which I released so I could continue striper hunting.  I had a couple of ldr's and a nice hook-up which took 2 quick runs and broke my braid off on the rocks.  I was going to head in at this point, but decided to retie and make one more pass.  Shell-shocked from the recent break-off, I set my drag very loose.  Minutes after starting the troll, my rod gets slammed again.  Line was flying off the reel before I could get it out of the holder.  I figured it was my loose drag, but when I thumbed the spool I felt a powerful fish on the other end.  She took my line across the river twice, forcing me to chase or risk having boat traffic cut through the middle and break me off.  Finally the fish tired and I made up some ground.  I wound up in 12 feet of water with my line straight down and not budging.  I thought it took me into a snag at first, but slowly she came up and surfaced within lip grabbing range.

Unfortunately, my rechargable AA's and digital scale are still packed away in a random box, so I didn't get and quality pics or the weight.  I'm guessing somewhere in the mid 20's?  A nice family fishing nearby took a couple of pics from their cell and sent them my way.  After the pics the fish was released to fight another day.

Stripers appear to have moved all over the system now, not just the western reaches.  Trolling shallow runners in 8-12 feet was the way to go.  The best areas were intersections of channels and current breaks.

ABSOLUTE PIG!!!
Congrats Xsquid on a fish of a lifetime!!! Very big ups for the release! Good man. I can't imagine what it must of been like but you've got me sooooo stoked to go out and fish. Congrats again!

Z

That is a nice striper. There always fun still havent got one off the Yak but maybe this winter when Rockfish season has closed.
Ryan

Thanks Z, it sure made up for not fishing in a while!  Now I can't wait to get back at em again...

Awesome, Just Aw some.
Hope you can join us on Oct. 26 at Tiki (see post Kayaker's Unite).
This is close to you and should prove to be some great fishing.
Maybe you could show us how to do it right.
Hope to see you there,
Eric
(559) 284-4299

Awsome fish Xsquid,Id love to hook into one of those slobs... Way to go. Ill hit those waters one of these days...Andy

What a pig of a fish. Thanks for the striper update and congrats on that monster of a fish.

Oink!

WTG, that's a great Striper. It's a relief to see fish that size are still around.

That is a real sweet fish!  FYI my kids 38 incher a few years ago was very similar in size and fatness and weighed 21 pounds.

Great fish, X, and way to go on releasing her!  That report had me on the edge of my keyboard!   

WOW.... that's probably the biggest striper caught locally from a kayak this year.  Congrats...X!

Now don't go giving away the secret delta lure, the yozuri crystal minnow with a red head white/pearl body and a white grub trailer. 3 -8ft of water on slack tide or week tide.

-Brian G

Kevin....those pics would have been awesome with the proper lighting.  I took your same pic and adjusted the brightness/contrast a little so we could see it better.

WOW!! That is one helluva toad you got there!!!!!
I just checked the AOTY board and see you are not on it.
Good for us, bad for you. I think that would  be a hard size to beat for that species this year but I am sure gonna try. Must have been an incredible fight.
That's why way more people should do the AOTY. Ya never know when one fish could win ya something.

Thanks for the congrats guys.  

Chuck, what a bummer that I didn't have a good camera available.  Thanks for adjusting it.

Brian G, sssshhhhhhhhhh!  I don't know what you're talking about  

SBD, thanks for the size weight comparison (wish I could have gotten a good weigh)

Yakhopper, I've been out of touch with the latest info and didn't even notice the delta event.  I think I'm good to go, even if it makes my fishing and football worlds collide.  Hopefully you are planning an early start to get in on the topwater action.  When is the cut-off for a definate answer?