New kayaker looking for help with delta stripers!

Hey guys. I've got a handful of outings on my new Hobie Compass, and one of my goals this year is to learn striper fishing on the delta. I'm new to kayaks, but intermediate level when it comes to bay area fishing. I have caught halibut in the bay, salmon in the Sac river, and do a fair amount of spearfishing in the ocean. I know very little about striper fishing though, and would love to tag along with someone to learn the ropes. If anyone is going out this weekend, let me know!

Cheers,
MauiBen

Welcome to our community Ben    I live in Monterey so rarely fish the Delta but I'm sure people will chime in with tips.

Hi Ben, welcome 

Hey Ben, welcome to NCKA!

Ben..i dont know Jack Squat..but i am hoping to land a Striper as well.

i do know WHERE to go, tho...how are you with secrets?

Got to get colder before the striper really get going. Find whisky slough off hwy 4 near Stockton. Launch from the marina or levy. Pencil popper and other top water gear. Go to where the slough ends into another slough and fish there. You will see them chasing bait. Cast into the swirls! fun as hell!!! Good luck!

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys! I've received some tips about where to go for stripers, but what I don't know is what tackle to use, trolling speeds, tide and weather considerations, stuff like that. I have some shallow diving jerk baits that I've used for halibut, and I think might work for stripers. I've seen people adding soft plastic worms to them when trolling for stripers. I'm also aware that people drift live mudsuckers. Where do you get those? Can you catch them yourself?

Got to get colder before the striper really get going. Find whisky slough off hwy 4 near Stockton. Launch from the marina or levy. Pencil popper and other top water gear. Go to where the slough ends into another slough and fish there. You will see them chasing bait. Cast into the swirls! fun as hell!!! Good luck!

Ben, trust this advice.  He knows what he is talking about.  He has given you everything you need to have a great chance.  Good luck and hope you have a story on Monday with pictures.

Got to get colder before the striper really get going. Find whisky slough off hwy 4 near Stockton. Launch from the marina or levy. Pencil popper and other top water gear. Go to where the slough ends into another slough and fish there. You will see them chasing bait. Cast into the swirls! fun as hell!!! Good luck!

i was told a striper will NOT hit anything like a Whopper Plopper.  any truth to this?  my friend said they like the side to side jerky motion.  or a popper.

Im a fly fisherman who's made a good handful of Delta trips on my friend's boat and on my yak. We use a big fly that resembles a baitfish and had our successes with shallow water, finding those shoals where the baitfish like to hang out

White 5 inch swimbaits like basstrix paddletails on a 3/8 oz jighead if you are fishing the weedines work well. Bone super spook in low light. Chrome blue rattle traps are money.

Good stuff, guys. I'll try some pencil poppers, swim baits, and rattle traps. What weight should I use for the rattle traps?

3/4 oz on the traps. We got 20+ stripers in sherman today drifting through the weedlines.

Shoot, I ordered some 1/2oz rattle traps from Outdoor Pro Shop. Will those work? What depths are you using the 3/4oz at?

Slower you go, deeper they go... Utube vids are great way to learn different presentations. Whopper ploppers, strangely enough, do not seem to trigger striper. Bass will hit um though