Striped bass are one of California's favorite gamefish and it's easy to see why. They can reach incredible sizes, are extremely aggressive and fight as hard as just about any other freshwater fish you'll ever encounter. Luckily, we have excellent striper runs in several different rivers.

Bass fishing techniques

Feather River | Spring's the time to chase after big stripers running up out of the Bay. These fish will go 4-40 pounds and are caught drifting live bait and throwing topwater lures.

American River | Big stripers to 30+ pounds arrive in the American in March and fishing can be very good through the summer and into the fall. We'll often fish them in May and June on combination trips, during which we also pursue salmon and shad.

Sacramento River | The first good push of stripers into the Sacramento metro area typically occurs in early March and the fish are present through the summer and again in the fall. Schoolie-sized bass in the 4- to 8-pound range provide plenty of action between bouts with hawgs that can top 50 pounds.

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