The Fish Sniffer

(Stockton) The waters of the east Delta continue to cool, and the striped bass action is improving as we move through October towards the traditional peak action in mid-November. 

Jay Sorensen, founder of the California Striped Bass Association, berths his boat at Eddo’s Marina on the San Joaquin River, and he reported good action for schoolie stripers on the anchor with fresh, butterflied shad in the main river right outside of the harbor. 

The larger tides and heavy water releases from Shasta and Oroville reservoirs stirred up the weeds and debris, making trolling problematic during the second week of October. 

For largemouth bass, Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, has been enjoying an excellent bite using a variety of techniques including the ima Skimmer top water bait early in the morning with the ima Flit ripbait consistent throughout the day. 

With the bass keying on the abundant shad schools, shad-imitation lures such the Olive Herring Flit have been the top choice. The Berkley Havoc Bottom Hopper or Berkley Power Worm on a Zappu head is a good choice for finesse fishing on the bottom. Pringle continues to use the ‘stop and start’ technique with pauses to put the fish on the bite. 

He added, “For the first time this year, I marked a large school of striped bass on the meter in the middle of the San Joaquin River near the Stockton Turning Basin at the end of the day, and these were better than average fish.” Pringle has been picking up the occasional schoolie striper on the ima Flit while targeting largemouths.  

The bluegill bite continues with wax, red, or meal worms in the backwaters of the South Delta.