SACRAMENTO RIVER STRIPED BASS REPORT 1/16/24
Capt. Hogan Brown: River is stable and settled after a fair amount of rain in Late December. Fishing has been fair and very typical for the winter. Clarity is about 1’ in most areas requiring BIG and LOUD flies - Black and Purple, All Black, and all with rattles. Fish will feed usually in low light conditions or during the warmest part of the day. When we have no cloud cover I find midday during the heat of the day is best when there is cloud cover and the low for the day is not as bad low light conditions during the early morning and evening are best. Winter is not a numbers game but can provide some true trophy fish for the angler that wants to put in the time.
SACRAMENTO RIVER STRIPED BASS REPORT 12/6/24
Capt. Hogan Brown:Striper fishing should find a rhythm again now that the river has dropped from a rise of 4,500 cfs to 80,000 cfs, and is now back down to 9000 cfs and still dropping. Clarity is an issue depending on where you fish and which tributaries are upstream. Winter striper fishing is not for the faint of heart; it requires a lot of casting with large flies, but the rewards can be worth it.
SACRAMENTO RIVER STRIPED BASS REPORT 11/12/24
Capt. Hogan Brown: We have officially entered winter striper season with the time change and the first rains of the year. Usually, this means water temperatures drop to what we consider "winter temps," slowing the fish's metabolism and shortening the feeding windows during the day. With the fish being more lethargic, the number of calories they need to consume changes, meaning they tend to favor larger, more infrequent meals in our experience.
Winter can be tough for striper fishing on the river, and we traditionally say that it can be very good or very tough, with most of that being out of our control—or our anglers' control. That said, you never know unless you go, and some of our biggest fish of the year come during the uncertain winter months.
SACRAMENTO RIVER STRIPED BASS REPORT 8/28/24
Capt. Ben Thompson: There are a lot of quality fish in the system and some absolute giants. Fishing should remain solid into September and then when the first real cold snap hits in late September or October, fishing can tighten up and numbers will drop. But as we get closer to winter the chance to hook a giant improves. Those who don't need the certainty of numbers and are willing to grind and hunt for trophies can be rewarded with a fish of a lifetime.
