Sutter County Fishing Reports

Striper fishing is still tangled in the spawn… milting males are being caught, and the occasional dead floater is drifting by. The river jumped a couple of feet after a Shasta release, but flows are settling in and things are starting to clean up. Debris is still an issue though… you’ll want to keep your line clear and check for fouled lures often. Bites are light… lots of short strikes. Full baitfish are working better than trimmed ones. If you’re trolling, stay tight: 10 to 15 feet down at 1.8 to 2.2 mph, and make sure that rod tip is dancing… if it’s dead, you’re dragging junk. Rounded river rocks are holding more fish than jagged stuff. One local reportedly stacked 100 fish in two hours earlier this week… so the bite’s there if you hit it right.

The striper bite is wide open near Verona on the Feather River. Anglers are landing quality fish day and night, with plenty of keepers in the 22–27 inch range and some pushing close to 30.
Jerkbaits are doing most of the damage, especially Berkley Stunna models and S-Wavers. Work it quickly with long pauses, as most fish are crushing baits during slack moments. White Keitechs on green jigheads are also getting hit. Most action is coming tight to the bank or just off current seams. Some stripers haven’t spawned out yet, so the bite should hold for at least another week or so.