A quick note about locations:

Striper Season Begins! You'll find Kevin Brock Kevin is currently fishing in the Sacramento River for fresh, feisty striped bass.

Northern California anglers eagerly await the annual spring arrival of the delicious hard-fighting striped bass from the ocean and delta, and the 2013 season is off to a great start.

Many stripers have been caught in the delta shallows so far this year, and river has been producing lots of stripers near Vieras Resort too. They are biting shallow-running Angry Eye P-Line lures with a white zoom rubber worm tail, and rubber Fish Traps too. Fish up to 15 pounds have been reported, and larger ones are in the river.

With rains and snowmelt, the Sacramento River has come up, and the stripers are well on their way up the Gridley-Grimes area of the Sacramento River. Knights Landing to Verona has been kicking out good numbers of stripers, and from there, they are upstream in no time. From all indications, it looks like it will be another excellent striper fishing season. We're going to start fishing for them right away.

Let's talk about tackle and techniques. Out on the river, we see other anglers using every possible combination of gear, line, bait, and lures, and as expected, their fishing success varies widely.

But after years of extremely successful striper fishing, we've got it completely figured out. That is the guide's edge - being out on the water every single day, we know exactly what works, why, where, when, and how.

This time of year, we'll typically start with the freshest, liveliest jumbo minnows available anywhere, and match that up with a super-light super-sensitive G.Loomis STR980 C1 light-action rod. These rods are amazing - they are so incredibly sensitive you'll feel every twitch and bump, yet they'll easily handle that 30 pound bruiser when you hook him.

These light rods are perfectly matched with our favorite Penn International 965 reels, and spooled with fresh 10-pound P-Line CXX line. The Penn reels really stand up, and that CXX line is durable too - we've even landed a 6-foot sturgeon on 10 pound CXX (and that was quite a battle!). To keep the minnows active and swimming lively, we use super sharp light wire Owner #2 or #3 Mosquito hooks.

Add this all up, and it's the perfect striper live bait setup. Light tackle is the way to go to consistently catch lots of stripers, especially the wary larger ones. We'll power drift in just the right places, and cries of "Fish on!" are heard all day long. It's a whole lot of fun for everyone.

Of course, we'll sometimes change tactics, depending on weather, time of day, water conditions, and fishing pressure. When conditions are right, casting rubber worms up against the banks can be a deadly effective technique. Sometimes trolling is best. But overall, it's hard to beat minnow fishing when it's done right, because big stripers just love minnows.

Striper fishing is the perfect family trip, and one of the best things about striper fishing is that surprise element. When drifting minnows, you know there are big stripers all around, and that next bite could easily be a 30 pound monster striper, ready to give you a battle you'll never forget!

Give Kevin Brock a call today at 800-995-5543, and see what's waiting for you this season!