CA Delta - Carp, bass, and stripers
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2026 10:35 am
Every summer I visit my parents in the northern San Joaquin Valley. I usually just fly fish for carp in the farm canals, but this time I had opportunities to fish the Delta so I brought both fly and spinning gear. My kids have also been more interested in fishing, so I was really hoping to get them on some fish.
I logged in 4 days fishing with the kids, 4 days solo, and skunked only 3 times. We chased for carp in the nearby farm canal twice, then spent the rest of our time targeting bass and stripers at Clifton Court Forebay, a 2,500 acre reservoir fed by the Old River. There is a paved bike path that surrounds it, providing easy access to the 8 miles of fishable reservoir shoreline on one side, and 5 miles of river access on the other.
At the canal, my son had his first experience seeing and stalking carp, and reeled in the 2 that I hooked. At Clifton Court, he caught his first bass all by himself, cast a catch, on an LC. My daughter did not catch anything and was understandably jealous of her brother, so it pleased me to see how eager she was make a few more trips out. Unfortunately, they did not catch anything else the rest of the trip, but each time we ventured father around the reservoir, exploring new areas and got to see some monster carp.
Every parent knows that when you take kids fishing, you don't really get to fish. You just untangle lines and make sure that they don't hook themselves, and when they want to go home it's time to pack it up. So I was excited to finally fish Clifton Court by myself, especially with monster carp on my mind.
The bike path is about 50ft away and 20ft above the shoreline, making it incredibly difficult to sneak up on carp. After 4 hours of stalking and missing nearly two scores of shots, I was able to sneak up on one and get it to eat. This was the strongest freshwater fish I've ever fought, making my reel spin faster than ever. As I brought it in, it snapped my 7wt graphite rod, first time I've broken a rod on a fish. It was 30 inches in length, and as big as it was, I saw noticeably larger/fatter specimens swimming around.
I went back a few more times, undergunned with a 6 wt fiberglass rod, but the weather gods did not want me sightfishing and covered the skies with thick clouds. Fortunately, on my last day of fishing and hours into unsuccessful carp stalking, I came upon fish busting at the surface. I threw a small topwater stick bait and got bit on my first cast, reeling in my first striped bass ever. Over the next 2 hours, I landed 9 and missed just as much if not more, mostly on topwater, a few on a jerkbait, and even a couple on a clouser. The largest was only about 18 inches, but I finally got to check this species off the list. It was also the first time I've successfully fished topwater, finally experiencing the violent blowups everyone loves.
Until next summer...
I logged in 4 days fishing with the kids, 4 days solo, and skunked only 3 times. We chased for carp in the nearby farm canal twice, then spent the rest of our time targeting bass and stripers at Clifton Court Forebay, a 2,500 acre reservoir fed by the Old River. There is a paved bike path that surrounds it, providing easy access to the 8 miles of fishable reservoir shoreline on one side, and 5 miles of river access on the other.
At the canal, my son had his first experience seeing and stalking carp, and reeled in the 2 that I hooked. At Clifton Court, he caught his first bass all by himself, cast a catch, on an LC. My daughter did not catch anything and was understandably jealous of her brother, so it pleased me to see how eager she was make a few more trips out. Unfortunately, they did not catch anything else the rest of the trip, but each time we ventured father around the reservoir, exploring new areas and got to see some monster carp.
The bike path is about 50ft away and 20ft above the shoreline, making it incredibly difficult to sneak up on carp. After 4 hours of stalking and missing nearly two scores of shots, I was able to sneak up on one and get it to eat. This was the strongest freshwater fish I've ever fought, making my reel spin faster than ever. As I brought it in, it snapped my 7wt graphite rod, first time I've broken a rod on a fish. It was 30 inches in length, and as big as it was, I saw noticeably larger/fatter specimens swimming around.