Hudson River Stripers

[bulletbob]

I realize that most on this board fish The Raritan /Sandy Hook complex and the ocean for stripers, but was hoping a few guys would have some good first hand knowledge of the Hudson river, north of the Tappan Zee.. From what I gather bait is king there, and herring are a must, but sand and blood worms take fish as well.. Don't hear of many guys jigging, but I know that some charter boats troll, probably when the wter warms up..

The town of Kingston NY is much closer to me than Raritan Bay, about 165 miles each way as opposed to 225 miles each way.. This shaves 120 miles off a 450 mile round trip to the bay...


I have 2 boats that should be ok for the river, a 15 footer whaler style side console with a 30, and an older 18 foot Starcraft aluminum w/ a 100 that flies. The 15 footer would be an easier tow, but is more limited in speed and range..
How much range will I need?

Any info that could help me get started would be appreciated.. There is a place near Kingston called Certified marine Services that has a ramp bait etc..

I would like to drift sands or bloods, and maybe jig some Gulp.. Herring are probably ungodly expensive to buy, tough to keep alive,and from what I gather, catching your own is real hit or miss up there, unless you live there and know exactly where to go.. I imagine it will be later on in April before the fishing gets good, as the water up there is still in the 30's.... Is it brackish?? anything else to catch besides stripers/cats white perch?
I know they get big cats while bass fishing up there, so I imagine its a salt/fresh mix ... In any case, I would really appreciate some information from those that have been there done that... bob

[Detour66]

I caught my largest bass ever @ Newburg NY on the Hudson River. The fish was over 44lbs. The bait of choice was live eels. Water temp is key when fishing the Hudson river for bass and out going tide also is better. I think once it gets in the high 40's to low 50's it time to fish, anything colder and they get lockjaw. Good luck!

[Art Berkman]

Drift Bloodworms suspended off the bottom ;)

I am alomst sure that there is is a ramp in Newburgh right near Gully's.

http://gullysnewburgh.com/

http://www.hookandbullet.com/ceelys-bait-bucket-bait-shop_845-534-3495/

Catch em up !

[Detour66]

Drift Bloodworms suspended off the bottom ;)

I am alomst sure that there is is a ramp in Newburgh right near Gully's.

http://gullysnewburgh.com/

Catch em up !

Yes we use to launch @ Gully's. Be careful... the left side of the ramp use to be all broken up not sure if they fixed that yet, been years since I have been up there. And yes bloodworms work well also!

[shrimpman steve]

I think the river is fresh water up by Newburgh and Kingston

[peterb]

The Hudson is brackish water (a mix of fresh and salt water). The further north you go the higher the % of freshwater is.

If I were you i would start fishing at the mouth of the Croton River (on the Hudson by the rail road bridge).

There is a ramp in Ossining that makes this a short boat ride.

In year's past we did very well throwing plastics and rap alas in mid to late April.

Good luck.


Peter

[D'ANGLER]

I have never fished for Hudson River Striped Bass but would like to this spring. I found a great episode of The Fishing Line on Eeling for Hudson River Striped Bass. You can find it on most cable systems On Demand in the MagRack. Here is a link to a preview on this 2002 episode. http://www.thefishingline.com/videos/HudsonBass.wmv

[EEL killer]

I realize that most on this board fish The Raritan /Sandy Hook complex and the ocean for stripers, but was hoping a few guys would have some good first hand knowledge of the Hudson river, north of the Tappan Zee.. From what I gather bait is king there, and herring are a must, but sand and blood worms take fish as well.. Don't hear of many guys jigging, but I know that some charter boats troll, probably when the wter warms up..

The town of Kingston NY is much closer to me than Raritan Bay, about 165 miles each way as opposed to 225 miles each way.. This shaves 120 miles off a 450 mile round trip to the bay...


I have 2 boats that should be ok for the river, a 15 footer whaler style side console with a 30, and an older 18 foot Starcraft aluminum w/ a 100 that flies. The 15 footer would be an easier tow, but is more limited in speed and range..
How much range will I need?

Any info that could help me get started would be appreciated.. There is a place near Kingston called Certified marine Services that has a ramp bait etc..

I would like to drift sands or bloods, and maybe jig some Gulp.. Herring are probably ungodly expensive to buy, tough to keep alive,and from what I gather, catching your own is real hit or miss up there, unless you live there and know exactly where to go.. I imagine it will be later on in April before the fishing gets good, as the water up there is still in the 30's.... Is it brackish?? anything else to catch besides stripers/cats white perch?
I know they get big cats while bass fishing up there, so I imagine its a salt/fresh mix ... In any case, I would really appreciate some information from those that have been there done that... bob

I fished the Kingston area 2 years ago and also got one of my biggest fish there .48lbs. But there its hit and miss. We used live herring that we caught in the river .you can pretty much fish on a dingy there. The water is 4-6 ft deep and if you use light tackle it's a lot of fun.:)

[NJ Dave]

Ceelys bait shop pick up blood worms, gully in Newburgh to launch, find the boat fleet who usually are on fish.
Circle hooks and whole blood worms.
Drift along with worms at different depths 7, 10, 12 feet down until you find the water column the fish are in.
Water looks like chocklate milk. But its clean.
Boaring fishery but you will catch.
Remeber these fish are here to spawn so let them do there thing for the future fishery.
Most fish will be full of eggs and sperm. Throw em back.

[THAT GUY]

Hopefully this will be helpful to you. I fish the Hudson River every day from shore during the winter and spring months. I fish between Edgewater NJ and West Point NY I post on FB all the time with what I'm catching and where. Seems like it's a little early still for any consistent striper bite. The stripers are around 16-20" with an occasional 24"+ fish. I'm not going to post the link but if you're interested PM me.