Early Spring NJ Striper Fishing

[Gerry Zagorski]

The past several springs here in NJ we’ve had the good fortune of hosting the very best Striper fishing in the country. We not only have quantity, we’ve also have quality and fish in the 30s and into the 50s are fairly common and eager to bite.

The season up north in the Sandy Hook area and down south in Cape May usually kicks in by mid April and it takes place inside the Bays and Rivers. The better fishing usually coincides with rising water temps into the high 40s and remains very strong until the temps get into the mid to high 50s. Presence of bait fish like Bunker and Herring also have a lot to do with it. These past few springs there have been tons of Bunker around and that’s why we are seeing the larger fish.

The ocean run of Stripers along the NJ beaches follows shortly thereafter in late May and June and can be absolutely insane since blitzes are fairly common and are a site to behold. The water turns white with froth from thousands of Bunkers be chased, flipped, and tail whipped by huge schools of Stripers feeding on the surface. Add into the mix hundreds of Gannets fifty feet above the water, tucking their wings back and hitting the water at 40 miles per hour… This is Blue Plant kind of stuff and we get to watch it live!! Man, it makes my heart race just thinking about it.

Now that we’re all worked up let’s talk about how, where and when to fish them… We’ll start first by discussing early season tactics and later, we’ll work our way through the mid and later season tactics.

Early Season Stripers
Although the timing is little different each spring, a good rule of thumb is to watch for the Forsythia bushes to bloom… Once you see the yellow it’s a good time to say hello to the first Stripers of the year.

Very early in the season when the water is on the cool side, the fish are usually more lethargic and don’t always want to expend the energy chasing Bunker, a lure or a trolled rig. For this reason the first fish of the season are usually caught on soft baits fished on the bottom and many of the first fish are caught from shore on the mud flats. When fishing from a boat, the best way to fish for Stripers is slow drifting the shallows with sandworms or anchoring up and doing what we call here on NJfishing.com “The Clamberto”

As far as location is concerned the best early season action usually occurs when and where the water is the warmest. That means shallow muddy bottoms were the sun warms the mud and the mud warms the water. For the same reason I usually try and fish during midday when the sun has had a chance to warm things up. Most of the time I am fishing anywhere from 5 – 15 feet. In fact the best early spring fishing I can recall was in 5 feet of water slow drifting Sandworms off Keansburg. We had one of those days where as fast as you could get your bait down, you were hooked up.


"The Clamberto”
First thing you will want to do is get yourself some frozen clam bellies and a dozen live clams for every hour you'll be fishing. The frozen clam bellies come in 2 or 5-gallon buckets. I like to use the 2 gallon ones since they are easier to handle and if you don’t use them all you can refreeze them. Note that chumming is not absolutely necessary but it does help.

Now you need to find a spot to anchor up. Once again, the best spots early in the season are in back bays with warm mud flats and shallower water. Once your set up on anchor next thing you want to do is take the top off the bucket and put the entire bucket into a chum bag or a fishing net tied at the top. Tie a line to the chum bag or fishing net and throw it over the side. Tighten up the line so the motion of the boat makes the bucket bob in and out of the water, which helps deploy the chum.

Now that you have a nice Clam chum slick started shuck yourself a fresh clam and cast it out into your slick. An important note here... The snotty part of the clam is really what the Stripers are after so when you do The Clamberto make sure you get the entire contents of the clam on your hook. Run the hook through the foot of the clam several times and then run it through the snot. The rig I like to use consists of a barrel swivel, sinker slide, 30 pound leader material and a 4 or 5/0 bait keeper hook. Take the line coming from your pole and thread it through the sinker slide and tie it to your barrel swivel. Tie a 4-foot piece of leader material to the other end of the barrel swivel and tie your hook on the other end of the leader. Attach a sinker to the sinker slide using just enough weight to hold bottom.

Once I have the lines in the water I set my conventional reel in free spool with the clicker on. I then adjust the line out tension just enough to keep line from coming off the reel yet give the fish some line if he picks up the bait and decides to run. I usually put my pole in the holder while doing The Clamberto and watch the tip for a strike. Before the Striper takes the bait you'll typically see the tip pulse a few times and then hear the clicker scream. First thing to do when you see the tip pulse or the clicker go off pick up the pole, which is still in free spool, point it towards the fish and engage the reel. Once you feel some pressure set the hook with a strong sweeping upward motion. If you choose to use circle hooks then don’t set the hook. Just engage the reel let your line come tight and the fish should hook itself.

Having said all this, I have seen times where all you’re going to get is one quick strike and you need to set the hook immediately. So, if you’re getting bites and not connecting, pick you pole up and set the hook on the first tug.

Drifting Sandworms
Notice I said drifting since worm fishing is not typically done at anchor…. This used to be our go to method but seems like worms have been in short supply or very expensive the past few years. If you can get them they are deadly...

Once again, early in the spring try to find a nice dark muddy bottom to set your drift over… You also want to be drifting where the wind and tide are in the same direction… The rig I like to use consists of a barrel swivel, sinker slide, 30 pound leader material and a 4 or 5/0 bait keeper hook. Take the line coming from your pole and thread it through the sinker slide and tie it to your barrel swivel. Tie a 4-foot piece of leader material to the other end of the barrel swivel and tie your hook on the other end of the leader. Attach a sinker to the sinker slide. As far as weight use just enough to keep your sinker bouncing along the bottom as you drift. Thread the head of the worm on to your hook and push it up to the barbs of the bait keeper hook. Set it out and let enough line out so it bounces along the bottom… Take your convention reel, put the clicker on and with the reel in free spool and adjust your line out tension just tight enough to keep line coming off the reel as you drift. Once you hear the clicker go off or you see your pole tip bouncing, set the hook quickly…

More on the later season methods like fishing live and dead Bunker and trolling to come so stay tuned for those articles as the season gets going.

[bulletbob]

Nice, concise article...Only problem is at $15 a dozen, I have a feeling drifting worms is a method thats going to go the way of the dodo..Only thing I would add to gerry's nicely written piece is the fact that its usually a good idea to keep a small rod around and baited with a sliver of clam snot or mussel.. that clam chum usually brings big fat flounder into the zone as well, especially in raritan bay.

I toss the Stripers back and keep the flounder,, all 2 of them..... bob

[Flukenstein]

One of our favorite Raritan Bay beaches has been recently restricted. Cliffwood Beach in Aberdeen Twsp. is no longer open for night fishing. The area has been revamped (not the beach itself) and is closed at 7pm. Parking lots have gates that are closed around that time. I was fishing there in October with some friends and was greeted by a police officer around 8pm and told the park was closed and we had to leave. He then closed the parking lots. Signs with the new rules are posted and there are no changes to access or fishing of any kind before 7pm. We've been fishing that beach for over 20 years and we asked about the new policy. We were told the new rules were deemed necessary because "people have not taken care of the beach." Over the years the police had been very reasonable by ignoring small campfires and a few beers, but apparently things have changed. I'll miss my favorite spring and fall beach.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Originally Posted by bulletbob

Nice, concise article...Only problem is at $15 a dozen, I have a feeling drifting worms is a method thats going to go the way of the dodo..Only thing I would add to gerry's nicely written piece is the fact that its usually a good idea to keep a small rod around and baited with a sliver of clam snot or mussel.. that clam chum usually brings big fat flounder into the zone as well, especially in raritan bay.

I toss the Stripers back and keep the flounder,, all 2 of them..... bob

Thanks Bob.... And yes, why not kill two birds with one stone, Stripers and Floundah If you wanted to do this I would put the clams in a chum pot and keep it down on the bottom...

And, not a lot a tackle shops carrying sand worms for the reasons mentioned above.

[dfish28]

No circle hooks??

[Ry609]

Originally Posted by Flukenstein

One of our favorite Raritan Bay beaches has been recently restricted. Cliffwood Beach in Aberdeen Twsp. is no longer open for night fishing. The area has been revamped (not the beach itself) and is closed at 7pm. Parking lots have gates that are closed around that time. I was fishing there in October with some friends and was greeted by a police officer around 8pm and told the park was closed and we had to leave. He then closed the parking lots. Signs with the new rules are posted and there are no changes to access or fishing of any kind before 7pm. We've been fishing that beach for over 20 years and we asked about the new policy. We were told the new rules were deemed necessary because "people have not taken care of the beach." Over the years the police had been very reasonable by ignoring small campfires and a few beers, but apparently things have changed. I'll miss my favorite spring and fall beach.

That's a damn shame, hopefully people can still launch a kayak or is it completely close to that too? I noticed something similar at Union Beach last summer too.

[drummer2120]

Thats a shame about Cliffwood Beach love it there have caught my share of nice fish there but I have noticed over the last few years that the beach is not taken care of for sure. Had a few great overnight fishing there again a damn shame!

[Billy223]

A very nice detailed write up. Thank you for the advice and taking the time to put it down and out there for us and some new guys that stumble across this! Sucks about the cost of clam now but still going to give it a go.
Best of luck to you all

[Ryelof]

Thank You Captain Jerry, this post is like the rites of spring.

[TerriMc223]

Thanks Gerry,
Your description of the way a striper bites a clam and takes off got me going!
Water temp and the presence of bait are important but the real sign of Striper time is Forsythia in bloom. and the forsythia bush outside my home is starting to stir!
Can't wait!