Upstate NY Hudson River Stripers.. on jigs?

[bulletbob]

I used to catch them at the Jersey Shore when I lived there, but its been over 30 years.. I am aware of the good spring fishing upstate in the tidal sections of the river.. All I can find online about catching them though is bait fishing only ... Drifting sea worms, either sands or bloods, on a weighted rig with a swivel and 3 foot leader either on bottom or at the depth the fish are suspending at.

Also some guys chunk fresh herring on bottom while anchored or fish live herring IF you can get them legally...
I see NOTHING about catching these fish on jigs however which seems very odd to me, because in the same river further downstream they smash jigs with abandon at the same time the guys 30 miles up river are using $2 a piece bloods and feeding them most often to white perch, eels, white cats or 9 inch stripers in between decent size stripers.. I know a few captains troll for them and catch some big ones, so I imagine they will hit lures at certain times and places... Wondering if anyone on this board has had any luck catching these upstate stripers on jigs, or is it not worth the effort?... bob

[WhaleFart]

I’ll take a stab at this. I use to live in Bergen county and have fished the Hudson from Hoboken - Newburgh. The spring fishery is normally April - early may up there. It is almost 100% a bait game, worms, herring chunks and bunker chunks. Like fish in local waters, when it’s early season and the water is cold it’s a bait game, same for in the Hudson. I know guys troll bass up by West Point but to my understanding it’s a snag and reel type fishing.

I’ve caught bass on lures south of the GWB and also in the east river, but I got to say your better off with bait if you want to catch.

Fresh bunker works just as good as herring in my opinion, that may not hold as true if your fishing up on the Troy area.

[bulletbob]

I know the fishery is almost entirely bait.. Really just wondering why that would be?... Charter boats do troll with lures and catch big ones in spring, but for most guys its bait or catch nothing... Water too murky?... Fish not aggressively feeding during the spawn??. I am talking further north in the Newburgh to Kingston area..bob

[BigRock44]

Bob I live on the Hudson not too far from the Newburgh area and have fished it for many years. But truth be told, I prefer to fish the Raritan bay and NJ ocean areas for striped bass. They seem to be more aggressive/hungry there. Though fishing can sometimes be very good in the river, I think they really have spawning on their minds and the fishing can turn on and off like a switch. And more often than not, IMO it's off. It's pretty frustrating to see your fishfinder screen light up on a big school and dropping everything you have down into them without a touch. Ironically my biggest striper ever was caught from a raft when I was younger drifting a bloodworm on a freshwater setup in the Newburgh area. She towed me around for about an hour before I even got a glimpse of her! But getting back to your original question...yes I have caught some smaller sized stripers on gulp grubs once when I ran out of bloodworms. Have probably tried gulp and other assorted lures at least a dozen times over the years but only lucky with gulp once. It also seems different areas have better results with different types of bait (herring vs bloodworms). Add to that the tides, water temps and weather and it gets even more complicated to predict a good bite!

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by BigRock44

Bob I live on the Hudson not too far from the Newburgh area and have fished it for many years. But truth be told, I prefer to fish the Raritan bay and NJ ocean areas for striped bass. They seem to be more aggressive/hungry there. Though fishing can sometimes be very good in the river, I think they really have spawning on their minds and the fishing can turn on and off like a switch. And more often than not, IMO it's off. It's pretty frustrating to see your fishfinder screen light up on a big school and dropping everything you have down into them without a touch. Ironically my biggest striper ever was caught from a raft when I was younger drifting a bloodworm on a freshwater setup in the Newburgh area. She towed me around for about an hour before I even got a glimpse of her! But getting back to your original question...yes I have caught some smaller sized stripers on gulp grubs once when I ran out of bloodworms. Have probably tried gulp and other assorted lures at least a dozen times over the years but only lucky with gulp once. It also seems different areas have better results with different types of bait (herring vs bloodworms). Add to that the tides, water temps and weather and it gets even more complicated to predict a good bite!

Thanks for that well thought out response.. Its in line with my thinking... I have watched many videos and they showed screens that were lit up top to bottom, but with very few hits.. Some guys had 6 rods out, and still weren't getting bit the way they would in the bay/ ocean/salt rivers..
I heard it was picky and you really had to put the time in, and be there when the tide/conditions were right and the fish turned on for a while..

As you said, most of those fish are spawning, or trying to, and food isn't the main thing on their minds.. Hey I was young once I can relate.

I was interested simply because of distance.. Kingston is 165 miles, the ramp at Leonardo is 225, so it would save me an hours drive each way, but I dunno, not sure its worth it... Some guys do go down to the Hudson for spring stripers from my area, but typically stay down there for a few days, and put in long days of fishing.... The bay/ocean seems like a better bet to be on active fish on any given day.... bob