Fishing Tips For Stripers

[Gerry Zagorski]

Striped Bass

Stripers are on a come back in NJ thanks to the conservation measures taking place in the 80's . Several fish in excess of 50 lbs (Cows) are weighed in every year. They are perhaps the most sought after fish in the state due to their size, close proximity to shore and their long strong drag wrenching strikes. They can be caught along the beaches, bays and tidal rivers and rarely stray more then a few miles from shore. There are a number of party and charter boats that fish for them exclusively and will run trips during the day and night.
Time of year
- Bass usually arrive in mid to late April and will sometimes hang around until Christmas. The small "schoolies" are usually more plentiful in the spring and the larger "cows" are usually caught in the fall.
How to :
- Drifting live eels or sandworms usually accounts for the most fish.
- Sandworms in the spring and eels in the fall is a good rule of thumb.
- Both baits can be worked by tying a rig using a 3 way swivel. Tie the 3 way to the line coming off your pole. On the remaining 2 swivel loops tie a 12-18 inch dropper for your sinker, and a 5-6 foot leader for your hook. A 25 lb. leader is a good happy medium since Stripers don't have teeth and you want to keep line visibility down to a practical minimum. Use the lightest sinker that will allow you to hold bottom. Let your sinker hit the bottom and continue to bounce as you drift. Keep your conventional reel in free spool with the clicker on. When a fish hits the clicker will sound. Let the fish run for a few seconds, engage the reel and set the hook with a sharp strong motion. If your using circle the hook is accomplished by putting tention on the line rather then a sweeping motion of the rod. When fishing with an eels it's a good idea to let the Bass run a little longer to make sure the eels entire length is taken.
- Chunking from an anchored boat is also a popular way to fish for Bass. Pay out Bunker chunks to attract fish while dropping back pieces of cut bunker on your hook.
- Trolling tubes, jigs , bunker spoons, plugs or umbrella rigs work great too. This method is highly effective for locating fish. Some sharpies will troll to locate the fish and then anchor or drift in the area with bait. In order to keep your trolling lures down at the right depth it is usually necessary to troll with heavy drail sinkers or wire line. Wire line trolling is most effective. Some sharpies also use down riggers. Make sure you use at least a 6 ft mono leader when trolling for Bass since they tend to be line shy. Stripers like a very slow troll. Anywhere between 2.3 - 2.8 knots is usually about right. If you can't slow your boat down enough either drag a sea anchor or a 5 gallon bucket.
- Chumming with Frozen Clam Chum has become very popular recently, especially in the spring. Take a bucket of frozen Clam Chum and place it in a wide mesh fish net or chum bag. Tie a rope to it and toss it over the side to create a Chum Slick. Shuck a fresh clam, put the belly on the hook with enough weight to hold bottom and try and cast your bait so it's positioned in direction the Chum slick is flowing. Place your rod and conventional reel in the rod holder with the clicker on and in free spool. When the Striper hits you will hear the clicker go off. Enguage your reel, set the hook and get ready for a great fight.
Best Places
- Party boats and Charter boats will fish for Striped Bass. Some fish exclusively in the evening. From north to south the most popular party and charter boat areas for Stripers are Leonardo, Atlantic Highlands, Shark River/Belmar, Brielle/Point Pleasant, Barnegat Light and Cape May.
- If you have your own boat popular areas are as follows
Sandy Hook Area : Sandy Hook Rip and channel , Flynns Knoll , Roamer Shoal, Schrewsbury Rocks.
Point Pleasant - Manasquan Inlet jetty and rock jetties along the shore.
Barnegat Light : Along rock jetties on LBI and Island Beach State Park. Barnegat Inlet jetties.
Cape May : Cape May rips.
Tips
- When chunking be sure not to be too generous or skimpy with the chunks. It's a good idea to release 4 or 5 chunks at 2 to 3 minute intervals to keep a consistent slick to attract and hold fish. Too many chunks and the fish will hang back for the easy meal and not bother to move up into the slick for your baits. Too little chum and your not going to hold or attract fish. Use fresh rather then frozen bunker if you can get it. One Bunker is cut into about 4 to 5 chunks. Don't waste the head it's good bait since its bony and will stay on the hook longer. When trolling speed is critical for Bass. Between 2.0 and 2.5 knots is good. When trolling bunker spoons slow it down until you see your pole pulsing in an erratic side to side and bobbing motion.
- When trolling other lures like tubes, jigs and umbrella rigs try and stay close to the bottom with out hanging up. Pay line out until you feel contact with the bottom and then reel in just enough to keep your lure from hanging bottom. If you have a fish finder and can determine a consistent depth where the fish are holding try and keep the lures at that depth. A usual rule of thumb for wire re line is 10 feet of line usually equates to 1 foot of depth. As an example, you would let out 90 feet of wire line if you wanted your lures to run at 9 feet. Every once and a while take the boat out of gear and let the lures free fall then engage the engine again. This change in motion is often time enough to entice a fish to strike. Make sure to use at least a six foot mono leader since these fish seem to be shy of wire. 40 Lb line is recommended for your trolling leader. Always try and keep the boat in gear a when fighting a fish. This allows you to keep constant pressure on the fish and results in less thrown hooks .
- When party boat fishing you usually drift so try and stay in the bow or stern so you can stay on the side where the lines are drifting.
- When fishing from shore with bait it's best to use a float rig. It keeps the bait off the bottom and away from crabs. You can purchase one from almost any tackle store. Cut Bunker, Clams after a storm and live Eels at night are the best.
- If your surf casting with lures you need only cast beyond the breaking waves. Bass love the suds because of the structure and water motion. If you plan to fish on jetties use jetty spikes since jetties are usually very slippery. - Always look for rips and tears in the water. Bass are attracted to structure and water motion.