Bay/Hook report and some sea bass questions

[rwp2101]

Stripers: Fished the last hour of the outgoing this morning in the bay. Trolled up four on mojos just off the bottom in 20-25 fow. Bite died with slack tide. Moved closer to the ocean and picked two more quickly also 20-25 fow, also on mojos just off the bottom. All healthy, lively fish from 30-40”. Instead of staying there we decided to switch gears. Terrible idea, never leave fish to find fish, even a different species?...

Sea bass: Decided to change gears and go for sea bass by running out to the SH reef site. That’s where our luck ended. I’ll qualify this part of the report by saying we’ve never fished for sea bass before. We weren’t very successful in terms of keepers, just some shorts. Jigged with Avas and fished gulp on hi-lo rigs. Fished 40-60 fow. Should I be targeting deeper water/ pieces further out?Do I need to be right on top of the wrecks and rocks to get the bites? Almost lost more rigs than we caught fish. Thanks.

[bulletbob]

Personally, I would have had some bait with me... clams or squid would be fine for sea bass.. they do hit jigs, but not consistently, especially when they are scattered, and not competitive, or not feeding on bait fish..
Gulp works with sea bass, but you never see guys using it by itself on a hook.. Its always offered with a glob of bait...
You might just have been in an area that didn't have good concentrations too.. Next time out, grab a box of squid, or a dozen surf clams... bob

[rwp2101]

Thanks bob, we’ll give the bait a try next time out in a different area!

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by rwp2101

Thanks bob, we’ll give the bait a try next time out in a different area!

btw, If you are fluking and want to make a stop for sea bass on some rough bottom,, they are suckers for a spearing and squid combo or live killies, just like fluke...

[PeteyHD]

Use clams or squid, like others said jigs only produce when fish are abundant and aggressive.