Spring Stripers

[wasy]

Heres a couple of nice Stripers from the Spring run caught on the boat in mid June.

[jquest63]

Nice haul!

[El Presidente]

Heres a couple of nice Stripers from the Spring run caught on the boat in mid June.

They are some serious fish

I have no idea about Stripers but do they grow any larger then that?

[Colt45]

[wasy]

They are some serious fish

I have no idea about Stripers but do they grow any larger then that?

They do get considerably larger than those. Those fish were in the low 30lb range, 50lb fish from a boat are not uncommon. The New Jersey state record is 78lbs and actually caught from the surf. This is a fishery than has definately benefitted through goverment regulation, these fish were totally wiped out by the late 1970's but the stocks rebounded in the late 90's.

[Ethernut]

Nice! Breaded and Deep Fried?

[Ellery]

Those look magnificent

[Habanos2000]

I guess you don't need the 'should've seen the one that got away' line?

[Ken Gargett]

terrific fish. have read a bit about stripers but they had not impressed as much until i saw that pic.

good eating?

how did you catch them? from the surf, are they lure or bait? what about on fly?

[strayvector]

I opened this thread thinking it was strippers. Oh well, nice fish anyways.

[joeypots]

terrific fish. have read a bit about stripers but they had not impressed as much until i saw that pic.

good eating?

how did you catch them? from the surf, are they lure or bait? what about on fly?

Here's a bit of what I know about striped bass. An inshore species the migrate up and down the east coast of the US. They have been introduced into other waters, fresh and salt. They spawn in estuaries and rivers in the south eastern US. Below New Jersey they are often called Rock Fish. In late spring the fish start up the coast, following the rising temperature of the ocean up into the Canadian Maritimes and turnaround in early fall. Where I live, on the outer edge of Cape Cod the Striped bass can be caught from late April to November. Here, the only way to fish them commercially is with hook and line. There was a severe drought of fish years ago, but as has been noted, the fish have rebounded nicely due to catch limits and the natural ebb and flow of the population. This population cycle, it seems to me, is on the decline having peeked in the late nineties. The fish can be caught with bait or lures, with fly, spinning, or trolling gear. Here, in the summer when the water gets warm the fish move out a bit and stay in cool water just off shore and are caught by trolling or drifting bait in places with structure or in rip tides. Moving water is key. They will come to the surface and will hit a popper.

There is nothing like catching a striped bass on shore. In the fall and spring the fish can be caught from the beach with spinning, conventional, or fly tackle. I have had much success fishing bass using sand eals for bait. That is the American Sand Lance. These little building blocks of ocean life burrow into the sand and in shallow water can be raked up with a sharp tined rake. They range up to about 8". Hooked onto a 5 o circle hook and cast into the waves this bait has produced, for me, fish that have weighed 30 pounds. I have been in select spots where the fish can be seen swimming in the waves or schools of 15-25 lb fish are swimming in tidal flats. When the bass feed hard they will hit almost anything and if they are not feeding they will not bite at all! Early evening through mid morning is the best time to fish as stripers do not seem to feed during the bright day light hours. There are exceptions. When they are getting ready for a big migration the fish will eat available bait non stop for a few days or weeks and they can be had all day long. When you are in fish, you are in them, but I have known people to wait years for a big school to visit their particular stretch of beach. The biggest one I ever caught was about 48" and something like 40 lbs and I caught it in October with a cast black eel with an 8 foot spinning rod and 12 lb test mono filament. I let the fish go as I don't think the big ones are good eating and I didn't have a camera, so that lone moment is , well, a fish story. Striped bass make wonderful eating and are a staple of restaurants and home tables here when in season. I am partial to the smaller ones but people love to eat the big ones.

Lastly, bass are not tuna. Some will bristle at this, but here goes. They do not fight all that hard. Sheer fish size and tackle size make the challenge and a big striper on light line will run and pull drag for quite a while. but they do not fight anything like tuna, blue fish, permit, bone fish or any # of other game fish. BUT, on small tackle in the waves or on the surface, the fish are thrilling simply because they are the biggest fish I know of that can be caught from the shore of the North Eastern US.

Joe

[jfury76]

As a born and raised Marylander, I have spent quite a bit of time rockfishing in the Chesapeake Bay. Great fun especially during trophy season when the haul can be really big. Personally, I've had the best luck trolling with umbrella rigs using bucktails and soft plastics. Jigging can be fun, too, but not as exciting. Anything over 40 inches is a monster around here.

[Ken Gargett]

Here's a bit of what I know about striped bass. An inshore species the migrate up and down the east coast of the US. They have been introduced into other waters, fresh and salt. They spawn in estuaries and rivers in the south eastern US. Below New Jersey they are often called Rock Fish. In late spring the fish start up the coast, following the rising temperature of the ocean up into the Canadian Maritimes and turnaround in early fall. Where I live, on the outer edge of Cape Cod the Striped bass can be caught from late April to November. Here, the only way to fish them commercially is with hook and line. There was a severe drought of fish years ago, but as has been noted, the fish have rebounded nicely due to catch limits and the natural ebb and flow of the population. This population cycle, it seems to me, is on the decline having peeked in the late nineties. The fish can be caught with bait or lures, with fly, spinning, or trolling gear. Here, in the summer when the water gets warm the fish move out a bit and stay in cool water just off shore and are caught by trolling or drifting bait in places with structure or in rip tides. Moving water is key. They will come to the surface and will hit a popper.

There is nothing like catching a striped bass on shore. In the fall and spring the fish can be caught from the beach with spinning, conventional, or fly tackle. I have had much success fishing bass using sand eals for bait. That is the American Sand Lance. These little building blocks of ocean life burrow into the sand and in shallow water can be raked up with a sharp tined rake. They range up to about 8". Hooked onto a 5 o circle hook and cast into the waves this bait has produced, for me, fish that have weighed 30 pounds. I have been in select spots where the fish can be seen swimming in the waves or schools of 15-25 lb fish are swimming in tidal flats. When the bass feed hard they will hit almost anything and if they are not feeding they will not bite at all! Early evening through mid morning is the best time to fish as stripers do not seem to feed during the bright day light hours. There are exceptions. When they are getting ready for a big migration the fish will eat available bait non stop for a few days or weeks and they can be had all day long. When you are in fish, you are in them, but I have known people to wait years for a big school to visit their particular stretch of beach. The biggest one I ever caught was about 48" and something like 40 lbs and I caught it in October with a cast black eel with an 8 foot spinning rod and 12 lb test mono filament. I let the fish go as I don't think the big ones are good eating and I didn't have a camera, so that lone moment is , well, a fish story. Striped bass make wonderful eating and are a staple of restaurants and home tables here when in season. I am partial to the smaller ones but people love to eat the big ones.

Lastly, bass are not tuna. Some will bristle at this, but here goes. They do not fight all that hard. Sheer fish size and tackle size make the challenge and a big striper on light line will run and pull drag for quite a while. but they do not fight anything like tuna, blue fish, permit, bone fish or any # of other game fish. BUT, on small tackle in the waves or on the surface, the fish are thrilling simply because they are the biggest fish I know of that can be caught from the shore of the North Eastern US.

Joe

just found this. many thanks for posting.