Striped bass
Striped bass can be caught on a number of baits including: clams, eels, anchovies, bloodworms, night crawlers, chicken livers, bunker/menhaden, herring, and sand worms. At other times, striped bass can be very choosy about the baits they take. Because of the wide variety of baits that are known to work and their finicky nature, they are considered among fishermen as being an opportunistic or “lazy” feeder. However, it is estimated that 90% of their diet is fish.
In many of the large reservoir impoundments across the United States, striped bass have been introduced by state game and fish commissions to the pleasure of local anglers. They have also been hybridized with white bass to produce sunshine bass and stocked in many freshwater areas across the U.S.
This excellent fish is found all along the Atlantic coast, from
Florida to
Nova Scotia, fish have been caught as far north as Hudson Bay, and are common in parts of
Nova Scotia. An anadromous fish, it inhabits rivers, bays, inlets, estuaries, and creeks; and is taken in great abundance, particularly in the
Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. There, it frequently grows to the length of three, four and even five feet and weighing in some instances, a full one hundred pounds! The striped bass will run up some rivers a hundred miles or more, and in
Maine they are found quite plentiful in the
Penobscot River. Further south in
Connecticut some very fine ones are taken both offshore and in the
Connecticut River, and surprisingly the waters surrounding
New York City have proven a fertile fishing ground with good sized specimens being caught each spring on through to summer.
East Coast striped bass are typically found from the Carolinas to Nova Scotia. Their primary migratory range is from the Carolinas to New York's Hudson River in the winter time and from New Jersey through Maine in summertime with the greatest concentration between Long Island, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. The migration north often begins in March for juvenile fish and April / May for adult fish. The migration south often begins in September from areas in Maine.
On the West Coast, stripers are found throughout the San Francisco Bay and surrounding coastline. They are also found in the California Aqueduct canal and lake system. Buena Vista lakes, Pyramid Lake, Castaic Lake and Silverwood Lake all have an abundance of striped bass. The lake record at Pyramid is 42 lb! Frequent "boils" or swarms of these fish may be observed in these lakes, representing an excellent fishing opportunity, especially with Pencil Poppers or other similar trout-looking surface lures.
In winter they still keep their haunts, and do not go into deep water like other fish of similar habits. The word (bass) is said to be a Dutch name, signifying perch; but it little resembles the fish we know by that name. The bass is one of the most beautiful fish in point of color and perfect symmetry that swims, and next to the
salmon is the most delicious for the table.
In the spring of the year the striped bass runs up the rivers and into other fresh water places to spawn - and then again late in the fall to shelter. The fall run is the best. It can be taken, however, nearly all the year round, and of all sizes.
(Historically) The apparatus for bass fishing is a pliable rod from 12 to 18 ft (300 to 500 mm) in length, according to circumstances. The reel should have 200 to 300 feet (60 to 90 m) of line, which may be made of flax or grass. Silk line is sometimes used. The swivel sinker and float should be gaged according to your ground. The leader should be three or four feet in length, with a Limerick or Kirby hook from 0 to 3, according to the size of the fish to be taken. Double leaders are often necessary. Use your own judgment in this respect. In boat fishing, the float is not usually used, and the sinker should be light enough to float off with the tide, but at the same time to touch bottom at all times. By this mode you will get large fish, as the large ones are generally nearest the bottom.
The best place for fishing bass is the quietest place you can find, and at full neap tide. When this tide occurs early in the morning, or late in the afternoon, and if the wind is off shore and a gentle ripple on the water you may take bass very easily, and in abundance. In rivers, get in the exact channel, or over some deep cove, near an outlet of a brook, or some small stream.
Fishing Rhode Island: Rhode Island anglers can often expect to find the first fresh run Striped Bass in the waters off Matunuck, Newport, and Westerly in late March to early April. Some of the fish may be mixed in with a local fish population that spends winter without migrating to the primary wintering grounds off of Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. These early fish are often of the smallest migrating size class, often called "schoolies" or "school bass" and typically range from 6 inches to the mid-twenty inch range. Popular places to catch these early season fish in Rhode Island include Matunuck, Charlestown, Narragansett, and Newport. May through July will present the arrival of larger fish, often referred to as "keepers" in that they can legally be kept for personal consumption if over 28 inches from tip of head to tip of tail (regulation as of 2005) with a maximum of 2 kept per day. Also as May turns through June the best time to catch these larger bass for the shore angler will typically move from daytime to nighttime. "Schoolie" and "Keeper" sized striped bass can be typically found along the entire shoreline of Rhode Island from April through October with some places holding fish year round. In September, the striped bass prepare for their migration south to their wintering areas. The "Fall Run" as it is called along the coast can account for some of the best fishing of the year for larger fish. The largest fish, including those considered Trophy fish and exceeding forty pounds, are most often found in September and October. Popular fishing areas in the Fall Run include the beaches and rocky shoreline of Newport, Narragansett, the breachways of Charlestown, and Westerly. Popular Striped Bass fishing clubs include the Newport County Saltwater fishing Club, Narragansett Surfcasters (http://narragansettsurfcasters.com ), and the Rhode Island Saltwater Angler's Association (http://risaa.org).
Fishing Massachusetts: Massachusetts anglers have access to numerous types of fishing from sandy beaches to rocky ledges along the shore to flats and deep water when accessed from a boat. Like Rhode Island, the first fish of the year tend to show in early April along the southcoast and Cape Cod with the season following a similar pattern with the majority of fish leaving, north to south, in October. Practically the entire coast of Massachusetts contains fine areas to fish for striped bass wherever you can legally access the shoreline. As with all coastal states, federal law requires when fishing for striped bass from a boat that you stay within three miles of land. Popular Massachusetts destinations for striped bass fishing include Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Boston Harbor, and Plum Island. Fishing Tournaments for Striped Bass are very popular in Massachusetts with one of the oldest and most popular being the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. In 2005, the 60th Annual "MV Derby" brought several thousand visitors to the island together with over a thousand local participants for the month long "Derby" from mid September to mid October. In 2005, the largest Striped Bass from shore during the Derby was caught by Leo Lecuyler, weighed over 45 pounds, and won Leo a new Boston Whaler boat. The largest boat caught striped bass of the derby at 49.22 pounds, and was caught by Martha's Vineyard Islander, 12 year old Molly Fischer. Popular Striped Bass fishing clubs include the Massachusetts Striped Bass Association, Massachusetts Beach Buggy Association and the Cape Cod Salties (http://www.capecodsalties.com).
Surfcasting: The most popular method for fishing for striped bass based on number of anglers is shore fishing as many anglers may not have access to a boat or simply preference. Shore fishing can include fishing the shores of inland waterways, saltwater ponds, rivers, and bays. Various methods of light tackle to heavy gear can be used. More challenging shore fishing along the immediate coastline is often referred to as Surfcasting and the anglers as Surfcasters. Surfcasters typically gear up a little differently than inshore shore anglers as the conditions tend to be more severe. Surfcasting conditions can often include high wave conditions, heavier winds, and a deluge of breaking waves, or "surf", on the angler and angler's equipment. In addition to rod, reel, and tackle, the surfcaster's typical equipment list will include items for safety and for comfort such as waders, secured by a tight wader belt to prevent filling with water, dry top, line clippers, pliers, hook cutters, and knife as well as a neck light or headlight for use (sparingly) at night. Additional items for safety may include an inflatable life vest to prevent drowning accidents in more severe conditions (several fatalities along the east coast occur yearly when surfcasting) and steel studded soles attached to wader boots to improve traction when standing on slippery, weed covered rocks or jetties. More extreme surfcasting may entail climbing on rocks far from shore to gain an advantaged position or in some cases; anglers may don wetsuits to swim to rocks in water unreachable by wading. Gear used in Surfcasting tends to favor spinning or conventional reels on rods in the 8 â€" 10 foot range using lines of 15 â€" 30 pound test monofilament or equivalent diameters of braid. At the end of this line one will typically find wooden, plastic, or metal lures, or perhaps some fishing a live American Eel like one would fish a lure. Plastics lures are the most popular but the traditional methods of wooden lures are still very popular.
Trolling for bass is excellent sport, and is practiced a good deal by amateurs. The tackle employed is a strong hand line, and artificial bait is used with good success. This consists of silver plated "spoons, or bits of mother pearl worked into a proper shape and other ingenious contrivances to be had at the fishing-tackle stores. Squid are also an excellent bait for trolling. To fasten the squid to your hook, you should use a needle and waxed linen thread. Take off the skin of the squid, and pull out the spine - then insert the needle through the opening made by the spine, and in this way fasten your hook so the point will pass through near his eye - commence sewing him onto the hook from his tail, and stitch up to his neck. This is so troublesome a process that few sportsmen use it; but very large fish are taken in this manner.
When you are fishing for freshwater stripers, the best bait you can use will be:
* Gizzard Shad
* Skipjack
* Threadfin Minnows
* Alewives
* Crawfish
* Trout
They basically hit anything that moves, stripers have been known to eat smaller stripers. I saw a guy fishing for catfish, and his catfish we're getting hit when he was reeling them in. Catfishermen sometimes even catch Stripers when they are fishing with Chicken Livers.
Stripers don't necessarily look for cover and structure as much as some other fish, except in current. When river fishing, you can often find them near cover closer to the banks.
They are very tempature specific fish, with a optimal water temp of 63 degrees. So instead of structure, look for cooler water, and bait. When you find bait, you will find the stripers near by in most cases. The bigger fish are more effected by the water tempature, then the smaller fish. The bigger fish, are often large and lazy. A lot of big stripers are caught on cutbait, because it is said they wait for the scraps from the smaller fish feeding frenzies, instead of using all their energy to chase down bait.
* In 2006 the
New York state legislature designated the striped bass the state's saltwater fish, to go along with the
brown trout, the state freshwater fish.[
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National Striped Bass Association
