They’re here went out saturday caught a ridiculous number of
stripers (around 80). I caught about 50 on my
own picked my 2 brothers Mike and Dave a caught another 30 they also caught about 30 a piece.There were so many fish I fished from early morning till early evening. Most of the fish were in the 24-27 inch range. About 10 percent were keepers, with a few around 35 inches. The fish are keying on tiny
silversides. The problem is that when they are on that small bait they can be really fussy. I threw everything at them plastics, metal, swimmers, poppers,
needlefish you name it I tried it. Only 1 thing seemed to work a white
cocahoe with a 3/8 oz white jig head retrieved slowly. You’ll have to use a light 12lb class outfit to throw something that light. It was interesting some of the schools were aggressive while others
wouldn’t even hit the
cocahoe. Even the
cocahoe wasn’t stunning just effective. Most casts yielded fish, but they hit very mellow just sucking in the
cocahoe. If you
didn’t set the hook as soon as you felt tension they were gone and usually
didn’t hit again. Even though they were fussy I caught a ton mainly due to the fact there were so many. Multiple schools as many as seven at a time meant there was a lot of opportunity to hook up. The weather was uncomfortable and perfect. It was uncomfortable for me perfect for
stripers, rainy, drizzly, foggy, overcast the best possible weather for striped bass.
How to find them:
Look for birds working bait. It was most productive when sea gulls were combined with cormorants. The combination of the 2 spelled fish. Once you arrive at the birds look for small swirls on the surface.
Stripers generally don’t splash violently like blues so keep your eyes peeled. You can’t judge a
striper by the size of the swirl so don’t assume a small swirl means small fish. Cast directly into the largest group of swirls.
How to approach them:
The best bet for approaching them is from up wind. Get up wing shut the motor and drift into them
stripers are very boat shy and any motor noise will spook them. This will usually cause the birds to spook and fly off but don’t give up other boats will leave after the birds. Just stay put and be patient keep casting a looking for swirls. They will usually come back up and you’ll be all alone right in the middle of fish while the other boats are running around. It also possible to come upon a school the birds haven’t found yet, but it takes a keen eye. If the water is very calm it’s a lot easier. If your on a school with no birds stay there you’ll probably be the only boat.
Note:
In the past few years this early season madness has only lasted about a week or so. So get out and get going the fishing is fabulous.
Click Play on the video below to see what the morning was like.
Click play on the video below to see what the afternoon was like.
