Big Striper Time!

If you live in the New York Bight area, central Jersey up through the western end of Long Island, the next four weeks are your greatest opportunity to catch a really big striped bass! A couple days ago a 57 pound monster fell to a wood plug cast from a boat off Island Beach State Park and the number of bass in the 30-lb. and up class in the area is staggering.

There are two reasons for this convergence and both have to do with spawning and migration patterns. The main body of fish that had been pouring into this area over the last couple months are mostly mature bass that were preparing to run 40 to 60-miles up the Hudson River to spawn, from the second week of May through the end of the month. Millions of bass make this annual migration and once they are done the run back down river into the waters surrounding the river mouth, they are ravenous and ready to rumble. As I write this, the earliest wave of spawners are coming out of the river while there are still more on the beds or heading that way.

The second wave of bass headed this way spawned in the Chesapeake Bay complex of feeder-rivers about a month ago. Afterward, they left the confines of the bay and started migrating north to their summering grounds off the coast of New England, feeding heavily as they go.

Both bodies of fish are about to collide in the New York Bight, which is currently choked with dense schools of menhaden (bunker) and other types of favored forage. From now through June and possibly well into July, the bass fishing is going to be monumental!

So how do you catch them? A few of my favorite ways are live lining bunker, fishing dead bunker on the bottom, casting big wood swimming plugs and poppers and trolling with wire line and bunker spoons. All work at various times so bring along the tackle for all of them so you’re ready for whatever conditions you might encounter.

Catching live bunker is easy with a cast net or by snagging them with weighted snag hooks. I live line with an outfit comprised of a wide spool baitcasting reel and a stout 7-foot graphite rod loaded with 30 pound Grand Slam monofilament or Grand Slam Braid. I use only the biggest circle hooks (9/0 or bigger) pinned through the nostrils of a live bunker with a 36” leader of Hi-Seas 100% Fluorocarbon in 50 or 60-lb test and a Mighty Mini Barrel Swivel. You can either swim the menhaden near the surface or replace the barrel swivel with a 3-Way swivel and sinker to get it deep or even right on the bottom.

Watch upcoming blogs on using plugs and trolling wire line for big stripers and remember, these are great game fish that deserve to be handled gently and released. Keep the small one for the table and let the biggest females go to spawn again.

-Gary Caputi