Raritan Bay is classic striper habitat. Striped bass start running into the bay in April and stay into December. Throughout the year, anglers can catch stripers in many parts of the bay. It’s one of the most productive striper hotspots on the East Coast.
The following are some of the best Raritan Bay hotspots for linesiders. This list is by no means all-inclusive, as other areas in the Bay can be quite productive for striped bass. As always, be careful when fishing in Raritan Bay as it’s open water and conditions can quickly change.
Flynn’s Knoll
Located across from the point of Sandy Hook and bordering Sandy Hook Channel, this mussel-covered bottom is a prime area for clamming school stripers in the spring. I caught my first striper at Flynn’s Knoll, a 34 incher, on a bunker chunk, many years back.
Anchoring up on the bottom can be difficult, and plenty of chain ahead of the anchor is a must. Stripers come back again in the fall, with many over 28 inches included for those drifting eels and worms. This is classic striper habitat that provides many linesiders for anglers.
Raritan Reach
Reach Channel, also known as Raritan Reach, runs through Raritan Bay and heads out to sea. A main shipping channel, fishing the edges of Reach Channel can produce striped bass.
Try trolling the channel edges with Stretch 25′s, or troll bunker spoons along the edges. Both will prove productive in the spring into early summer.
Ambrose Channel
This deep channel runs from the Verrazano Bridge as the Hudson empties into New York Harbor out to the ocean. A deep shipping channel, Ambrose is great habitat for anglers fishing for linesiders throughout the year.
Anglers often catch large (and I mean large) stripers in Ambrose Channel on bunker chunks in the spring after they spawn. The summer will see smaller stripers submitting to worms throughout the channel. As the fall approaches, anglers will land linesiders on live eels bounced on the bottom.
Sandy Hook
Sandy Hook is the classic striper habitat. From Sandy Hook channel to the hook itself, anglers land plenty of stripers in the Sandy Hook vacinity.
Fishing from the beach will often produce many of stripers, with the fall being the prime time for Sandy Hook. I’ve spent evenings on the tip of the hook (the ocean-facing hook, or the false hook) where every third cast has produced a linesider.
Fishing from a boat, Sandy Hook Channel is quite productive when drifting eels.
Sweeping past the tip of Sandy Hook, the channel runs out to the ocean and provides good fluking throughout. The largest fluke prefer the depths, so it’s important to have little wind or wind and tide together in order to be able to drift properly. This has been one of the best areas for large fluke during the current season. Striped bass pile up in the channel during early fall, and can be tempted with drifted live eels – if you can keep large bluefish from chopping them first. Large weakfish can be drifted some years in late summer with worms along the inner portion of the channel.
