Captain Bryan with Iowa Fortune Service contacted us and said that last week moved the needle once again as the next phase of the season fell into place with a great top water bite. As we approached the new moon, this week delivered us the best sight fishing opportunities of the season with nice groups of Bass laid up, or traveling in small schools.
All week long, the stripers tracked fairly predictably as they made their way into the South Jersey back country on the heels of the ever thickening quantities of bait that are invading our shallow bays and basins. Mostly all the bass this week were taken on top water and as we had good moving water all week with the approach of the new moon, this pushed a lot of bass into some very fun areas.
I have to say that there is nothing more fun than targeting a Bass in a small shallow pocket of water, or in a 2 foot wide creek, 10″ deep, and watching him explode on a top water fly or plug as it passes by, and with the new boat this season the Maverick is getting us closer than ever to these sneaky line siders.
Bryan expects that the flats fishing will continue to strengthen as we make our way post spawn and head into July, and as I say every season, as the fishing is by July 4th so goes the season. As more and more of the bait shows up or hatches on the moon phase, the shallower these bass will move, and this will translate into quality sight fishing opportunities.
The Blues still continue to make a rear throughout the backcountry as well, making short time of anything put in front of them. Even though he spends good amounts of time trying to avoid them, these 4 to 6-pound eating machines do provide some very fun action.
Matt at Jim’s Bait and Tackle told us that in South Jersey, the striper action continues to be good. He said that anglers are nailing stripers along the beaches on clams.
Jim also said that the black drum bite continues to be good at Slaughter Beach. Offshore, anglers are starting to catch sharks.
Fishing is starting to take off — get out there and land some linesiders while you can.
Striper fishing has become one of the most sought-after fish for anglers. Anglers catch many bass that are sometimes as large as 30, 40 or even 50 pounds, providing some of the most exciting fishing that you can find.
Those with their own boats can get in on this fast action, but those without boats must rely on the kindness of others or pay for a charter or head boat. Of the two, a head boat is less expensive. While a charter boat is less crowded, there is no reason why a head boat trip cannot be equally enjoyable. Have Fun With Strangers on a Party Boat
Fishing on a head boat does require interaction with strangers. Following some basic rules will ensure that you fully enjoy your party boat experience. Continue reading Party Boat Striped Bass
Striper fishing in Massachusetts will be here soon, so get ready. This video about catching striped bass in Massachusetts should help get you ready.
This video was taken on May 30th 2009 with guide and Captain Reilly McCue leading a striper charter on Joppa Flats in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Enjoy!
A dip in the water temperature, along with a serious dip in the air temperature had few people fishing this weekend, according to Sue Foster at Oyster Bay Tackle. She said that the rain came on Friday,
the wind blew on Saturday, and Sunday they had more wind and chilly temperatures.
Sue said that the Judith M did go out on Sunday and had a good catch of tautog. Wednesday and Thursday saw some good striper catches for boats casting or trolling offshore within the 3 mile zone. They said that they will see a warming trend for Easter Weekend, and hopefully they'll be hearing some more fish stories.
The folks at the Virginia Beach Fishing Center reported that they have recently received reports of nice speckled trout and puppy drum in the inlet, and they have also seen some of the diving birds coming back up with flounder; that’s right, they said that they were getting flounder.
Further investigation discovered that they were small flounder that aren’t yet legal. Nonetheless, this is a good sign of the future, both for flounder fishing and conservation.
Captain Bryan with Iowa Fortune dropped us a line and said that it was another great week offering up some real fantastic sight fishing opportunities once again. It was good solid Striper action all week with nice schools of Bass making a push into the back country putting them once again in some very skinny waters all week long.
Anglers continue to catch good numbers of striped bass in Raritan Bay. Jason Wavro fished aboard the Fin Chaser and got into good numbers of blues, then nailed a number of stripers, including this one. Jason said that they ended up catching some keeper linesiders as well as shorts. Great work.
The striped bass is once again plentiful and fun fare for anglers of all ages
The striped bass is currently one of the hottest gamefish on the East Coast. Both freshwater and saltwater anglers are targeting the striped bass, and anglers from the Easton area have stripers that they can pursue in the Delaware River.
Thirty years ago, the situation was different. Strict management of the striped bass fishery has made the striper what it is today – a modern-day success story. Continue reading Stripers, Stripers Everywhere
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. Continue reading Raritan Bay Striped Bass Hotspots
