Do you want to excel in striped bass fishing, but your dream remains a dream because your attempt to catch a fish goes in vain all the time. Yes, we know that it’s a daunting task, and it demands tremendous dedication and consistency.
Moreover, there are some tips that you need to know before you start fishing. So, this article is your ultimate guide to striped bass fishing tips. Now, without any further delay, let’s delve into the article.
Striped Bass Fishing: Overview
Striped fish is a pretty popular sporting fish, so most fishers or anglers want to catch them. But if you are the one who finds it a complicated task, then the baits and tips mentioned in this article will surely help you.
What Is Striped Bass
Striped bass is also called Atlantic striped bass, linesider, striper, rock, or rockish. You can find this fish on the Atlantic coast of North America. Moreover, you may find it at inland recreational fisheries in the United States. They belong to the family Moronidae.
What Is the Best Time to Fish For Stripers?
It does not matter where you are struggling to grab a fish, whether you are in southern New Jersey or on the rocky shores of Maine. Your chances of capturing striped bass are highest from the start of April to the end of September.
Moreover, in the mid-Atlantic region, such as Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware, you can find stripers from spring to fall. Sadly, you can not find fish in the winter as they move towards the south region.
How Do Tides Affect Striper Fishing?
We all know that the tides tend to change after every six hours and twelve minutes due to the moon’s gravitational pull. Stripers fall in the category of opportunistic fish, so they eat or feed whenever they want.
It would help if you did a lot of practice to evaluate that the chances of finding a bass are higher at what time of tide. In addition, if you want to ace this skill, you have to do a lot of practice.
Tips to Catch Striped Bass
Do you always end up fishing with the same frustration as you failed to grab a striped bass every time? If so, you should consider the following striped bass fishing tips and try to follow them to get different results.
Have A Need For Speed
If you fail to catch a striped bass even after doing a lot of struggle, enhancing the retrieve speed can help you catch the bass.
Work the White Water
Sometimes the white water is created by the striped bass by breaking waves to get an artificial lure. So, you can use this white water to your advantage to grab the striped bass as the chances of finding bass in that water are higher.
Moreover, if you have the right lures, it can work even better for you to get a bass. It would help if you aimed to get a lure capable of riding high; it will assist you in capturing white water precisely.
However, you can go for sub-surface lures, such as bucktails, minnow-style plugs, soft-plastic shads, etc. Hence if you use your mind in the best manner and timely do the casting, the result will be surprising.
Do Nothing
It may sound unrealistic to you, but yes, it is true. You can catch a fish or more by doing almost nothing. All you have to do is have a gadget for trapping in your hand. By only moving it in the forward direction for a bit of time, you may catch a striper and various other fish.
An angler said that he succeeded in catching a lot of times by using this technique. He said that he put a plug in the water once, and it barely moved a little in the forward direction. By doing this, he luckily got a striper. This technique can work whether the water is dirty or clean.
Change Colors
Colors can be the game changers, and you will find fish conveniently if you know how to play with colors. You should use some colors to capture striped bass; black, white, yellow, and chartreuse are the primary colors. Now, you need to use them smartly, as per your needs.
Specifically, if the belly of the fish is white, you should go for white color. Therefore, having a white plug can benefit you in most conditions. The next color is black- at night, go for this color.
But it is worth mentioning that firstly do an experiment and then try to figure out which color makes the most effective performance in which situation.
Catch In Night
Most of the time, anglers struggle to grab a bass in the daytime. The stripers are usually more active in the day, and they may reject the lure. So, have some patience and wait for the night at that time. You may trap stripers more likely.
Catch Striped Bass With Following
This section will tell you about some of the things you must have to attract striped bass.
Surf Rig
In the starting and last phases of the season, you should go for high-low rigs. They are pretty helpful in getting a lot of fish in these seasons. In addition, a fish finder rig can prove effective for you if you are trying to grab a large bass and slot stripers.
Bait
Bait can be an effective way to catch fish. Striped fish love to eat shellfish, batfish, and various other organisms present in marine life. They usually go to eat what they can find conveniently in their nearby environment.
Sometimes bait will eat everything that you will offer them. But on the other days, they become choosy and prefer to eat a specific type of striped bass bait; hence you should keep it in your mind before going to bait them.
Here is the list of some popular baits that you should take with you, mainly if you try to trap a fish in the Atlantic region:
- Bunker (Menhaden or Poggies)
- Eels
- Bloodworms
- Sandworms
- Mackerel
- Squid
- Porgy
Some fishermen go with the bait even if it dies and its physical movement is seized. So, there is a technique that you can apply, and that is cutting the bait into pieces and then using it.
Moreover, it would help if you had a non-offset circle hook, whether alive, cut, or dead bait. It is necessary because it alleviates the incidents of death of bass.
Due to the stocking of the bait in the stomach of striped bass, sometimes they die. So, it will surely help if you have taken all the preventive measures.
Lures
Another idea that can prove effective is using lures. However, they are not baiting, but their synthetic form is often used to fool a striper.
The lures’ movements, vibration, color, and appearances should be the same as natural bait to become foolproof. Moreover, they have the scent in them that grabs the attention of fish towards them.
Using a lure can prove an even better idea than the bait due to its obvious advantage. Firstly, if you go for a natural bait, it will produce a foul smell after a specific period. In addition, lures can work effectively in a wide range of speeds, depths, and cadences.
Here are some options that you can consider:
Topwater Lures
- Pencil Papers
- Spooks
Sub-surface Lures
- Darters
- Bottle Plugs
- Minnow Swimmer Plugs
All-Purpose Lures
- Bucktails
- Metal Lips
- Soft Plastics
- Metal lures
Trolling
Trolling is one of the best methods for catching a good number of fish in small areas. In this way, the boater and kayaker will indeed become able to grab a large number of striped bass.
Check out the following rigs and find out the one that chooses you the most.
- Bunker
- Mojo rigs
- Tube and worm
- Spoons
Night Fishing
During the daytime owing to the heavy traffic and loud noises, a group of stripers may stop feeding at all, and it can prove challenging for you to catch a fish.
Specifically, it will become tough to trap a fish if you aim to search in a popular fishing spot. So, prefer to go fishing at night, and do not forget to have navigational lines (red and green on your boat. They will aid in tracking the vessel’s port and starboard.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
This section will give answers to some FAQs related to striped bass fishing.
How deep do you fish for striped bass?
It depends on the seasons. Sometimes you can find them fewer than three feet deep in the water. Moreover, they are pretty deep in the winter, 15 to 20 feet deep down in the water.
What do I need for striper fishing?
It would help if you had bait, lures, and some necessary gadgets for fishing a striper. Here are the names of some baits that can help you if you search for striped bass.
- Squids
- Anchovies
- Bloodworms
- Shads
- Sandworms
- Night Crawlers
What color lures for striped bass?
If you want to lure a striped bass by using color, you should go for white, black, yellow, and Chartreuse colors. However, try to use colors depending upon the conditions. You can not go with white color every time, and the same applies to other colors.
Are striped bass bottom feeders?
Most of the bass are bottom feeders. The bottom feeders usually aim to find a meal that is slow-moving and large. The meal includes tautog, lobsters, flounder, and crabs.
What size hooks for striped bass?
The size of your circle hook depends on the bait’s size. Suppose you have a large bait such as a menhaden (bunker or pogies), then the perfect size for such a bait is 8/0. Additionally, if the size of the bait is smaller, then a bait of 6/0 is ideal for you.
Final Thoughts: Striped Bass Fishing
Well, that is all about the striped bass fishing so far. We are optimistic that this article will surely help you if you understand this fishing topic. If you have any valuable tips, let us know in the comments section.
