However, is the summer there is low oxygen at deep depths and this is not a good place to fish for bass or hybrid striped bass. Striped Bass are opportunistic feeders who may be caught using a wide range of bait. Cut larger baitfish in half or into thirds depending on the size of the fish. Consider taking a spinning rod and a few good striped bass lures, or a fly rod with some large streamer flies with you next time you go striper fishing. Other structures that might not be obvious are shadow lines and shorelines. Mackerel are top baits for big stripers from Cape Cod through southern Maine. Many Fisheries scientific studies show without doubt that approximately ninety eight percent of a Striped Bass diet is made up of Shad or Herring and other bait fish. The herring can be caught with nets in the tidal creeks as they bunch up near narrow spots or come upon a dam. Now, I’m not suggesting that there will be migrating stripers willing to make a meal out of those first few alewives, which often arrive in April and sometimes even in late March. Good to note that if you cast into the locks, the likely hood of being yelled at by a dam operator or state police is pretty good. Which run in the Merrimack River? Great article! Check out some of my favorite lures for surf fishing striped bass: Spoon Lures. Great article as usual Jimmy. I’ve had great success with the white Hogy 10″ Double wide when fishing for bass that are on herring. Besides the Hudson River north of the George Washington Bridge, river herring are off-limits in New York as well. Even glidebaits are an excellent option. Ah the locks at the Charlestown dam. While daytime may be okay, as with most sorts of striper fishing the bite is usually better at dark. Having observed herring movements over the years, I’ve noticed that while they will migrate in open water, they prefer navigating with one side tight to structure. If you stand back a bit from the shoreline, you’ll often see the tell-tale wakes left by coursing herring in mere inches of water. Hey Jimmy, why not set a better example by Photoshopping those baits to put a single circle hook on the back. Lay off jimmy Apex!!! The bass lose when they give chase to the herring but succeed when they can ambush. They were easily found and acquired, and bass of all sizes couldn’t swim past them without taking a swipe. Some common striper lures are 3/8-ounce white bucktail jigs, soft plastic jerk baits and large minnow bait. Follow this link to see: Stretch Trolling Lures on Amazon.com. This is one of the best baits for big striped bass and hybrids. ... Freshwater Striped Bass Bait. The stripers will eat herring and shad, fished from the surface on down to the bottom in the right areas. I opt for lures from 6 inches to 8 inches in size, and in the black of night I choose brown, green, gold and sometimes white or silver. Many of today’s surfcasters weren’t even fishing at the time herring were a legal bait option. One lock that I’m familiar with will produce a good bite if you can pitch your lure right against the wall, while 18 inches outside of it will result in nothing. Notes: Diamond Jigs are a classic striper lure that has been around forever. 3: Mackerel Mackerel. And, of course, there is no better thrill than having a bass crash a surface lure, thrash the skinny water with its broom tail, and maybe even clear the water in head- shaking hysteria. The vibration emitted by the fleeing herring attracts striped bass. The Dart is a slow sinking glide bait that has proven to be a go to plug on the Cape Cod Canal as well as the beaches and bays up and down the striper coast. A jerkbait such as this Berkley Gulp Jerk Shad is among the author’s favorite nighttime herring-run lures. Your email address will not be published. And this is a awesome year so far. It’s important to keep the bait at or just above the depth where fish are marked. Most runs will peter out by early June, but back in the day, I would net fall-back herring (adults returning to the ocean after spawning) as late as July, and there would still be linesiders lurking nearby. Mature river herring undertake an upriver spawning migration in the spring. To see the Bomber, and more about Stretch lures, follow this link: Deep Divers. I have also done well with surface lures in luminescent finishes, such the Big Fish Blitz Seeker in parrot or yellow and the pink-headed Yo-Zuri Mag Popper, especially around dawn when the bright finishes makes these lures pop. Sp Minnows by diawa and tsunami 6 ” swim shad paddle tail (they come in the 4 pack) are killer in river while herring are running. The Daiwa Salt Pro Minnow is an excellent choice, equipped with heavy-duty saltwater hooks that won’t rust or weaken even after repeated exposure to seawater. Take it from a guy who haunts holdovers from November through March—there are a lot of striped bass from Connecticut to the North Shore of Massachusetts that never leave the vicinity of herring runs. Articulated swimbaits with lifelike swimming actions, such as the Sebile Magic Swimmer, Storm Kickin’ Stick, and Live Target Blueback Herring, are yet another option. Herring are sometimes called "Striper Candy". When using cut bait for striped bass, one of the most popular rigs is the fish finder rig. Herring can be lured close enough to catch with a hoop or scap net by using a skirted spinner or a wobble-tail look-alike. This rig can be found in the surf fishing kit attached with a … At first blush it doesn’t look like any kind of baitfish a bass would be interested in, until you consider how it performs underwater. For one, pick up the speed. Striped bass is a hugely popular sport fish, partly due to the variety of ways you can catch them. Same thing (live line or chunk Mack’s) in spring/summer on the north shore from Salem to Gloucester and poagies in the fall. Length: 6.5" Weight: 2.6 oz While baits can create serious action, some of the most proven striper anglers prefer artificial lures over live bait, and … “I’ll lower live bait, typically herring, to the depth fish are marked on the graph,” he says. The fish are seeking the cooler, deep water near the dam. This isn’t news; in Massachusetts, the herring ban is more than a decade old. A lure that is substantial in form, like a herring, will far out-fish smaller stuff. At false dawn, switch to gaudy topwater offerings for explosive strikes. Soft-plastic baits emerged as one of the best bets, including stickbaits like the Z-Man HeroZ or Slug-Go, and paddletails like the Tsunami Swim Shad. Striper lures that will prove successful include plugs, jigs, tube and worm and umbrella rigs. Another deep diving trolling lure is the Bomber. Typically the hybrid bass will be in the same area. We live line or fresh chunk Mac in the north and south rivers in Massachusetts. Allow the striped bass to bend the rod all the way down before lifting the rod with sweeping motion to 12:00 o’clock high to set the hook. In major tributaries like the Delaware River, try to mimic American eels which stripers love eating. This is the lures of choice for many die-hard striper fishermen. Reflective tails on the trailing trouble hook work great for stripers! Although striped bass will take artificial lures, the best way to hook into a truly big fish is by using natural bait. Another ticket is to “wake” a bait across the surface. Live bait such as herring, menhaden, mackerel, eels, squid, clams, anchovies, bloodworms, shad, nightcrawlers and sandworms all make great bait for striped bass fishing. But the edict ended up being a serendipitous one because where herring numbers have increased, striped bass have taken notice. Rather, the sudden appearance of this substantial food source is often a catalyst that awakens holdover stripers. Depending on the depth and strength of the current, just the weight of the bait is often enough to cast and carry the hook down through the currents and down towards the feeding fish. Glass Ghost is a shiny white lure with red highlights which does a great job of matching the color and appearance of shad. The parachute jig has probably produced more stripers than any other wire-line lure. So the more you know about forage base fish in your favorite striped bass fishing hole, the better your chance of catching more striped bass. Another great article by you guys over there…thank you!! For one, pick up the speed. Their size was just right to lob out from shore. It is a floating spook style lure built to work the surface. Without bait, there will be no striper….no fish. Unlike most other lures fished on wire, the parachute should be jigged for the best results. For sure spring striper action, hit the herring runs with an arsenal of artificial lures. No better bait, moratorium is a bummer but much needed. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *, Copyright © 2020 On The Water, LLC. Stripers will take a variety of live offerings, from baitfish and eels to crustaceans and squid. I’ve used the Sebile Soft Magic Swimmer when the bass are stacked nose to a spillway or other structure, and they will belt it as soon as it hits the water, and the lure’s snag-proof rigging is beneficial when you’re working it through a minefield of structure. By throwing the lure into deeper water, allowing it Required fields are marked *, Copyright © 2020 On The Water, LLC. If you plan on fishing for striper in the coastal phase of their migration, the best lures are those expressly designed for use in saltwater. How To Fish: Pick the weigh size and color you prefer and drop down to the desired depth. This lure is a good option for shore anglers seeking extra distance or the need to fish deeper in the water column. Tips & Tricks for Herring Run Stripers. A lot has changed in the 20 years that I’ve been fishing for striped bass. They work and don’t cause the damage that a single treble hook does. Minnow-style plugs like the Mambo Minnow, Shimano Colt Sniper, and Cotton Cordell Red Fin make good herring imitations as well. If your interest in herring runs post-moratorium went the way of your herring basket, it may be time to reconsider. Works like a charm on the days when you can get to fill the live well. All Rights Reserved. Two species of fish in the Northeast are collectively referred to as river herring: the alewife and the blueback. Lures with a dark-blue back and white-to-silver sides are the closest representation of an actual herring’s color, but an all-white lure seems to perform as well as (if not better than) any other color when herring are abundant. For more consistent results, live bait is recommended – 4 to 6-inch minnows or shad and blueback herring where legal (available at many local bait and tackle shops). Have you used any Hogy products to imitate Herring? All Rights Reserved. by Ron Powers May 19, 2014. Blue-black to blue-green dorsal color, eye width equal to distance from front of eye to tip of snout, dark spot behind gill cover is less distinct, lining of body cavity is dark colored, belly sharp (saw-toothed). This is good news for herring, stripers, and fishermen. When a striped bass strikes the herring release several feet of line to give the striped bass the time to swallow the herring. Their popularity comes and goes. Wellfleet : with schools of herring swimming around in later May to mid-June, look to the seagulls for confirmation that the striped bass is close. Give me a May downpour and I will clear my schedule to fish a river that holds herring that night. Striped Bass Rigs. They are very effective for vertical jigging for striped bass but the lighter versions can be cast from the beach. Fisherman would net the herring and store them in aerated containers. Mojo Lures Imitate: Large Bait Offering – Adult Bunker, Squid, Mackerel, Herring. Many diamond jigs come rigged with treble hooks, but re-rigging with single hooks will often help you hook, and land, more fish. A Red Fin retrieved slowly enough that it stays right on the surface will draw violent strikes from herring-crazed stripers. If a river is tidal, the first major structure that stems the tide, whether it is a bridge, dam, island, reef or spillway, can be pure magic. Bait the hook using a chunk of herring or mackerel, or pieces of clam. Spoon lures are among the most popular artificial lures. When false dawn is at hand, I prefer brightening the color palette a bit and opt for chartreuse, yellow, glow or parrot. New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island also have a moratorium on this baitfish. Sometimes you can call it; inevitably, when that shoreline veers closer to deeper water, bass will blast the bait. These large profile lures make great imitations of large baitfish like herring or bunker. I’m not sold on lures with “herring” color patterns being necessary. Good to see numbers rising . Look for river herring to be swimming right next to bridge abutments, pilings, piers, wharfs, locks and any other object that makes them feel more secure. Healthy herring runs that cross paths with migrating striped bass now make for some explosive spring angling opportunities for shore-bound anglers, and those who have adapted consider that seismic shift among the best things that ever could have happened to spring striper fishing. The key to locating hybrid striped bass is to find where lots of bait is located. Delaware River moratorium as well. Time your trip so it coincides with a flooding tide at night or first light so that you are casting your offering at the base of structure not yet breached by the rising tide. ... Menhaden for Striped Bass - Duration: 8:58. Do a little planning and strategizing so that when the herring move upstream from one spot, you can move to another farther upstream where other obstacles thwart their escape. Blueback herring spawn later in the spring (late April through June), when water temperature reaches about 57F. But river herring have fallen on hard times, and closures have put them off-limits as bait. River is loaded with herring. Anglers with boats should cast to the shoreline or try trolling these artificial lures. Size. A faster-than-normal retrieve will give a striper less time to inspect an artificial lure. Choose the right bait. Grows to 15 inches, generally larger than bluebacks. Shorelines are often viewed by herring as far less risky than open water. They are similar in appearance and both species are anadromous, mean- ing they are born in freshwater, spend the majority of their lives in the ocean, and return to freshwater to spawn. In the wintertime striped bass are typically found at depths over 20 feet deep. Once the mackerel start getting bigger, in mid-June, you will want to opt for a little bit bigger bait as that is when the bigger striper will start showing up as well. Theyre are in Virginia and Maryland in the winter time and migrate North of New Jersey in the Summertime. There are about 100 herring runs in Massachusetts, according to the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries, with her-ring returns in each run varying from thou- sands to millions. Striped bass is a popular game fish found in the nearshore waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. 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