North East Stripers

[gregory2327]

Is anyone on this board fishing for stripers in the north east? I just got into kayak fishing for stripers and have had some success in the early morning and at night. What do you do in he mid morning/afternoon to catch them?

[lpquick]

Years ago we would be in 5 - 10’ water, treble hook a live mackerel or Pogey just behind the dorsal fin with 30lb. mono and free drag on a clicker. I would attach a small penny ballon with an elastic band about 3 to 4’ above the bait. Sit back relax and prepare yourself for the show. You’ll notice the bait going crazy when a striper or bluefish comes near. The bait will tire trying to drag the ballon to get away and start swimming in circles on top around the balloon. Sooner than later the striper will make his presence known by slapping the bait, sometimes clear out of the water. As soon as the stunned bait starts to move again the Bass will roll on the bait and your clicker will sing. Begin by counting to 5 allowing the fish time to turn the bait headfirst in it’s mouth to swallow. Click on the drag, lower the rod towards the fish and when you feel the fish strike fairly hard. I would carry a few x-mas trees to jig for bait like mackerel. This worked for me and my dad back in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. I haven’t been back to fish in New England since the late 90’s. We use to catch bull stripers anywhere from 30 lb.’s to over 50. I so miss this kind of fishing. A word of caution, if you have never experienced fishing Bluefish be aware they are the equivelant of piranha, when they smell blood in the water they can get in a frenzy and will attack almost anything. Keep your self out of the water. I’ve seen them destroy plugs of every make and size, cut thru mono leader like a hot knife thru butter. Stay clear until they move on.

[GARRIGA]

From a kayak, I'd try Castmaster and Hopkins spoons reeled slow. If live eels are available, you could drift them behind the yak or cast to points, eddies and known underwater structure. Also, lots of techniques that work on freshwater bass are effective. Predators are very similar regardless of the salinity in the water. Down south, guys have been using bass tackle and bass lures on Reds and Trout and now discovering hollow body frogs work in the brine. i used to target Stripers during low light conditions which included overcast/cloudy days. The worse the weather the more i wanted to be on the water.