Striped Bass Fishing Tips

Would you like to learn how to catch more striped bass? Are you looking for striped bass fishing tips to become more successful with fishing for striped bass? Striped bass is one of the most sought-after gamefish in the United States.

They are constantly on the move and behave unpredictably at times. In this article, we share striped bass fishing tips to help you catch more striped bass.

How To Catch Striped Bass

1. Trolling

Trolling is a fishing method in which the bait on the line is attached at the back of the boat as the boat moves slowly in the water. Trolling allows the angler to cover a lot of water in a very good period of time. When trolling, you first have to identify areas where you think striped bass are located.  Live bait or lures can be used when trolling.

2. Fly Fishing

Fly fishing is another fishing method that can be used to catch striped bass although fly fishing is more difficult than the regular fishing methods used by anglers.  Fly fishing requires a skill level that you have to acquire from fly fishing for a period of time.  It requires a combination of patience, skill, knowledge, and precision.

3. Surf Fishing

Surf fishing can also be used to catch striped bass. You can fish for striped bass from the shore. Live bait, lures, surf rigs, and flies are used when surf fishing.

4. Night Fishing

Night fishing is more productive for many anglers as the fish is less wary during the night. Its predators are not around at night and this allows most fish to be more active and feed during the night.

Striped Bass Fishing Tackle

A 7 to 9-foot rod rated for 2 ounces paired with a 3000 to 5000-size reel with a 20 to 30-pound test will work for catching striped bass.  For catching large stripers, a 10 to 11-foot rod rated for 4 to 8 ounces with a 5000 to 8000-size reel, a 40-pound braided line, and a leader will get the job done.

How To Catch Striped Bass From Shore

When fishing for striped bass from the shore, study the water to find where there are strong currents. Striped bass like waters with strong currents as they are built that allow them to overwhelm their prey in waters with strong currents.

Where there are strong currents striped bass will not shy away. It is the perfect place where they can ambush their prey since they have thick, muscular bodies.

Small channels and tidal rivers, troughs, sand beaches, and bowls are places where striped bass will ambush their prey. If you find small tidal rivers and channels that empty into the ocean, striped bass will be there feeding on baitfish.

If there are rip currents or breaks in sand bars, the current created by the water that is moving in and out flushes out baitfish which presents easy meals for striped bass.

During the spring and fall, target the outgoing tide and during the summer, fish the incoming current as striped bass like cooler water. When fishing for striped bass, observe the direction of the wind and look for spots where the wind is hitting directly into your face.

That will be a good spot as the wind will wash baitfish into that direction and striped bass will position itself in that area to get a lot of free meals of baitfish. Cast your baits or lures around the edges of the current which is better, although you can cast them directly into the current.

How To Catch Striped Bass From A Boat

Fishing for striped bass from a boat can be very rewarding. Anglers often search fish finders and sonar devices for areas where striped bass are located. Then they target them using different fishing methods.

Anglers often locate shore points, bridge pilings, jetties, and sand bars. Then they cast plugs or other lures close to these structures targeting striped bass.

Additionally, early in the morning, anglers will cast plugs or other lures to the edge of sod banks within the estuaries along the east coast.

Drift fishing is also used when fishing for striped bass. Live bait or lures are used when drifting for striped bass. Additionally, drifting over structures or lumps on the bottom can also prove rewarding when fishing for striped bass.

Trolling using deep diving plugs, spoons, worms or rigged baits is another way to target striped bass. Jigging and chumming with clams can also be very productive when fishing for striped bass.

How To Catch Striped Bass In Rivers

When fishing for striped bass in rivers, try to locate structures like jetties, sand bars, and shore points. Additionally, striped bass likes to prey on clams. If you can locate clam beds, you can anchor them and fish for striped bass using clams as bait. Usually after a storm, anglers will anchor over the clam bed as striped bass will be feeding on broken clams.

This presents an ideal situation to use clam as bait and catch striped bass. Talk with other anglers in the area, as well as the people at the local tackle shops about where clam beds are located. You can also contact the fishery authorities for that information.

Trolling, chumming, drift fishing, jigging, and casting are fishing methods that you can use to catch striped bass. Lures and baits are used when fishing for striped bass in a river.

How To Catch Striped Bass From Pier

When fishing for striped bass from a pier, you can use chumming to attract them closer to you. When they are close, then you can drop your bait and when they bite, set the hook and reel them in.

When fishing for striped bass from the pier, you will have to be fast after chumming as there will be many close by and that will be your opportunity to catch many. Bridge pilings are other structures that you can target when fishing for striped bass.

How To Catch Striped Bass In Maine

During spring and fall, striped bass moves up and down the east coast. When fishing for striped bass in Maine, look for structures like jetties, sand bars, points, and shore points.

Additionally, use your fish finder to pinpoint areas where they may be hanging out. Trolling, drifting, jigging, casting, and chumming are fishing methods that you can use with baits and lures to catch striped bass.

How To Catch Striped Bass In Long Island Sound

Long Island may not be widely known for its waters and what lies in them, but Long Island has diverse species of fish that will keep anglers fishing all day. Striped bass is one species of fish that you can find anywhere in the waters of Long Island.

There are many ways you can fish for striped bass on Long Island Sound or any other part of Long Island. Trolling is one of the popular fishing methods used when targeting striped bass on Long Island Sound. Live baits, jigs, spoons, plugs, and rigged baits are used when fishing for striped bass on Long Island Sound.

Baitcasting, fly fishing, chumming, and drift fishing are all fishing methods you can use to catch striped bass on Long Island Sound. It is good to hire an experienced guide to guide you on your fishing trip.

How To Catch Striped Bass At Night

Fishing for striped bass at night or at dawn and dusk can be more productive than during the day. Striped bass feeds heavily at night as the fishing pressure is reduced. Additionally, larger fish will be out at night feeding which will increase your chances of catching the large ones.

Use a headlamp or other light to help you see into the water. However, use a red light; not white light, and don’t shine the light on the water as that will spook the fish and they will leave. Chumming and baitcasting are fishing methods that can be used when fishing at night.

Striped Bass Fishing Tips

1. Early April to late September is the best time to catch striped bass.

2. Striped bass will move to deeper waters on reefs and ledges with cooler water during the summer.

3. During the spring and fall when striped bass migrates, they feed on large schools of bait which renders them vulnerable as there are scenarios where a lot of fish can be caught in a limited period of time. Reefs, bridges, inlets, boulder fields, mouths of rivers, and breach ways are places where you can catch the striped bass.

4. Documenting everything about striped bass, where they reside, what they eat, the time of the year, wind direction, water temperature, moon cycles, tides, bait, lures, weather conditions, etc. helps you identify their patterns and behavior to be successful in catching them.

5. Learning the time of the day that striped bass feed, the bait, their level of activity, and prevailing conditions help you to catch striped bass.

6. Striped bass move to muddy and sandy shallow flats where the water temperature is warmer than other surrounding areas.

7. The moon cycles play a key role in catching striped bass. Three days before a new or full moon and three days after delivers the best fishing due to more vertical water movement. Studying the phases of the moon is good for anglers.

8. Winds affect the behavior of striped bass and learning that will help in catching them as they tend to feed aggressively on schools of baitfish after strong winds in late August and the fall.

9. Striped bass anglers focus on creeks, estuaries, bays, and tidal rivers in early spring. As they began migrating in spring, they swim northward in schools that are ideal for surf and beach fishing. In the summer, they look for cooler waters as the bays, rivers, and estuaries contain lower levels of oxygen due to increases in the water temperature.

10. Water temperatures between 50 and 70 degrees are ideal for striped bass. They start leaving when the water temperature gets closer to 48 to 50 degrees.

11. You can catch striped bass in the winter in places where they “holdover” until they realize it’s time to migrate north.

12. In the beginning and late stages of the season when schools of stripe bass are everywhere, high-low rigs become popular. During this period, anglers catch many.

13. Using live bait from the area is a tried and tested method to catch striped bass. They eat baitfish, marine organisms, and shellfish in the area.

14. Use a non-offset circle hook when fishing for striped bass with bait. it reduces the mortality rates by minimizing the instances of the bass swallowing bait and getting hooked in the stomach.

15. Some of the newest lures have built-in scents to get the fish to strike. Attach an artificial lure to the end of your fishing line.

16. Fishing at night can sometimes prove to be more productive than daytime if you fish in an area with a lot of boat traffic and noise during the day. Striped bass will stop feeding if there are loud noises and heavy boat traffic.

17. Large striped bass will move to shallow water when it gets dark. This presents an opportunity for shore and surf anglers. The lure retrieve speeds are slower at this time of fishing.

18. By increasing the speed of the retrieve will trigger strikes from striped bass that are feeding in clear water. This fast motion prevents the fish from scrutinizing the lure and it will arouse their predatory instincts if they are looking for prey.

19. Take advantage of white-water nearby if striped bass is skittish about falling for an artificial lure in clear water. Resort to fish in the white water instead.

20. When you are feeding stripers, certain colors do a better job than others. it is best to use baits and lures that imitate the baitfish in the area.

How To Catch Striped Bass From Shore

With a weighted slider, you can fish for striped bass from the shore by casting up tide and bringing your tip down to a 45-degree angle. With a medium retrieve, you can begin to pull in and see if that will get the attention of the stripers.

Alternate between a medium and fast retrieve and then back to a medium retrieve to mimic a fleeing bait fish. This is just one way of fishing for stripers on the shore. There are many options with different baits and lures.

Best Striped Bass Baits

1. Sand Worms

Sandworms are used by anglers to catch striped bass.

2. Menhaden

Menhaden is one of the best baits for striped bass.

3. Herring

Herring is one of the most effective baits for striped bass and other fish as well.

4. Live Eels

Live eels are a great live bait for striped bass and other fish like cobia.

5. Porgy

Porgies, like sandworms, are one of the popular baits used for striped bass.

5. Mackerel

Mackerel is one of the most popular live baits for striped bass north of Cape Cod.

6. Bloodworms

Bloodworms and sandworms are very effective baits for striped bass.

7. Clams

Clams are used to attract hungry striped bass.

8. Squid

Squid and sea clams are bottom-fishing baits for striped bass.

Best Striped Bass Artificial Lures

1. Poppers

Poppers are one of the best lures for striped bass.

2. Minnow Swimmers

Minnow swimmers are one of the most popular and effective lures for striped bass.

3. Plugs

Plugs are irresistible for striped bass.

4. Bucktails

Bucktail jigs are one of the most effective ways to catch striped bass with lures.

5. Diamond Jigs

Diamond jigs work well for catching striped bass when you are using sand eels as the main bait.

6. Spoons

Spoons are also used to catch striped bass.

7. Soft Plastics

Soft plastics work well for striped bass fishing.

The Bottom Line

Striped bass is a migratory fish that is unpredictable. It is one of the most sought-after fish by anglers. Whether you are a beginner or have a lot of experience, striped bass fishing tips, like fly fishing tips, will help you learn how to catch more striped bass. If you also fish for shad, then this article about shad fishing tips will help you be more successful fishing for shad.