Some extra-large stripers have staged up off New Jersey, while more and bigger fish continue to hit New England. Bunker remains scarce, making live-bait acquisition difficult for anglers, but the stripers have seemed happy to focus on herring and rain bait, which has been abundant.
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Striper fishing is back open in the Chesapeake, and anglers in the lower bay are looking to catch the fish as they work their way out of the bay. A bulk of the large, post-spawn fish have already left, and are turning up on ocean beaches from Maryland to New York.
The South Jersey surf is seeing some good-sized stripers over the last week. Fish to 40 inches on the open beaches and inlets. There still seem to be big bass in the Delaware Bay as well, as anglers fishing bait continue to see 40-inch plus stripers moving through.
Anglers fishing the Raritan are finding mainly small, finicky stripers, but it’s a different story on the ocean side. Bass from 40 to 50 inches are moving through, but several anglers have commented on the skinny appearance, blaming the lack of bunker. Without sufficient food, these bass may push north in search of bait. Fortunately, some anglers have noted a slight improvement in the numbers of bunker moving in.
An influx of 20- to 30-pounders hit Long Island Sound this week, with captains crediting the new moon for kicking the fishing into high gear. On the South Shore are enjoying good fishing all the way out to Montauk. There’s more quantity than quality farther east at the moment, but the big bass are piling into the western end of the island, and will be swimming east soon.
Fish to 40 inches are hitting the Connecticut rivers, and are aggressively striking topwaters.
The fishing in Narragansett Bay is still going strong, despite the lack of bunker. Fish in excess of 30 pounds have been reported.
Some larger stripers have been reported in lower Buzzards Bay, while slot-size and larger fish are increasing in number from the South Shore on up to Boston. Stripers of 40-plus inches have been reported feeding on rain bait all the way up to the North Shore.
Stripers were seen blasting baitfish under terns in New Hampshire and Maine this week, with fish over 30 inches in the mix.
