Striped Bass
Morone saxatilis
by George Baldwin
Also called striper, bass, rockfish, rock, squidhound Dark back, whitish belly, with about 7 or 8 lateral stripes that give it its name. Stocky shape, large scales, and broad squared tail help it to live and feed in rough water. Its sharp vision, great sense of smell, and sensitive lateral line help it to feed in the dark of night.
The striper is found in a great variety of marine environments: sandy beaches, steep rocky coast, estuaries and rivers, even in fresh water. This, and the fact that it can successfully be taken with a wide variety of methods, make it the number one quarry of surfcasters on the east coast. A population was successfully established on the west coast in the late 1800s, and now supports a fishery there from San Francisco Bay to Oregon. Locations with a combination of structure, current, and proximity to deep water typify a striper hotspot.
Though a specimen of about 120 lbs. was reportedly taken in a net in the 1880s, a 50 lb. striper is considered a large fish, with 40 lb. surf-caught fish a very worthy trophy. The world record striped bass was taken from a jetty in Atlantic City, New Jersey by Al McReynolds in September of 1982 on a 5” Rebel Windcheater after a 1hr. and 40 minute battle. A 75 pounder, the third largest on rod and reel, was taken in New Haven Harbor by Steve Franco in 1992 (from a boat on a bunker head) about 100 feet from shore, an easy cast with a surf rod.
A population crash due largely to mismanagement of striper populations led to a moratorium in the 1980s and raising of minimum size requirements to ensure a healthy breeding population. Regulations change frequently and vary from state to state, so be sure of the rules applicable to the time and location that you are fishing. Even better, learn to safely release your catch. Any bass that you land is worth much more in the water than it is on the table.
Bass up to about 28-30” are called schoolies, and hit aggressively. They are often found in dense groups, hence their nickname. Larger bass sometimes also school, but not as often, or in such numbers.
Early to mid April usually marks the return of the first schoolies from their winter homes in the Hudson River or Chesapeake Bay. They average 12 to 24”, and are found on shallow flats or in estuaries, since these areas are readily warmed by the spring sun. Some popular local spring locations include the West Haven Sand Bar, Griswold Point in Lyme, Milford Point, and local river mouths and estuaries. Afternoon fishing, after the sun has raised both the water temperatures and striper metabolisms, seems to be best. They generally feed on spearing and shrimp. Small bucktails, sand worms, shad body jigs, and finesse fish can take them, when worked slowly close to the bottom.
Larger bass start filtering in in later May or after their June spawning. Adult bass eat anything from 1/8” copepods (I caught a 37” bass full of them on Block Island) to 18” bunker or 3’ eels. They swallow their prey whole, and may crush it with pharyngeal teeth (actually modified gill arches) in their throats. Other favorite prey include shrimp, spearing, sand eels, squid, herring, and anything else that fits into that huge mouth.
As summer waters warm, they prefer deeper water, which tends to be cooler and more oxygenated. Open coast shoreline with steep beaches and deep holes are productive for the surfcaster. Bass also become more nocturnal in their feeding habits. Dawn and dusk may also be productive, as light level changes confuse baitfish. I prefer pre-dawn, as the fish have had all night to lose their fear of the shallows, and the water is cooler. Overcast days may provide some action, especially with some wave action.
Productive summer methods include fishing with chunks or live eels, Scandinavian swimmers (Redfins or Mambo minnows are hard to beat), Slug-gos or Finesse Fish, or poppers (at dusk or dawn). Bass usually prefer a slower retrieve (sometimes painstakingly so), and often prefer poppers to be “sloshed” instead of aggressively popped, but vary your retrieve until you find one that works at the moment.
Fall is time for bass to gorge themselves in preparation for fall migration. As the waters cool, daytime feeding increases (though night is still best). Baby bunker are an important bait in early fall, with poppers, Rattle Traps, shad-body jigs, and 5 inch swimmers important weapons in the surfcaster’s arsenal. Pencil poppers properly worked can be deadly.
Larger baits, such as adult bunker also come into play here, along with increased emphasis on large plugs. Gibbs’ Dannys, Atom 40s (sadly, no longer in production), 9” Slug-Gos, pencil poppers, and 7” Cordell Redfins grab the attention of larger bass. Chunks and live eels are also still deadly on the big ones.
As November moves on, schools of fish will pass through on their journey south. Surfcasters usually abandon the beach before the bass do, with some larger specimens lingering on into December, but by this time their numbers are sparse.
Winter must not necessarily be spent on maintaining tackle and mourning the passing of the season, bass may still be found wintering in the outflows of our local power plants, such as those at Bridgeport, Devon, and Montville. Slow and deep with small jigs is the key to success (which can be elusive at this time).
This article is by no means a definitive authority on striped bass fishing. It is meant to be an introduction to fishing for this great and highly accessible gamefish. Methods, lures and baits, and the fish itself were merely touched upon to serve as a starting point from which the beginner should actively seek to expand his knowledge. There are many excellent books available on the striped bass and striper fishing (see CSA Homepage link to books). Another excellent way to learn is by tapping the resources of hundreds of years of combined surfcasting experience from a club such as the Connecticut Surfcasters’ Association (see homepage link to membership info).
Enough sitting on your butt at this computer. Log off, grab your waders and your rod, and head out into the suds. Right now there are fish waiting for you, and the best learning resource is time on the water.
