Fish Tale: The Striped Bass

An amazing fish, one that unfortunately, has been all over the news lately. I say unfortunately because of the recent killings off the shores of North Carolina and the more than 12 tons of rockfish illegally poached in the Chesapeake Bay. Here's a video...

But, on a more positive note, this species has been (up until recent months) thriving since its near extinction decline in the 1980s where restrictions where put on fishing this beautiful fish and more limits on certain human factors that harmed their environment. The Striped Bass also known as the Rockfish or Striper has a following of over 3 million people, almost cult-like. They breed in the Spring in the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. It is most commonly found along the East Coast where it makes its enormous migration in the Fall also known as "The Run" from Maine down to North Carolina. The Fall is one of the most exciting times of the year for Striper fisherman, leading to many hours of lost sleep, deep feelings of frustration, and some of the most memorable moments of their lives.

I am currently reading David DiBenedetto's book On the Run which is all about "An Angler's Journey Down the Striper Coast" and how he follows the entire migration from start to finish meeting all sorts of fisherman and characters both famous and infamous. DiBenedetto is the article's editor for Field & Stream magazine and lives up in NY. The book is amazing, tracing all of his steps (and missteps off of rocks causing broken fingers) down the coast during the summer of 2001. To make the book all that much better, DiBenedetto is a fly fisherman, and uses this skill to catch a majority of his fish. He also ventures into the deep with a famed cameraman, out into storms with young, modern-minded guides, and "skishes" (ski fishing) with one of his great friends. I recommend the book to anyone looking for a great read. It only took me a few days to finish, it's hard to put down.

Striper fishing is one of my favorite. Born and raised on the Chesapeake Bay, I have a deep appreciation for the fish and those who fish it. When it comes to fishing them, you do have to have respect for the fish, they are smart and know how to piss you off. Stripers LOVE sand eels. Between those, bunker, silver sides, the occasional crab, and other baitfish, they can really plump up. They measure anywhere from fry (minnows) to 18" "schoolies" to a "cow" (around 40"). The world record (correct me if I'm wrong) is 73 pounds. On the Bay, we usually measure in inches but when it comes to pounds, 73 is one HUGE cow.

Common patterns fished on the fly for this bad boy basically mimmic the above baits from the Clouser Minnow to the Peanut Bunker...

Tying the Clouser Minnow.

The Peanut Bunker.

Stripers travel in schools so when they feed, they are typically in these schools or "shoals" (basically an unorganized group of Stripers). Most commonly in the Fall, feeding Stripers form whats called a "Blitz", essentially a feeding frenzy on the surface. Blitzes are easily spotted by the large group of Terns or seagulls diving from above to pick up little bits of leftover bait. Within these blitzes its not uncommon to have Bluefish (its smart to put a bite tippet on for this reason when fishing a blitz) and even out along the ocean, small Albies (Albacore Tuna). Here's some examples...

The best rod in my opinion for Striper is a longer 8wt (about 9' or more) with 8wt line, a good 4' leader with a 6" bite or shock tippet. I use my St. Croix 8wt Legend Elite with my G. Loomis Venture 7. If your wading out to the blitz which are commonly within casting distance form shore, I suggest using a stripping basket (Orvis has a great one found here). I'd also use waders primarily because the wader is pretty cold. If its not too bad (as far as water temperature goes) I'd also use wading shoes (Bass Pro has great ones found here) because of barnacles/sharp rocks and/or crabs. If fishing from a boat, I'd suggest just using the stripping basket still and a good powerful boat able to get you to a blitz when you spot it. Polarized sunglasses are a must and a good amount of pre-tied flies. If anyone is interested in flies, shoot me an email at mkupfer32@gmail.com...I do tie for a great price and will ship almost anywhere.

Although the Fall has passed, the Bass will be headed back up the coast soon enough back to the Bay. I suggest anyone who is looking for more information check out the listed resources below...happy angling and tight lines...Morgan