Striper Saltwater

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September 19th, 2005

Striper Saltwater

4 Baitfish Streamer Musky Pike bass Saltwater Striper I

$8.00

4 Baitfish Streamer Musky Pike bass Saltwater Striper H

$8.00

Rhode Island Saltwater Striped Bass Behaviour And Habits

Everyone loves fishing for stripers. There is something about them that appeals to everyone who fishes saltwater in Rhode Island. The Ocean state is blessed with very good fishing overall and many people come here from Mass, Conn, NY, NJ, and Penn to fish and vacation here. Knowing a little about the habits of these fish can help you catch more of them.

Bass are not high speed swimmers. They are good at short bursts during which they can go very fast, but cannot maintain those speeds over any distance. Like many migratory species, they will use tidal currents to help them get where they want to go. During the spring when they first arrive in our waters, they are full of energy and will chase large schools of bait for miles, feeding as they go. These are good times when pretty much anything you put in the water will catch them, and they are very abundent and aggressive. Once the bait settles in and finds places to hide out or moves on, so too do the bass settle in. Then it becomes more difficult to find them during the daylight hours. Bass have very large eyes and no eyelids, their eyes are not exaclty like ours in that they cannot adjust as well to the bright full-day sunlight. Striper eyes are very good for seeing in low light and night conditions. They also feed more actively during the day when its foggy or overcast, since this reduces the light level available. So if it’s a bright sunny July day and around 11:00am, probably not a good time to choose to get out there and catch stripers. If its going to be overcast and gloomy all morning, this is a great time to get out there and target them. Nighttime is also another good time to fish for stripers, but the low visibility also brings danger to the boater and fisherman from rocks, bouys, other boats, etc.

Striped Bass, like many Saltwater fish species, have a lateral line organ which they use to sense vibrations in the water. They can sense vibrations out to a good distance, because water transmits these vibrations much farther than air would. This is how they first zero in on a prospective meal. Contrary to what most anglers may think, the last sense they use to decide to make a strike is visual. When in an area of extremely strong current, the current itself causes so much vibration that the bass will be forced to use visual acquisition or smell only, making it much harder to catch them. I can hear some of you naysaying, but for those of us who dive in New England waters, we can attest to the very poor visibility, especially as you go deeper. At 40′ depth, a good day and very clear water will give you around 10′ of visibility. If it’s not clear, this can easily drop to 3′. If we consider the average around 6′, you can see it might be very difficult to get your offering within visual range of a striper. Rattles, violent movement, hefty jigging with a parachute jig, these all send out waves of vibrations that bass can detect and zero in on. Virtually any plug designed for bass fishing has rattles in it, so there must be something to it.

In the early morning light does not penetrate very far into the water and bass can be found chasing what bait there may be in very shallow water. The bait seeks the shallow water in an attempt to avoid the predators. As the sun gets higher in the sky, bass will move into deeper water to avoid the bright light. So when you first start fishing, fish shallow water and as the sun gets higher you move into deeper water.

Where will you find bass? Usually around structure, such as drop offs, high points, boulders, rocks, and reefs, especially where there is a good tidal current that runs past. The bait that bass feed on also use current to aid them when they travel and will also use reefs and rocks to hide from predators. Bass can be very aggressive and chase bait, but much of the time they will wait in ambush for a bait to sweep by or come out of hiding so they can pounce on it. This is why current can be so important to feeding, and why when the tide runs out fishing can turn off like a light switch. Stripers will often cruise the shallow edge of the beach in the early morning, following the direction of the tide looking for bait. Don’t forget that a sharp eye should be kept for bass feeding on bait at the surface, since this happens very often and can hard to spot at a distance. You should always have an 8×50 or 10×50 pair of binoculars on board your boat for long-range searching. Anything stronger is very hard to use on a boat unless it is internally stabilized.

In shallow waters, engine noise is something to consider as it can spook the bass and drive them off. Very loud engines can still drive them away in deeper water. If your drifting and plugging or jigging, its best to turn the motor off and fish that way.

About the Author

Chris Bell has fished Rhode Island waters for 11 years. Before that he was a writer and PC administrator. He now guides Rhode Island fishing charters out of Jerusalem on several boats and in the winter writes on various aspects of fishing for stripers, flounder, and other species and fishing techniques.

Striper Fishing – How to Catch Striped Bass

The striper fish is also referred to as the striped bass or the rockfish. It is a very popular species of fish that many anglers search for regularly. Striper fish can put up a pretty good struggle making reeling them in a challenge that is fun and exciting. They are fished for both fun and entertainment and for commercial use. The striper is considered to be one of the most delicious foods available today and it is served in many fine restaurants.

Stripers have a large mouth with jaws that reach backward below the eyes. It has two spines on its gill cover and the first dorsal fin has very sharp spines that you need to try to avoid. Its belly is a silver color and the upper body is a blue to dark olive color. They will also have seven or eight thin stripes that begin at the back of their head and extend all the way to the base of their tail.

Tips for Catching Stripers

Are you searching for tips that can help you catch more stripers each time you go out on a fishing trip? If so, the following tips are simple and should be quite useful. Trolling is a good method to use when you go striper fishing. When trolling you need to try and keep your line and bait about 100 yards behind your boat for the best results. This will prevent the fish from being disturbed and scared away by your engine. It is also recommended that you keep your boat moving at a steady but very slow pace at all times.

Casting is another technique that is used frequently to catch stripers. It is one of the most popular techniques to use because it can be done anywhere by anglers of all ages and skill levels. You can practice the art of casting from a boat, from the shore, from a pier or even into a wave. Cast into the tide when saltwater fishing and keep your bait as close to structures as you can for the best results.

Surf fishing and drift fishing are two more great techniques that many anglers have wonderful results using. These are simple techniques that when done correctly will help you bring home the limit you are allowed each time you go out on the water no matter where you are striper fishing.

There is a variety of different baits that can be used successfully when striper fishing. Some of the most popular baits used are listed below to give you an idea of what other anglers have had great results using.

Sardines
Mudsuckers
Threadfin Shad
Bullheads
Anchovies
Shiners
Shrimp
Blood Worms

Stripers eat a wide assortment of different foods that include crabs, flounder, menhaden, smelt, eels, soft clams and squid to name a few. Using bait that resembles their natural food source as much as possible will always get you the best results. Many of the modern lures closely resemble the different foods consumed by fish making it fairly easy to trick them into taking your bait.

About the Author

Dan Eggertsen is a fishing researcher and enthusiast who is committed to providing the best saltwater fishing information possible. Get more information on Saltwater Striper fishing here: http://www.asksaltwaterfishing.com/