From the “hook” at the Highlands to the “cape” at Henlopen, every diehard boater knows that the month of December is prime time for striped bass both in size and number. These diehards, myself included, usually are lucky enough to have accommodating marinas that let you keep your boat in the water so you can cash in on this tremendous end of the season fishery.
In December, big striped bass ranging in size from 20 to 30 pounds can make an appearance inside the legal three-mile line. Decades ago however I remember catching even bigger striped bass on a cold December’s night but it now seems like the much larger New England cows migrate past us well offshore, deep and out of sight.
Herring Aided
This run of the December big bass coincides with a migration of sea herring along the Central New Jersey coast. These baits are the Atlantic herring that many anglers jig in local inlets with sabiki rigs and then pickle, can and eat. The run of big striped bass is dependent on this forage, and the location of these baits determines the route that the fish take. If the sea herring remain offshore beyond 3 miles then the bass will too and our season will end with just much smaller fish. But if the bulk of the sea herring move inshore within 3 miles, then it can truly be a December to remember.
Sea herring travel in schools by the thousands however they are not found congregating in the surf zone. You would think that they would be in the surf since they enter our inlets and are caught there. But such is not the case. For this reason the end of the season remains a boating event. I have seen many days when surf fishermen are sitting high and dry on the beach while boaters are having a field day only a quarter mile out.
The first three weeks of December are usually when this run of sea herring and big bass materializes. Ocean temperatures are right around 48 to 50 degrees when this happens. The fishing will remain good as long as the ocean temperature holds in this range. If however, water temperatures plummet quickly below 44 degrees due to any Arctic blasts and icy northwest winds the bass and bait will both migrate out of the area.
When the sea herring run begins inshore there won’t be any doubt that it is going. Word will spread quickly throughout the fishing community that they have arrived, and big bass are being caught. Tackle shops will get weigh-ins and Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram will light up with photos and the news.
Finding where the major concentrations of sea herring are located outside of your home port is going to be the key to getting on the bass. Striped bass will push these baits to the surface causing all kinds of surface commotion and attracting a multitude of gulls and gannets; this is a highly visual topwater event. With a good pair of binoculars and possibly even by using your radar one can spot birds working over schools from a good distance away. It is not uncommon to find one area void of any bait and bass but a 5- to 10-mile run in one direction or another can put you into Hitchcock-type action.
Needless to say having a good network of communication is the key at this time of year.
The Business End
Boaters have their choice as to whether they want to catch the bass by casting big custom wood swimmers, stickbaits, poppers, shads, wide profile metals, or flies as the bass are in such a frenzy they eagerly take any of these offerings. I recommend using 40-pound fluorocarbon leader with any of these artificials, not because it is more invisible in the water than mono, which never hurts, but because it is more abrasion resistant. Many times the leader rubs against the bass’s head or gill plate during the fight, and the fluorocarbon holds up better.
There are many swimming plugs and stickbaits that can be bought over the counter that work, but at this time of year I like to break out the custom wood swimmers, poppers, or pencils that I was given or bought from the custom plug makers in my area over the years. M. Fischer poppers, Cuozzo’s Pajama Plugs, Leftys, Wades, Big Dons, McFaddens, T-Bones, and Bottomly’s top my list. New on my list in the last couple of years are Tom Brown’s JP Surfsters swimming plugs; it is an excellent plug to have. The largest plug-caught bass on my boat was on his blonde surfster caught by Max Kristiansen of Manasquan and weighed 49-1/2 pounds.
The heavy-weighted Tsunami Shad in pearl and the 10-inch white Hogy are also deadly to use. These soft baits can be cast a mile and retrieved covering a lot of water. I have had many days when multiple hook-ups have occurred several times when using these artificials. Also, 5- to 7-inch gold Krocodiles give you the same results.
Stickbaits can also be fun to use but fishing a stickbait is different from fishing an ordinary swimming plug. Stickbaits are lipless and are made to dart and slash just below and across the water when the angler imparts a low sweep with the rod followed by a quick turn of the reel to take up the slack. This motion is then repeated while varying your speed.
Fly fishers can really have an adrenaline rush now and catch bass that can make magazine covers. Casting Bob Popovics’s Beast Fleye, bucktail deceivers, or hollow fleyes or Dave Skoks’s yak hair flies, big half and halfs, and wide bodied deceivers all work. I like to use flies that are dressed with a lot of white blended in along their ventral aspect with blonde, yellow, or chartreuse on top. One can catch fish on a floating, intermediate, or a sinking line since the bass are present in the upper third of the water column.
If the wind is up however a 350- to 400-grain quick sinking line is best to use to get the fly down about 15 to 20 feet. After the cast stack mend all of the fly line in the water and wait for the line to come tight as the boat drifts away. When it’s tight start a long strip-pause retrieve.
Keepin’ It Hot
Even if the quality of big fish are absent in December one can still drive around and find pods of much smaller bass that are migrating south. Fishfinders usually light up like Christmas trees with hundreds of striped bass under the boat. It is not unusual to catch a bass on just about every cast or every time you drop a jig. With a crew of four these are truly 100-fish days for the boat.
Dress warm in several layers with a wind resistant, waterproof Stormer, Gortex, Grunden, or Helly Hanson shell as your outermost layer that covers everything that you layer underneath it. Wear waterproof gloves or have extra pairs of gloves with you in case one pair gets wet. And cover your head and especially the back of your neck as well.
Using disposable hand warmers that you can put inside your jacket pockets are a big plus. I also like to put them in my shirt and pants pockets or in between the layers of my clothing, but not directly on my body. Placing them in between your layers will help to keep you warm as you trap heat. This may just be enough to take the edge off on a cold winter day.
Be careful when you go down to the boat in the morning as a layer of skim ice may be present on the dock or on your boat deck. On some days we even had to shovel some snow out of the back of the boat. Use a plastic or PVC shovel for this.
If you are watching and not catching it’s time to get in a boat; it’s a great way to end your season.
| GEAR UP – HOLIDAY BASS ON THE FLY |
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If you’re considering getting into fly fishing for big stripers, keep in mind that you need to be prepared with a rod that can generate enough power and leverage to subdue the fish. This is no place for light tackle gear for this particular type of fly fishing; 10- to 12-weight rods like the St. Croix Legend Elite (ESW9012.4) at 9 feet and 12-weight rating, or (ESW9010.4) 9-foot 10-weight fit the bill. For reels you want a fly reel with a drag system that is able to put enough pressure on the fish without having a drag system that can fail. For this reason, I use the large arbor 9500 or 9550 Jack Charlton Mako reels. For leaders I use 6 to 8 feet of 40-pound fluorocarbon. When a bass hits the fly don’t be fooled into thinking that you have a solid hook-up as it will hit hard. You still need to impart a series of short powerful strip strikes to completely drive the hook into the hard palate of the bass. Do this while laying your rod to the side almost parallel to the water imparting a deep bend in the rod. Many beginners lose big bass as they shake their head during an ensuing fight because they fail to do this. Crushing the barbs down on your hooks also delivers better penetration. – J. Freda |
