The last good push of stripers will come during the month of November.
It’s a clear morning and the winds are light out of the north. The air temperature is a cool 50, making for a desirable day on the water. Stripers have been moving west for a few weeks, and the stocks are running through. There are definitely still a lot of fish to be caught as they make their final 2024 western run. The season closes in a little over a month, so this may be your last push at catching them. I can tell you one thing, there is still a lot of bait around, and so we could see fish well into the end of November, and past the December close. Keep in mind, striped bass can be targeted after the season, but must be released immediately.
Where Are They?
That is a key question striper hounds across the Northeast always convey to one another as the year winds down. Anglers are always asking, have they left Block? How about Montauk? Any good reports coming from the Shinnecock area and down the line? Stripers begin their migration and the biggest element that will keep them along the shore is bait and weather. As the late Fred Golofaro always told me, “If we get snow in late November or early December, it’s over!” And, for the most part that holds true for surf anglers, but not necessarily for boaters. When Fred and I used to talk about snow, it was for the surf crowd and what it translated to was that if we get snow, the waters cool down rapidly, especially in the bay, and baitfish of all types exit immediately and head south.
However, the savvy boat captain, whether it be recreational, charter or party boat always know the bass will still be available… if you want to brave the conditions. Trust me, 50 degrees may not seem that cold, but add in cloud cover, some wind, and it can get downright uncomfortable on the water towards the end of the month.
Finding striped bass in the latter part of the season, a lot of times, is the reliance on your boats electronics, but I have also found over the years, as have many others, following birds is a good option too. Large gannets will be feeding on large baits, smaller gulls and the likes will be on baitfish of the smaller variety for the most part.
To locate bass for the recreational crowd, I feel you have to use a lot of combinations until you find them. The first would be to read reports from fellow anglers who have been fishing. The second is watch the weather and try and pick a day where winds are northerly, but light that have followed south winds from previous days. The third would be watching bird activity, in combination with your electronics. I remember several years ago fishing with my son-in-law Isa and good buddy Charlie Murray. There were a ton of boats outside Fire Island, with some guys catching, while others watched. They were all chasing blow-ups of smaller fish chasing bait, which was a tough road. All I did was work my electronics and found ball after ball of sand eels. When we found them, we dropped jigs and scored well!
Diamond Jigs And Poppers
As the season winds down, most action will be on herring and sand eels/butterfish, and with this, the best methods will be spinning tackle with poppers or Diamond Jigs on conventional gear. I was taught how to Diamond Jig from one of the original Long Island Fisherman Editors – the late Scott Simons. Scott was a master, and would usually out-fish the majority of anglers utilizing jigs. Diamond Jigs can be fished with various retrieves. For me, I utilize Scott’s time honed technique. And, as simple as it may seem, it produces! Drop your jig to the bottom, crank three to five turns fast, drop back and repeat. The key is to keep the Diamond Jig vertical to the boat and not let it “scope” out away. In today’s world of hi-tech electronics you can go one better. Find the bait, then drop your jig to that depth, crank, three, drop and repeat.
If fish are surface feeding, then poppers will always get the nod in my book. There is nothing like a popper getting crashed by a bass – large or small. The ferociousness is thrilling. Fishing poppers, though, does not guarantee hook-ups. There will be a lot of swings and misses if you do not pay attention. For me, fishing poppers is one of my favorite ways to fish. The cadence you impart on the popper is what I like, as it means “you” are doing it right. It does not matter where you are fishing in my opinion as I use the same approach. I will always cast outside the edge of surfacing fish, ahead of where they appear to be moving or behind as they depart to grab the stragglers, which sometimes could be the larger fish. As for “popping,” standard poppers need to have that “good pop” pause to them. This good “pop” is what a bass reacts too as it is the instant a wounded or dying baitfish is making its last ditch effort for survival.
The Captain’s Choice
I was recently speaking with Capt. Walter Czekaj of the Captree-based Fishfinder II. In my opinion, Captain Walter is one of the best striped bass captains in our area. If you want to catch striped bass, and not just in the fall, Walter and the Fishfinder II is the boat to hit.
I wanted to know first-hand from Walter what he feels are the keys to late fall action for striped bass.
Question: What is the main deal with water temperature for striped bass?
Capt. Walter: “I catch striped bass throughout the year, and in fact, have broken ice to find fish. Stripers will feed in all water temperatures. The key is the “right” water temperature for optimal feeding. In my opinion, bass are most active between 50 and 60 degrees. On the downside, once the water hits 40, they really slow down and are very, very difficult to catch.”
Question: In the fall, our region sees a lot of different baits stripers love – bunker, mullet, sand eels, butterfish, squid and herring. Is there a primary bait in late fall?
Capt. Walter: “I feel striper action – bait wise – can be broken down to September/October – adult and peanut bunker and mullet. October/November the sand eels and butterfish could show up, which will be their main diet. As the ending months approach, herring will be the choice. You will know herring are around once droves of gannets appear.”
Question: What is the best way to find stripers?
Capt. Walter: “Tom, it is a simple answer – ‘bait equals bass!’ If you are not locating bait, you will not catch any stripers, it is that simple. You can use your electronics or look for bait spraying on the surface, either way, you need the bait.”
Question: What is the best method to catch late season stripers, particularly when herring arrive, and how?
Capt. Walter: “Diamond Jigs will out-catch anything in the ocean when the herring arrive. As for the correct way to employ a Diamond Jig, I like squidding, which is drop the jig to the bottom, then crank 5 turns. Try this several times then maybe go to the bottom, then all the way to the top. By varying, or when the captain suggests differently, you can home in on what water depth the bass are feeding at.”
Tackle – It Makes A Difference!
Tackle is critical when targeting last inning stripers. These bass, for the most part, are not going to be over 20 pounds, with most in the 15 to 30-inch class. Using beefy sticks with heavy mono or braid is not needed, and could hinder your presentation.
One of the best ways to target bass is a spinning reel with a popping plug. These fish are still active, and will chase and explode on a popper, even as the waters get cold. Just last year, our own Capt. John Raguso of MarCeeJay Charters had a blast. John was using a Tsunami surface popper, fished on a Maxel Ocean Max Rod and Penn Clash size 5000 reel. John had numerous fish on the day, with bass in the slot class the norm.
For me, I love the Penn Battalion rod rated for 15-40 and Abu-Garcia 6500C spooled with 20-pound braid and 20 to 30-pound Ande monofilament leader. I will also carry another one of these with a 6500C spooled with 30-pound braid and 40-pound Ande pink mono leader. The second rod and reel should be a spinning set-up like the one Capt. John Raguso was using. The rod has enough backbone to best larger fish, but also a taper that allows for working poppers properly. I like a spinning rod in the 7 foot 6-inch length as it allows for good casting distance and helps bringing the bass to net.
The season is coming to the last good push, and unless you want to try and catch bass after it gets ridiculously cold, hit the water now and get your fill. The season closes December 15th, but you can still target stripers on a catch and release basis after that.
