When tactical changes are like adapting to weather, always bring an umbrella.
Barnegat Inlet will throw a curveball at most any time in the count. Light winds with just a hint of east or south can turn the best and optimistic angler into a grouch really fast, and weather systems over a hundred of miles away will send swell right down the pike making an ocean excursion preposterous.
And let’s not forget the full and new moon which will stack waves at the inlet’s mouth with hard-charging outgoing water. I have the utmost respect for the ocean and Barnegat Inlet. I’ve turned around many times after passing the lighthouse with the decision to try another day.
After 30 years as a special education teacher in New Jersey’s public schools I thought I’d have more time to ply the water during the fall run. However, my new career (actually I’ve done this for 40 years) as a full-time mason/carpenter doesn’t quite leave me with an overabundance of opportunities. So, with an uncharacteristic week off at the end of last October I was ready to cash in on some much needed rod bending.
The cow stripers known for leading the charge down the coast were chewing hard.
Try & Try Again
The marine forecast wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t the worst either. I have a number of recently retired friends who jump at the opportunity to go and I gave my longtime friend a call. He eagerly accepted the invite but reminded me this was a new type of angling experience for him. Back bay flounder and sea bass fishing had been the extent of his trips. To say that I was excited to introduce him to my passion is an understatement.
We left the dock with fevered anticipation and on the way out I recounted the catches my friends had been making on recent trips and he was completely wide-eyed. However, as I passed the lighthouse and watched a larger boat round the monument I too was goggle-eyed. An unexpected swell was mixed in with a hard-charging outgoing and it wasn’t in the cards for my boat. I preach safety and respect for the ocean and I let my friend know we have a lifetime and the rest of the season to target these fish. We prowled the back bay unsuccessfully for a few hours before heading back in.
A few weeks later the stars aligned and we were able to get out. I always carry a number of casting options which include poppers, metal lips, jigs, and swim shads. Additionally, trolling rods and various tackle to tow are always onboard. The first sign of bait north of the inlet had stripers blitzing sporadically and a number of boats were running and gunning for them. However, my friend being a novice and not the most aggressive of casters, made running and gunning fruitless. Although this skilled and frantic tactic was off the table I had a different plan. I’m not one to compete with hordes of boats rushing up on blitzing bass for a number of reasons and having a novice with limited casting ability was at the top of my list.
On The Move
I assured my friend he would soon get in on the fun as I wasn’t letting anything rain on our long anticipated parade. I motored out to the edge of the fleet and unveiled my tried and true umbrella rigs. From my earliest days of chasing stripers these have proven time and again to be incredible. Though there were at least 100 boats, I pointed out that only a small percentage was hooking up. The aggressive captains were doing their best to run down the blow-ups and the rest were jigging. All great tactics but it was evident the umbrella was about to shine.
I’m partial to the 9er rigs with 6-inch shads in black and white or chartreuse. I even blend the colors on a few of my rigs and have seen days when that change is highly effective. My gear consists of 6-1/2-foot medium heavy conventional rods with Penn and similar level wind reels to match. I keep them spooled with 50- to 80-pound braid and we have yet to tangle with a striper this gear could not handle. Additionally, novice anglers and young children have very little trouble mastering these reels.
Before deploying the rig we add a drail trolling weight of 8-1/2 ounces to the front of the umbrella. Boat speed varies depending on which way the tide is flowing but a speed of 3.5 knots is a fantastic starting point. We typically let them out about 100 to 150 feet behind the boat depending on depth. Most of the water we fish is between the 30- and 70-foot range. New anglers enjoy the sound of the clicker going off to indicate a fish is on and it adds a bit of excitement.
At times we put the poles in the back rod holders but outrodders help a bit to keep the umbrellas separated and tangle free during wide sweeping turns. It’s important to remember that during a turn the speed at which the umbrella rig is traveling slows a bit, so we bump our speed to around 4 to 4.5 knots until the lines are straight again.
It’s not uncommon to have multiple fish on the same umbrella and we hooked into many doubles on the outskirts of the fleet that day. One of the added bonuses is that you never know what size fish takes the shad and trophy-class stripers in the 30- to 40-pound plus range are frequently boated. I recently took an 11-year-old on his first trip and his very first striper was in that class. Talk about smiles all around!
The fall run can be synonymous with balmy weather or cold weather depending on the day. Your crewmates will find that trolling umbrellas affords them the opportunity to keep their hands warm between strikes which is an added bonus heading into December for sure. During this time of year the sand eels are thick as cord wood, so changing the shads out for eels can often result in a very hand-warming catch if action slows.
I don’t fancy myself as a striped bass expert but I do have a passion for success and loathe failure. If your local inlet affords you the opportunity to experience the fall run do not hesitate to troll those umbrella rigs. It is a dynamite tactic which shines when the fishing is fantastic and also will save the day when the action slows.
And it can be a tremendous way to introduce a new angler to our sport and hook them for life!
