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Long before the Europeans set foot in America, the striped bass was the most prolific fish on the Atlantic seacoast. Upon entering Chesapeake Bay in the early 1600's Capt. John Smith noted their abundance, stating that "one could walk drishod across the bay upon their backs". The Pilgrims found striped bass to be a great resource and used funds generated from the sale of striped bass to England to build the first school in New England. The Pilgrims were also the first to use the now famous method of surf casting from beaches to catch them. The size, abundance, availability, and close proximity to the shore inspired fishermen from all walks of life to pursue this beautiful yet elusive fish. The striped bass was so popular it was introduced to many freshwater lakes and in the 1800's transported to the Pacific coast where it thrives today.
Throughout the years, however, the striped bass was overfished producing serious declines in it's numbers. Great efforts were made to preserve the striped bass. Restrictions in the number and size of striped bass caught helped bring the species back from the brink of extinction. So effective, and so dedicated were those efforts that the striped bass is back in great numbers.
Here are some great books about stripers that I would strongly recommend if you would like to learn more about this fascinating American Gamefish!
| STRIPER A story of fish and man J.Cole |
STRIPER SURF, Frank Daignault |
STRIPER HOT SPOTS, Frank Daignault |
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| The STRIPED BASS, Nick Karas |
STRIPED BASS CHRONICLES, George Reiger |
STRIPED BASS FISHING, H.Lyman, F. Woolner |
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Some other good resources are:
Reading the Water, Robert Post
Striper Magic, Video, Mike Laptew
On the Water Magazine is an excellent monthly publication.
Striped bass is our most sought-after species providing great sport through catch and release fishing and great eating when you catch a "keeper". Striped bass is the largest fish available to the nearshore angler. It is anadromous, meaning that it lives in salt water but returns up to the fresh water parts of rivers to spawn. Fish range from 1 pound to over 60 pounds. The world record was caught in New Jersey from a jetty and weighed 78 pounds. The Massachusetts record is 73 pounds. Overfished during the 1970's, striped bass have rebounded thanks to strict regulations.
Location: Whole coast surf, inshore bars, reefs, tide-rips, bays and estuaries.
Season: Mid April-October
Baits and Lures: Seaworms, eels, squid, herring; jigs, plugs, spinners, spoons.
Methods and Tackle: Casting from shore, boat trolling, light to heavy tackle.
Restrictions: Size limits vary from state to state, check your local bait shop or contact the DMS for details.
Please note: There is no excuse for ignorance. You could lose your car, home and be fined heavily for taking short stripers. Most states require the fish to be transported home whole to insure that it was the minimum size. Consider that a 20 pound fish is about 14 pounds of guts and bone and that you'll have to dispose of it at your home. You'll find every skunk and raccoon in the neighborhood in your trash. Is it worth it? Take a picture, it's worth a thousand words and lasts a lot longer.
Mass. Saltwater Fishing Derby Minimum Weight: 30 lbs.
State Record: 73 lbs.
DON'S FAVORITE FISHING SPOTS
Catching a striped bass is not easy. It is a fish that has extremely sharp senses. It has a great sense of smell, detecting scents through the two sets of nostrils located on the top of it's snout. Striped bass have great vision. It's eyes adapt easily to bright sunlight and again for the darkness of night. Striped bass can easily see your line in most conditions and many a fisherman has spent many a fishless night due to an abundance of hardware on their line. Striped bass can be caught anytime, anywhere, yet never follow strict patterns. They do tend to be more prolific at night, however. Striped bass can be predicted sometimes but the striper will break the rule almost as soon as you assign one to them. Stripers are powerful swimmers, able to overtake their prey in any environment. Striped bass will actively chase herring through treacherous currents or lie in ambush for an unsuspecting squid. Although stripers are taken by few other species, striped bass are, for the most part, without a major predator, save man.
The one great, never changing aspect of a striper is that the species stays close to shore. It is always within the reach of surfcasters. Boaters do have an advantage, but remember, the world record 78lb striper, caught by Al McReynolds in 1982 from a jetty, was just yards from shore. It is omnivorous and will readily eat anything from eels, squid, herring, to clams, sand fleas, sea worms and shrimp. Legendary striper fisherman, Sergei DeSomov, four time winner of the famous Martha's Vinyard Striped Bass Derby caught his monsters using lobster tails.
For some tips on how you can achieve greater success catching striped bass, check out mt tips on catching bass From the beach, or From a bridge, or From the rocky shoreline.
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Here are some links you might enjoy!