Rockfish, striper, linesider.
More than 300 pages dedicated to your favorite fish, the striped bass
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Lining: (Weighted Rigs)
This is probably the most common rig used for fishing with live bait. This
rig consist of, a 2oz. slip-sinker threaded onto the line, held with
a glass bead. Tie on a good heavy-duty ball bearing swivel. Then a 3 foot "leader" of
either 40 pound Monofilament or flourocarbon line . Hook on your live bait
to a good heavy duty hook, they are sold as live bait hooks. Your live
bait might be gizzard
or threadfin shad, shiners, herring or menhaden. (aka bunker). Then
lower to the desired depth. You can fish more than one rod, some guys fish
several. Vary your depths you determine the stripers strike zone. Ask other
anglers how deep their holding. One of the most important aspects of fishing
striped bass or other bass for that matter is what depth they are at. You
can locate fish with a fish finder, but what fish are they? Stripers school
so usually their are several waiting to be caught. Leave
at least 1 rod deeper than the rest, because sometimes the bigger stripers
have a tendency to hang out below the main schools of stripers. Bigger
Stripers are sort of lazy and will lay underneath a boil for morsels that
fall to the bottom
Float Rigs: (Ballooning).
You can also just use a bobber
In the cooler weather months, stripers tend to feed near the surface.
This is when you need to fish your live bait rigs more shallow.
That's when float rigs work really well. A float rig consists
of a small party balloon, blown up and tied to the fishing
line, about 6 to 10 feet above the live shad. You dont have
to weight the line. Use a barrell swivel to prevent your line
from twisting. The balloon floats on top of the water,
creating less resistance than bobbers. You can also use different
color balloons, to tell your lines apart or bright color balloons
to see your lines better from a distance. Put your first bait
out around 30 yards behind the boat and stager the others at
5 to 10 yard intervals, to prevent tangling. A good floating
devise is the corks with lights in them that are used
for night striper fishing.
Flat Lining or freelining (A
hook and the Bait -
This Method is as simple. With nothing more than a hook
on the end of the line, you attach the bait fish and let "em" swim.You
can learn to direct the way your bait swims by where you place
the hook-- the further toward the head they tend to swim down---
the future toward the tail they tend to swim up. Use more of a
swing when casting live bait as not to damage or pop them off your
hook with a little practice you will have no problem.
Using Cut
Bait
A fishing technique we haven't talked about is 'cut bait fishing'
(sections or filets of baitfish).Some of the biggest stripers
ever recorded were taken on cut bait fished on a bottom rig.
(My personal Favorite, I use Bunker heads and cast them from
shore at high tide).This method is similar to live bait fishing
except that the boat is positioned over a likely spot and moored
with a bow and stern anchor. The second anchor keeps the boat
from swinging and tangling the fishing lines. Dead baits, such as shad
or bream are hooked to lines and cast around the boat. Baits are fished
on the bottom while others are suspended at various depths. When available,
live bait is used in conjunction with the dead bait. The bait can be
cut into various shapes or slashed to give off more scent. Larger
baits can be cut in half to make two baits. The head section
will be used on one line while the tail section is hooked to
another. Fresh dead bait will attract more fish than frozen bait.
Equipment
necessary for catching and keeping the proper bait for a days
striper fishing is:
Cast net.
Larger is not necessarily better.When bait is scattered or
scarce, a 6 foot radius cast net is the bare minimum.
With bait species that do not school
tightly like herring, up to a 12 foot net is necessary.
With bait which can ball up very tightly
like threadfin shad however, you may get away with using only a 3
or 4 foot net.
Check your local cast net regulations,
some areas restrict net sizes.
Bait Tank
Aerated, filtered round bait tank. (min 15 gal)
The tank makes or breaks the fishing
trip. Most cases, striper are looking for the most frantic, excited
bait they can find. A poor tank will certainly deny you the quality
bait necessary for catching striper.
Helpful Hints for a days striper fishing
with a properly treated and aerated bait tank:
Use salt to prevent slime loss. 1- 1 1/2 cups per 20 gallons.
DO NOT overcrowd your bait tank.
A guide is to keep smaller bait (5" down) @ 1 for every
gal.
For bait fish 5" to 10" and up 1 for every 2 gallons
Cooler water keeps bait alive longer than warmer water....
60 - 70 degrees preferred. It holds more oxygen.
IMPORTANT!! Don't change the temperature
by more than 10 degrees from the water the bait comes from....it
WILL die.
Keep your filter cleaned out.
Minimize handling of bait and the
time bait is out of the water.
Gently
dip your bait from the tank and avoid violent swishing with the
net and dont I repeat dont, get bug spray on the bait or your hands.
