Cape May Stripers
Cape May Stripers
We have been out every Sat and Sun for the last 3 weeks (with a few weekdays thrown in there )and so far this has been our best striper season . First First trip we came home with nothing - and 1 trip since then, every other trip hase produced a lot of NIce sized fish. We have experimented with different techniques and I think we have our prefered method nailed down. We also stopped fishing in the fleet of 3-400 boats that stack up on the same spots in the Del Bay every year and started to look around for our own less known structure and it has worked GREAT. Much better to be 1 of 2 or 3 boats in an area instead of 400. Anyone else getting out for Stripers at all? If so I have a few spots that I can pass along.
some guys use eels or bucktails in the famous "cape may rips". I stay away from there. TONS of fish, but a lot of schoolies and to many people in a small area. I hate drifting through the rips and coming within 5 feet of some idiot who cant handle his boat. I fish for Stripers mostly in the Del Bay and we use FRESH bunker. We chunk for them usually using either a large head or 2-4 inch body chunk. Some people use live spot - but that gets expensive and with the blues and dogfish still around - not worth it for me.
Eels & Tubes are popular here in the fall too. But without a doubt, my favorite is chunking.....we use poggies. What's great about it is that you're achored and everyone is relaxing in the cockpit while your fishing. You don't have to worry where you're going and when you hook up, it's more fun to reel 'em in without the boat moving all over the place. Leave some for us in the Spring ! Rick Ticket 85 SF Falmouth, MA
Rick
Ticket 85 SF Merc 454 MPI's USCG 50T Masters w/ Towing Endorsement
Falmouth, MA
Ticket 85 SF Merc 454 MPI's USCG 50T Masters w/ Towing Endorsement
Falmouth, MA
-
- Lieutenant
- Posts: 34
- Joined: Mon Nov 05, 2007 1:32 pm
- Location: USA
Damn, this makes me fee like I'm missing out (and I am..) anyway the bait/technique discussion is intersting. Here in the Chesapeake, in the fall and spring the norm is to troll using umbrella rigs or tandem bucktails. I've also had good success with Strech25's but I pinch the barbs and limit the number of rods. I know some guys who will fish 10-20 rods from a 24ft boat. I prefer a 6-8 rod spread myself, its easier to handle with a short or inexperienced crew and I can usually get our limit of 1-2 fish per person. Glad to hear someone's doing some catching. John D "Lady D" Bertram 35 Pasadena MD
John D "Lady D" B35 "Jabba Jaws" B20 Pasadena MD
2 fish per person, per day is our deal. 6 - 8 rods would be a lot for us to use. Especially if we're trolling because we use wire to get down deep. With the current in our waters, getting down 30' while your trolling can be tough. Now, Stripers go to the Chesapeake over the winter to spawn right ? Can you catch them in the middle of the winter ? Rick Ticket 85 SF Falmouth, MA
Rick
Ticket 85 SF Merc 454 MPI's USCG 50T Masters w/ Towing Endorsement
Falmouth, MA
Ticket 85 SF Merc 454 MPI's USCG 50T Masters w/ Towing Endorsement
Falmouth, MA
They go to the Delaware and Chesapeake. I know other areas troll but for some reason, noone does in Cape May. It is all drifting through the rips with eels, spot, or bucktails - or anchored up chunking. Rick - I agree with you. I prefer to anchor and chunk. We set up and were good until the tide changes - then a quick adjustment and were good again for 6 more hours. VERY relaxing. I sit there all day....hot chocolate....some chefboyardee.....pretzels....a few beers....and wait for the blitzes. Probably my favorite fishing. I like offshore but the 40-70 mile run at 20 knots is a pain compared to the 3-5 mile run. Most of the stripers we get are 15-25 lbs but there are plenty of 40-55+ lbers caught chunking in the delaware every year (just not by me yet!)Only negative is the marina turned off the water so no way to really clean the boat! We use the saltwater washdown for the cockpit but the rest.......waits until the spring....
There's no better cockpit for chunking than this one Sean....plenty of room for fish, beer & snacks. I know someone with a 46 Hatt and I don't think his cockpit is as big as ours......but it's an awesome boat. Can't wait to do it again. Don't worry about clean-up, plenty of rain through the winter ! Rick Ticket 85 SF Falmouth, MA
Rick
Ticket 85 SF Merc 454 MPI's USCG 50T Masters w/ Towing Endorsement
Falmouth, MA
Ticket 85 SF Merc 454 MPI's USCG 50T Masters w/ Towing Endorsement
Falmouth, MA