Spring Striped Bass
Spring is all about big Raritan Bay striped bass. Starting in early spring, striped bass begin their migration North, stopping along the way to spawn in tidal freshwater estuaries. The Hudson River hosts one of the largest populations of spawning striped bass. On their journey to the Hudson, stripers will first stop in Raritan Bay and feed heavily before heading upriver. This makes for some truly incredible fishing every spring. During the month of April, we are strategically positioned at our slip in Lockwood’s marina, on the Raritan. This allows us to be just minutes from some of the most productive striped bass water in the state. With a diet consisting of mostly bunker (Menhaden), striped bass can be targeted with shads, flutter spoons, topwater, metal lip swimmers, live bait, and bunker chunks. Preferably, you want to bring two rods. One spinning rod around 7ft to use for casting lures, and one conventional rod around 7-8ft for fishing live bait. Fishing can be excellent at all times of the day, including night. This allows us to run trips in the morning, afternoon, or after dark.
Fall Striped Bass
While Striped Bass head north to spawn in the spring, they head south in the fall to where they spend their winters. Starting generally in late October or early November Striped Bass begin their southward journey, again feeding heavily along the way. We see some of our best fishing for large stiped bass in the fall, with fishing usually lasting long into December. Striped bass feed on large variety of baits in the fall, including adult bunker, peanut bunker, sand eels, squid, and herring. This allows us to target these fish in multiple different ways. Some of the most productive methods include fishing with live bunker, topwater, shads, diamond jigs, and other sand eel imitations. Similarly to the spring, it is recommended that you bring two rods. One spinning rod around 7ft to use for casting lures, and one conventional rod around 7-8ft for fishing live bait.
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