Jamaica Bay - April 21, 2012

37" Striped Bass - released.

33" Striped Bass.

The west radar pier was badly damaged by Sandy.

East end of Jamaica Bay.

During a given season, the vast majority of my striped bass fishing occurs in the Long Island Sound and it's harbors and estuaries. However, I spend a portion of my spring fishing the big striper run on the Long Island south shore in Jamaica Bay. When the fishing peaks, it is the best striper fishing on the east coast and the overall saltwater fishing rivals any locale in the U.S.

For a brief period in the early spring, quality Atlantic coast stripers move inshore into Jamaica Bay in very good numbers. In contrast to the overall fishery in the Sound, the older age class stripers dominate this fishery, and there are numerous fish in the 26" - 34" range, and a very good number of large stripers in the 35" - 38" class. The second moon in April usually brings in the first wave of these bigger striped bass, and, sometimes the lucky angler can get out on a day when fresh fish from the ocean are moving in.

Today was one of those days - numerous fresh fish in the 28" - 31", most carrying sea lice, moved into the bay to feed on spawning menhaden which have been filtering into the bay in better numbers than earlier in the week.

I fished the area from the north railroad bridge to the west radar pier and found good numbers of these striped bass spread out along the big channel, and highly aggressive. I caught 12 stripers 28" - 37" and only one short 22" striper. My two biggest fish were 33" and 37".

I only saw random marks of stripers on the fishfinder, spread out, but definitely more concentrated to the east. The fish were cruising the deep channels during moving water. The bunker were spread out as well, and I saw my first bunker ball of the year on the sonar. This was the first day that I saw a substantial amount of bunker this year.

High tide was at noon, and the fishing was slow during the slack, as expected. But, the slack was short with the moon, and the fishing picked up as the tide started moving again, and I picked away at nice stripers, trolling against the tide on my trip back.

I fished deep diving plugs, soft plastics, and metal, but the only producer today was the tube. Head to head, the tube outfished the plastic trolling, and with limited time, I didn't have much of an opportunity to cast. But, when I did, plastics didn't produce for me. A big factor for the failure of artificials was the fact that the water was brown, with less than a foot of visability.

The tube was the producer today, and it produced most in deep open water, as the stripers were moving around fast between the bridge and the pier. For me, this is unusual, as the tube is normally used for me to strategically fish nearshore structure in the Sound. The water temp was perfect, and these bass were looking for food. As more bunker move in, they will become much more picky.

As much as I try to diverse my striper fishing tactics, the tube is an excellent producer of quality bass . . . . sometimes it makes it almost too easy. Catching these ocean-run stripers from the kayak on the tube requires some sturdy equipment. Stripers in the 30" class make hard runs, and your drag needs to be set appropriately. These fish were fighting hard, and often got a second wind when they saw the kayak. The tube makes for easy landing and quick release.

As I caught my largest fish, a whaler sped by me, relatively close, and my drag started to screech and my rod tipped over to the point it was almost perpendicular to the water - I had to grab the rod to make sure it wouldn't fly out of the holder. I was certain I snagged a propeller, but turns out it was a big striper. My seven year old Penn held up well - kept my rod tip high and let her take as much drag as she wanted. As I fought to get her under the boat for greater leverage, I cranked the handle fast on my reel. Fighting her in deep, open water on slightly heavier tackle gave me a huge advantage. After a few runs, she came to the kayak, and I lipped her and brought her into the yak, which slightly tipped me to the side. 

Overall, quality striper fishing like this occurs on only a few occasions per year for the weekend warrior. With a greater diversity of food, the Atlantic stripers are thick bodied. These fish are transient in nature and the intrepid angler needs to get on them while they're hot. I'm hoping for stable cooler weather until the second moon in May when the bunker moves out. Cool conditions could stabilize the fishing