Okay, before you fish you better know the rules on STRIPER FISHING here in Maine. We are A SLOT LIMIT state and you better know the rules. Get caught and you will pay!
Striped bass are found all along the East Coast, have voracious appetites,
can grow to more than fifty pounds, and are great fighters. These are big
powerful swimmers and can snap a line like thread. You better have good tackle,
fresh line and tie those knots tight! Wally is a brute! Striped bass are the
most popular shoreline fish here in Maine. Estimates say over 300,000 fish for them yearly here in Maine. They come right in close to shore in
pursuit of baitfish and can be caught from beach, pier or jetty. This makes them
accessible to most everyone in driving distance to the ocean. Around about
mid-April or so, stripers arrive along the coast of the Maine from their
wintering grounds near the Chesapeake Bay. The first arrivals are a bit on the
small side, run between 20 and 30 inches, and are nicknamed "schoolies." They
are fun to catch but not the challenge "wally" will give ya! Wally gets here
later in the season and he has the size. We call him "wally" because he is big enough to make ya think about a wall mount if ya land him!
Tips here will be for shore fishing. I find stripers through different stages each season. Stripers are tidal fish and much of what they do and where they go is controlled by the tide. Again, this is for shore fisherman. Ignore their patterns and you will not catch many. I fish two hours before and an hour or so after the tide. You will catch MOST of them at these times but some are always around if you find their hideouts. Early on, april to mid-june or so, they can be taken on lures. The mackerel aren't in yet and they are after the baitfish. Big silver spoons with lots of flash work well. I prefer the Hopkins hammered spoon. Fish it with a dying minnow retrieve to maximize the flash. You may have some luck with the smaller rapala's in black and silver too. Look for baitfish and work these areas. Seaworms will give ya a good chance now too. Toss them out on the hook with no weight and let them drift in the surf. Stripers love them and I use them all year. One of the few things I use all season.
This brings us to the second part of the season. The warm part. Stripers are most active here and the big ones are around now. But, wally has changed his habits. Now he wants the real stuff! Put away the lures,(well see the lure section for more on lures) and get out the cut bait. That's right, old stinky! Wally wants cut mackerel and you better use it. I have sat for hours, offered every lure in my box, and watched the bait fisherman catch stripers! The Mainefisherman is a spin fisherman, but I am no idiot! Wally wants mackerel, so give it to him. Cut a nice 3 inch piece or so and hook it good. Now here is where you have to make a decision. Do I fish a bobber or do I go with a slider and a heavy weight on bottom? Read on for more help.
I use both. Obviously, you aren't going to use a bobber in the outgoing tide in the river. One or two ounce sinkers on a slider setup will be what's needed here. When the fish are suspended (mid-level) in calm seas I like to fish about 7 ft down under a bobber. I especially like a bobber at night. I rig one pole for one setup and one for the other. They will go up to take food or down to the bottom. This makes it easy. Try both ways and go with what works. Fishing with a friend? Try hooking up each way and then both setup with what worked. Often both ways will take fish. Got a whole mackerel? Try fishing it just like that. Hook it under a bobber and toss it out. Wally can take the big bait but be sure you don't grab the line until he has the bait. If the bobber just ducks under let it be. Wally likes to check it out first! When bait fishing without the bobber, watch the line and try to set your hook quick! This will get them in the mouth before they take it in deep and you hook them hard. Again, use CIRCLE hooks. They are the most fish friendly. If you hook him deep, cut the line and get him back in the water. I will give you a tip I rarely share but it makes it easy to unhook them. Rub the belly quickly and firmly as this paralyzes them for a few seconds. Remove the hook and put him in the water. Take them by the tail, a quick swish and wally is headin' back to the deep water! Works very well.
EQUIPMENT
ROD & REEL
This is where it can get tricky. It is hard to give info when I don't know what kind of fishing you are doing. I have seen everything from snoopy poles to 10 ft surfcaster's out there. I use a penn power graph rod with matching penn reel. I recommend you use a rod you feel comfortable with. Try at least 12 or 14 lb test to start because wally can be tough. He will smash that snoopy pole like the toy it is. Use too weak a reel and it will be junk by the end of a productive summer. Anything rated in the 8 to 16 lb range should be fine if you set the drag, and play the fish properly. Mine is a 7 foot rod with 8 lb test. Remember, you can use those giant surf and trolloing rods like the others, but you will not get the feel or the fight you will get on smaller lighter tackle. I have caught and released 35+ inch stripers on my little 7 footer and watched them swim off like nothing ever happened. Don't over play the fish. . I suggest you use larger test at the start because rocks, weeds, surf, all make it a lot harder to land wally than a trout in a nice open pool. It also helps to get him in, unhooked and back in the water quickly. Remember, never remove the fish from water, handle the fish, or remove a deep hook, unless you have to and be as gentle as possible.
LURES
The lures I use for stripers are pretty much the same all season. I like to vary the size somewhat. I use smaller Rapala's and Hopkins in the spring. The bigger mackerel pattern Rapala's and Bombers in the summer. I like to fish nothing but lures early in the season. I especially like the Hopkins hammered spoon. I use the 2 and 3 inch models with or without bucktail. Slug-o's are also very productive. Try the slug-o sand eel in different sizes as stripers can not resist sand eels. You buy the lead head and put it together yourself. I find these are extremely productive when the sand eels are hatching. I am not sure when they hatch but if you see the stripers are hitting little silver things on the surface or forcing them out of the water, those are sand eels. Especially watch for this on the full moon. Put on a slug-o and hang on. I have caught 13 or 14 in a night this way. Which leads us to the surface lures. I like the rattlin' chug bug best of all. Try the 2 or 3 inch ones in mackerel colors and patterns. I think any noisy, splashy, surface popper will work. I only use mackerel colors or red and white, but it never hurts to try new things. I also have a couple of walking sticks, skinny, long, lures that wiggle all over the surface and find they work very well in calm water.
HOOKS, SINKERS, SLIDERS, BOBBERS & CRAB FLOATS
This is a simple section, Bobbers are easy enough. Use a big enough one to see in the distance you will be fishing , but not so big the fish can't fight it, or you can't reel in smoothly because of it. Night fishing? Use a bobber that is flourescent so it is easy to spot with a light. Next, the Hooks. I like to use size 6 hooks. I use non-coated circle hooks. Ask your bait and tackle dealer for them. Remember, if you are having trouble finding any of this stuff, let me know by E-mail, or go see Capt'n Cal at Saco Bay Tackle on rt. 1 in saco. Be sure to tell him the Mainefisherman sent you! Sinkers are simple. Pick a style, such as triangle or barrel or the kinda bell shaped ones. My only advice here is the less edges or points, the less likely you get hung up and lose a rig. Now, you need to know sliders. Feed it on the line before you put on a swivel so it can slide up and down the line. Hence, the name slider. Hook your sinker on the snap and when the fish picks up the bait, he won't feel the weight pull back and drop it immediately. Next, you need a crab float. Hmmmm, a crab float you say? I am not after crabs. That's right,you aren't, but fish the bottom without one and all you will get are crabs. They can dissect your bait in minutes. Nothing left but the skeleton? A sure sign of crabs! Put the float about 5 inches or so from your hook. They come with a plug you remove, feed in the line, and replace the plug. it will keep your bait off the bottom and let wally see it better.
LOCATION
OKay. lets assume you are fishing from land. A place like two lights in cape elizabeth is perfect. It gets you in the ocean and you can fish in the breakers off the rocks(a good place for those mackerel pattern Rapala's) or you can fish in the deeper water out on the edge. Most stripers will be in the rowdy water near the rocks waiting to pick off bait fish hugging the rocky edges. Jetties are a great place to fish as they get you out in the ocean, and are home to lots of baitfish seeking shelter. This always attracts more feeders and the big ones come to feed on the feeders! So the baitfish and the mackerel and the stripers may all be only 15 to 20 feet out or right at your feet. Try all areas but concentrate on 10 feet out or so. The rivers are also very good. From the mouth to the lower reaches they all hold stripers. They are in the bends and the deep pools. Access is often available with a little searching or ask at the local bait shop. On the beaches it is a hit or miss thing. Old orchard beach, pine point, goose rocks, popham all hold stripers. On the beach look for rocks, hidden sand bars or any place the stripers can hold and hit the baitfish. Cast just over the breakers and wally may be sitting right there.