Key to Big Fish is Finding the Pogies

This keeper bass was caught on a live pogy.

I was fishing a spot in the Bay last evening from shore plugging away hoping to catch a striper.  It was completely dead with nothing around, not even a hit.  Suddenly, just off to my left a big school of menhaden, or pogies, surfaced not more than 30 feet from shore.  Immediately, I reached into my bag and pulled out a snagger, hoping to snag one and let it swim around.  First cast, first pull, I had a pogy.  I let it  swim around for no more than 30 seconds when a large fish almost ripped the rod out of my hand.  I was onto a good fish that was tearing off drag.  In a flash it surfaced jumping clear out the the water.  It was a big blue, at least 13-14 lbs.  I did manage to get it to my feet when the leader parted.
Whether you fish from a boat or shore in the Bay finding the pogies is the key to finding the big fish right now.  For the most part large stripers and big bluefish are right under the schools of big bait.  Many fishermen are having success snagging and letting the the snagged fish swim around.  Others prefer to reel in the snagged fish and rehook it onto another outfit to fish it. Still others are reeling in the bait and slicing it up and using chunks for bait.  However  you choose to do it, fishing with bait is the way to go right now if you are looking for large fish in the Bay.  It's simple a matter of finding the pogies which is far easier to do in a boat than from shore.