Friday, October 25, 2013

Newsflash....Massive Numbers of Stripers Hit the Shore Today

A Kastmaster XL got this fish.
Jigs were also working.
I saw the biggest numbers of stripers hit the shore today I have seen in years.  How do you figure?  It had been poor for the last week and all of a sudden the fishing lights up.  This was all triggered by a massive influx of huge schools of bay anchovies.  At one point I could count 7 huge schools of stripers just off the shore with birds working and fish breaking.  I also think that the sudden drop in temperature has contributed to this blitz of fish.
Birds were diving, fish were breaking as massive
schools of stripers were feeding on bay anchovies today.
I will tell you that these fish were fussy.  My son Ben and I were casting for two hours in the daylight into a mass of fish that was the size of a football field.  We landed 13 fish from 20-26 inches but it was a chore to get that.  These fish were feeding on one to two inch bay anchovies and the water was calm and clear, a recipe for fussy fish.  At one point we stood on a rock and looked down into the clear water and could see hundred of stripers.  I was like looking into an aquarium.
The fish hit much better after dark.  I had the biggest night of the fall, landing 23 stripers up to near keeper size.  Most of the fish hit black Deceiver teasers though I caught some on the Daiwa SP minnow.  I did see a number of keeper bass up to 38 inches landed after dark so there are some decent fish around.
Wow, things have really changed! Let's hope it continues.