By mid-August, striper fishing can be pretty tough, but not off Newport, Rhode Islandwhere cool ocean water washes over prime striper habitat, creating a baitfish-filled paradise for our favorite fish.
Captain Rob Taylor approaches summer stripers a few different ways. At first light, he uses large topwater plugs to bring bass to the surface, and when the sun gets high, he switches to the tube-and-worm rig (swapping the worms for soft-plastics) and catches the bass all day long. Below is the gear used on the second episode of the 17th season of On The Water TV, Newport Striper “Doldrums.”
Rods/Reels/Line:
Fishing Topwaters:
30-pound-test Braided Line
Trolling:
45-pound-test Woodstock Leadcore Line
80-pound-test Seaguar Blue Label Fluorocarbon Leader
Lures:
Assorted Trolling Tubes
6-inch White Pearl RonZ (instead of the sandworm on the tube)
Apparel:
(Jimmy)
Grundens Fish Head Board Short
Misc:
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Learn: Basics of Trolling the Tube and Worm Rig
MY SECRET LURE IS THE BANJO MINNOW, NO RATTLE NEEDED.
That is by far the best fishing video I have seen… great crew..
Be safe.
Out of curiosity, why is it that you use what I’ve read is a jigging/bottom fishing rod for throwing the topwater Docs? Is there an underlying characteristic of the rod? Will it work for throwing other types of lures?