2019 Striper Migration Map
Seasonably mild weather appears to have the striper migration a week or two ahead of the slow start we experienced in 2018. Pre-spawn striped bass to 40 pounds have been moving into northern New Jersey and have begun to push up the Hudson River to spawn. Big female stripers are being reported in the Delaware River, another important spawning ground. In Chesapeake Bay, the striper spawn continues in many of the lower and mid Bay rivers, with some post-spawn bass already beginning to drop down out of the tributaries. Warming inshore waters have improved the bite for schoolie striped bass along the south side of Long Island, and migratory schoolies could arrive any day in New England. Follow along as we track the Striper Migration. You can help by contributing to our weekly map updates—simply share your striper fishing reports here, and on social media with tag #stripermigration.
Chesapeake Bay Striper Report
Saturday, April 20, marks the much-anticipated opening day of the 2019 trophy striped bass season in Maryland.
The Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources is reporting that those wishing for some catch-and-release striped bass action in the Susquehanna Flats should enjoy plentiful action with school-sized male striped bass, and there is hope that a few large female striped bass have arrived in the area.There will be some limited opportunities for catching large striped bass above the 35-inch minimum this weekend in the upper bay waters below the Brewerton Channel. The steep channel edges off Love Point and Podickory Point will offer the best chances of hooking up with a large striped bass, but anglers can expect most of these fish to be pre-spawn females headed to the Susquehanna spawning sites.
Striped bass moving up and down the middle bay on opening weekend of trophy season will most likely be close to the surface until boat traffic drives them down. Most of the large striped bass encountered while trolling this weekend will be pre-spawn females headed to the Susquehanna Flats spawning sites, but there is hope for post-spawn striped bass leaving the Choptank River. There has been fair-to-moderate spawning activity on the upper Choptank for more than two weeks and some of those fish should be exiting the river by the weekend.
The lower bay region will be one of the most popular and often productive places to fish on the opening weekend of the spring trophy striped bass season. Large post-spawn striped bass will be filtering out of the Choptank, Nanticoke, Patuxent and Potomac rivers, and they all have to pass through the lower bay on their way down the Chesapeake Bay to the Atlantic Ocean.
Delaware Bay Striper Report
Keeper stripers have been reported by boaters fishing bunker chunks in the upper Delaware Bay around the Reedy Island Area. Large female striped bass have moved up into the Delaware River to spawn. Please consider using inline circle hooks when fishing bait.
Pictured above:
A note from the NJDEP: Pennsylvania allows anglers to harvest a daily limit of two striped bass measuring 21 to 25 inches for a two month period from April 1 through May 31 from the Calhoun St. Bridge in Trenton downstream to the Pennsylvania state line. New Jersey still has a closed season. Anglers fishing the Delaware River from the New Jersey shoreline, or returning to New Jersey by boat and/or car in April and May must abide by New Jersey’s striped bass regulations. Possession of striped bass in New Jersey is illegal during this time period. Anglers should be aware that there are differing size limits and seasons for striped bass for each of the three states bordering the Delaware River. Anglers must obey the regulations for the particular state where they land (catch) striped bass.
A fat striper, full of eggs, caught and released in the Delaware River. Shared by Phil’s Barbershop!
New Jersey Striper Report
In southern New Jersey, stripers have begun to bite around Cape May and in the Delaware Bay area on chunked bunker over this past week. Most of the bites have been closer to the mouth of the Delaware Bay. The back bay striped bass bite continues with anglers catching striped bass on bloodworms on high-low rigs and also on soft plastics and plugs. Most are in the 15- to 24-inch size, but there has been a few keepers mixed in. Some bass are being caught along the beaches as well. Northern New Jersey striper fishing has been on fire. Prespawn female fish from 15 to 40 pounds have moved into the area to stage before pushing into the Hudson River to spawn.
• Read the Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
• Read the Northern New Jersey Fishing Report
New York Striper Report
Prespawn striped bass are moving up the Hudson River. River Basin Sport Shop in Catskill has reported that fish in the mid-30 inch range arrived this past week, and last weekend they received the first report of a 40-inch-plus striper being caught in the Saugerties area.
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Schoolie stripers are spreading out along the south side of Long Island and being caught in tidal areas from Oceanside to Oakdale.
• Read the Long Island Fishing Report
Connecticut/Rhode Island Striper Report
Holdover striper fishing in the Housatonic River and in Connecticut River tributaries has been improving as waters warm and river herring arrive. There have also been reports of striped bass moving out of tidal rivers and being caught along beachfronts. We expect reports of the first migratory stripers being caught in Rhode Island by next week!
• Read the Connecticut Fishing Report
• Read the Rhode Island Fishing Report
Cape Cod/ Massachusetts Striper Report
Holdover striped bass are active on Martha’s Vineyard and in some fresh and brackish waters connected to the Mystic and the Charles rivers. By the end of next week, there’s a good chance we’ll hear reports of migratory striped bass on the south side of Martha’s Vineyard and on the west side of Buzzards Bay!
• Read the Cape Cod Fishing Report
• Read the Massachusetts Fishing Report
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A nice Spring catch… #StripedBass #Fishing #BogaGrip #CnR #StriperCup @onthewatermagazine
It’s exciting, fish the Chesapeake, Delaware river and Delaware bay. Looking forward to it.
FOR ALL YOU GUYS THAT RELEASE ALL THEM BIG STRIPER ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS THANK YOU. CAMERAS WILL SAVE THE BREEDERS.
Last week caught and released 52 inch striper Staten Island area . Over 50 pounds loaded with eggs pictures and videos
For a species that is now considered to be overfished by the AMFSC, do you, On The Water, have any plans to stop publishing the migration map that contributes to the further decimation of the stock?
Thank you for your time and understanding.
Greg,
Might as well tell them to take the site down? What’s next, shutting down satellites that provide anglers with sea surface temp break maps, which is a lot more powerful than any migration map? Forums and open source fishing reports will never go away. This isn’t a solution to the agreeable problem. OTW does a great job of pointing out regulations and best practices for fish and release.
Instead of raising the limit on size they should make it illegal to fish for stripers during spawning season. Big fish do not do well out of the water, and most likely will not survive the “look at me catch big spawning striper”. It only makes sense that if you want the striper population to increase, spawning season should be off limits. Usually by mid May the spawn is over. Big stripers do best when not taken out of the water and allowed to resuscitate after they are exhausted from the fight. I’ve been fishing stripers for more than 20 years and it never ceases to amaze me how bad folks treat them.
Greg, I agree with Steve.
Forums like this are great for keeping people educated. One of the biggest problems is that a majority of the people doing the damage are the ones who don’t care enough to read forums about safe catch and release and put those teachings into practice. Last year I was at the CC Canal and ‘tourist caught what looked like a 24″ striper and decided it was a good idea to keep the fish out of the water for a 5 minute photo shoot. Do your best to keep the fish in the water to remove the hook. If necessary to take them out, make it as quick as possible with minimal handling.
if you dont know how to catch and release a fish dont fish if you let me stop you from breathing so i can get a pic then shoot away if you kill it you should eat it or make shore someone dose dumbass
I’m trying to login to the platform, but it won’t let me login.
Thanks