Spawning activity is wrapping up in the Chesapeake tributaries, big numbers of schoolies along the Jersey shore, fish to 20 pounds in Raritan Bay, and migrating fish are in Rhode Island and on Martha’s Vineyard.
Chesapeake Bay
The stripers have been slow to leave the spawning rivers and re-enter the bay according to the Maryland DNR Fishing Report. The Maryland Spring Trophy Season opened last Friday, but has been slow to start. Although the bulk of spawning activity is finished, stripers were still spawning in several rivers this week. The run appears to be right on time, as the bass usually make their move out of the bay from the last week of April through the first week of May.
Delaware Bay
Delaware River stripers larger than 40 pounds, heavy with eggs, were reported as far as Trenton over the weekend. Fish were following schools of herring and shad and were taking plugs. Clams and bloodworms continue to catch bass in the lower river and bay.
Note that as of April 1, the striped bass season is closed above a line running east from the South Jetty of the C&D Canal to the Pennsylvania line. Anglers using any type of bait in this area must use non-offset circle hooks even if they are not targeting striped bass.
New Jersey
Keeper stripers are moving along the beaches in Southern New Jersey, along with growing numbers of short fish. The back bays are still the more reliable places to find schoolie stripers. In Barnegat Bay, fishermen have found mixed schools of stripers and blues willing to take topwaters.
In Northern New Jersey, larger stripers have been reported off the beaches of Long Branch, most likely Hudson River spawners making their way into Raritan Bay.
More and larger stripers are arriving in Raritan Bay, and with the water warming, the fish are becoming more active, taking topwaters, giving fishermen another option for hooking up besides trolling and jigging swim shads. Big bluefish have also joined the stripers in the Bay and around Sandy Hook.
New York
According to our Long Island- New York fishing report, fishermen are catching 10- to 20-pound stripers on live bunker in the Metro New York region. Farther out on Long Island, the bays are filling up with school size stripers, with some keeper-size fish beginning to make their way east. On the East End of the island, it’s still all smaller fish, with most under 20 inches.
Connecticut/Rhode Island
In the rivers of Connecticut, larger stripers are becoming more active, chasing down the schools of river herring.
More schoolie stripers are hitting the beaches of Rhode Island, with fisherman catching from Charlestown Breachway out to Newport. No keepers reported yet.
Cape Cod/ Massachusetts
Fresh migrating stripers reached Martha’s Vineyard this week, but none have yet been reported on the Cape. With the fish on the Vineyard, however, it’s only a matter of days before sea-lice-laden schoolies turn up in the bays and harbors on the Cape’s South Side and in Buzzards Bay.
The On The Water staff is made up of experienced anglers from across the Northeast who fish local waters year-round. The team brings firsthand, on-the-water experience and regional knowledge to coverage of Northeast fisheries, techniques, seasonal patterns, regulations, and conservation.
Whould like some information on how to know when they are in Boston harbor
Not in boston harbor yet, but some back river they are biting hard already.
good luck do all this year
This is a great report as always. On The Water is spot on with their reports but maybe need to also take a stand on catch and release right now of all those egg bearing female stripers. Think of the great number of fry being killed off in those 40 pounders should they not spawn not to mention others. Close the darn season until May 1 and in the words on Pats Coach Bill Beleck let them do their job.
Ditto. All these tournaments are hurting the striper recovery by removing the most productive breeders. Can’t have it both ways!!!
I hate to shed light on my ignorance but although i release 90% of my bass every year i do keep some if i have immediate plans for a cookout or something. How do I tell the difference from a male to a female?
36″+ are typically mature breeding females.
A conservative harvest would be 28″-36″ range.
Males squirt white sperm all over you and your boat, or waders. Females are usually larger then the males. In my experience I’ve found that the males rarely get bigger then 36″. I’m up here on the Hudson River by Kingston so we mostly get spawning fish.
Jeez! Sounds like a porn movie!
Fresh schoolies on lower cape 6 today all with sea lice
May first great for me more inforcement needed
Any reports of stripers in the Tiverton area?
Still nothing from the east bay shores. I fished ri Bristol harbor yesterday from colt state park using a bobber and sand worms. 200 yards out, I could see some gulls going after something. Next week I’ll try castle island in quincy mass.
Ban charters they kill everything
Amen Brother – pretty rediculous what they allow those charters to take- shore anglers get nothing…..
The striper migration was on the move this week-end in the George Washington Bridge to Tappan Zee Bridge area of the Hudson River. No shortage of 35-45″ fish either day.
Ware is the Striper in New Jersey And far are they.
They are here in cape cod caught 3 yesterday
Great to hear their arriving on Cape. Where were you when you caught yours? I fish out of N. Chatham by boat.
Sorry cant give up the early season honey hole….30 to 50 minutes south of chatham.
Thanks. I didn’t expect you to give me the coordinates. But I appreciate what you did tell me. And that’s the direction I usually go when I go out the break by the lighthouse about 20 minutes south towards the rips.
Any strippers in Long Beach, New Jersey?
Need to catch a big one?
Anyone know of any being seen north if mass yet
Any on the bay side of the Cape yet.
How’s the Merrimack river shaping up this spring any amounts of fish yet???