After a slow start in New Jersey, the striper fishing is breaking loose, with all those fish that anglers have been marking and struggling to catch finally beginning to feed. Meanwhile, migratory fish are spreading throughout Southern New England and along Long Island.
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Maryland/Chesapeake Bay Striper Fishing Report
All striped bass fishing is closed in Maryland Chesapeake Bay waters. For more information about the timings and areas where striped bass fishing is allowed in the Chesapeake Bay, check out the Maryland DNR’s Striped Bass Regulation Maps.
Striped bass are wrapping up spawning activities in the Choptank River and just getting started in the Upper Bay. Scientists are optimistic that conditions have been favorable for a successful spawn. According to the Maryland DNR, it’ll still be a week or so before post-spawn bass begin exiting the bay and running the coast.
New Jersey Striper Fishing Report
The backwater fishing throughout New Jersey is getting better, with fish over 30 inches falling to flies and lures. Delaware Bay is holding the biggest bass in the southern half of the state, with bloodworms still working best. More stripers are showing up in the surf, where anglers have been catching well on clams.
Finally, the bite in the Raritan is picking up. For a few weeks, anglers have been marking good schools of stripers that were tough to get to bite. With conditions improving, the fishing is breaking open with anglers catching on shads, minnow plugs, and topwaters.
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Watch Matt Haeffner’s Weekly Striper Migration Reports on OTW’s YouTube Channel
New York Striper Report
Stripers have hit the south shore surf and inlets, with fish being reported all the way out to Montauk. They’ve been aggressive, striking poppers and lures. The fishing isn’t on fire yet, but it’s improving quickly.
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Connecticut/Rhode Island Striper Report
River herring arrivals are perking up larger holdover fish in Connecticut’s Rivers as fresh arrivals continue to trickle in, and bass are spreading out through the Connecticut River, despite cold and murky conditions.
The Rhode Island striper run ratcheted up a few notches this week with big numbers of bass, even fish over 30 inches, feeding in Narragansett Bay.
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Cape Cod/Massachusetts Striper Report
Migratory fish are popping up in Buzzards Bay and on the South Side of Cape Cod, but they aren’t widespread just yet. A few anglers are getting out and catching fish on soft-plastic jigs and topwaters. Most have been schoolies but a couple slot-size fish have been reported.
North of the Cape, it’s mostly holdovers, but some migratory bass sporting sea lice have broken through the Canal into Cape Cod Bay and beyond.
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The striped bass closure in the Chesapeake Bay doesn’t have anything to do with fish oil companies netting in the Bay, right? After all, if caught in their huge nets, they cannot get out which may result in them dying, depleteing the rockfish populations. Also depleteing the food fish that game fish feed on, will keep rockfish and other game fish from coming into the Chesapeake. Virginia IA said they believed that the fish oil companies were over fishing and they were going to stop them from netting. I emailed them several times about their success in doing so, and they have not replied to me. Someone needs to look into these fish oil companies to see if overfishing is being committed.