The striper migration remains widespread from New Jersey to Maine, but new moon and big tides this weekend should continue to move bass and bait toward summer haunts. The hotbeds of striper activity are Montauk, Block Island, Long Island Sound, and Boston Harbor North. Other areas are having brief windows of good fishing as schools of bass pass through on their way to find better concentrations of bait.
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Maryland/Chesapeake Bay Striper Fishing Report
The last of the migratory bass are taking chunks alongside red drum in the Assateague Island surf, but besides that, the spring striper migration has departed Maryland leaving resident fish in the Chesapeake and Ocean City Inlet.
New Jersey Striper Fishing Report
There are still big stripers being caught by boat and by surf in northern New Jersey. The water staying cool has helped keep some of the big bass around, but with things warming up, the migration may be leaving the Garden State behind soon. Still, there will be good numbers of resident fish spread throughout the backwaters and surf, with some approaching and exceeding 40 inches, but most falling into the 24- to 30-inch range.
New York Striper Report
Long Island’s striper migration continues to push east, with reports of excellent fishing from the North Fork, the eastern Long Island Sound, and Montauk as larger migratory bass follow abundant sand eels and squid. While western Sound and South Shore action remains steady, many of the biggest fish have moved toward the mid-Sound and Montauk, where anglers are encountering increasing numbers of 40-inch-plus bass.
Connecticut/Rhode Island Striper Report
Connecticut’s striper fishing remains red hot, with large migratory bass spread from the Western Sound to The Race and Plum Gut. Reports of 40-inch-plus fish were common this week, including several bass approaching or exceeding the 50-pound mark, as schools feed heavily on bunker, butterfish, and Atlantic mackerel.
Rhode Island’s striper fishing remains excellent as massive schools of squid and sand eels fuel a strong bite from Narragansett Bay to Block Island. While bass have become more spread out and tide-dependent in the Bay, anglers continue to find quality fish, including plenty of bass in the 25- to 35-pound class and increasing numbers of 30-pound-plus fish around Block Island.
Cape Cod/Massachusetts Striper Report
A big influx of squid moved the stripers around Cape Cod this week, with another wave of bass pushing through the Canal over a couple days and into Cape Cod Bay.
North of Cape Cod, bass are feeding heavily on mackerel, sea herring, squid, and river herring, with anglers finding success in rivers, bays, deep-water structure, and nearshore ledges. Cape Ann, Boston Harbor, the South Shore, and Plum Island are all producing quality fish.
New Hampshire/Maine Striper Report
New Hampshire and southern Maine are seeing some of their best striper fishing of the season as river herring runs, massive sand eel concentrations, and growing offshore bait schools fuel action from the rivers to the beaches.