With the official start of summer a few weeks away, fish are beginning to settle into their summering grounds in a few areas, but the water is still a few degrees cooler than normal and there are still plenty of bass moving north, with some stragglers as far south as Maryland. The full moon pulled fresh waves of fish into some areas, and with bait stacking up, in New York and New England, some of the best fishing is still ahead of us.
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Maryland/Chesapeake Bay Striper Fishing Report
The last of the big stripers are migrating north out of Maryland waters. Anglers fishing chunk baits in the surf are catch a few big bass, along with bluefish, red drum, skates, and sand tiger sharks. Once these bass leave, it’ll be all resident stripers in the Chesapeake Bay and Ocean City Inlet.
New Jersey Striper Fishing Report
There are still some good fish in Southern New Jersey’s inlets and along the beaches, with strong numbers of slot-sized and just over slot fish in the back bays.
Some large stripers continue to stage off northern New Jersey, and there are some big bass in the Raritan still. The peak of the migration through the area has passed, but there should be big fish moving through for the next few weeks.
New York Striper Report
Long Island Sound is loaded with big bass chasing bunker, with more bass arriving from both the western and eastern ends.
The fishing off the South Shore is running hot and cold as waves of bass move through. The bays and beaches have good numbers of fish, but the best action seems to be moving east.
Connecticut/Rhode Island Striper Report
Connecticut waters are loaded with stripers, with a fresh wave of fish arriving with last week’s moon. As more baitfish move in, the bass appear to be in no hurry to leave.
Good numbers of stripers are still holding in Narragansett Bay, but as conditions in the ocean become more favorable, bass are spreading out through Rhode Island waters.
Cape Cod/Massachusetts Striper Report
The blue moon brought a fresh wave of stripers to Vineyard and Nantucket sounds, where big numbers of squid drew the fish into the rips.
Cape Cod Bay has roving schools of stripers following sand eels and mackerel, while fishing is exceptional from the South Shore to the North Shore.
New Hampshire/Maine Striper Report
Stripers are chasing herring throughout Great Bay, while sand eels are fueling a great striper bite in Maine. With big numbers of big stripers already in Maine, and more on the way, it’s setting up to be another banner summer in Vacationland.