The spring striper run hits peaks and valleys, with the peaks happening around the moons and the (usually shallow) valleys happening in-between. With May’s new moon waxing, bass migrated out of some areas, leaving a void that will the full moon will fill. Many more areas continued to hold good numbers of fish, especially places with plenty of large forage. There are a surprising number of large migratory bass in Northern New England for this time of year, especially given the cold winter, but it’s meant that the fishermen from Maine to Maryland have 40-inch bass swimming in their waters right now.
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Maryland/Chesapeake Bay Striper Fishing Report
The last remaining migratory stripers in Maryland stripers are working their way north in the surf. Anglers are catching them on cut bunker and mullet.
New Jersey Striper Fishing Report
With large fish still migrating up from the south, New Jersey still has some great fishing ahead for the spring run. Large bass are still holding in the Delaware Bay and off the beaches in Cape May and Atlantic counties.
North of Barnegat Inlet, schools of very large bass are staged on the ocean side, with fish as large as 52 inches occasionally entering the surf.
Raritan Bay has good numbers of bunker, but the bass have thinned out, with spawning fish running up the Hudson and most of the other fish hanging on the ocean.
New York Striper Report
Bunker are beginning to flood the bays of Long Island, giving migrating stripers a good reason to stop on their swim north. The Western Sound especially did well this week, with some of the fish moving in likely post-spawn bass from the Hudson.
On the South Shore, there are good fish in the surf, and stabilizing water temperatures have brought more consistent fishing to Montauk, where a variety of baitfish are holding stripers.
Connecticut/Rhode Island Striper Report
As more bass move into Long Island Sound, the reefs are filling up with fish, with some moving close to the shorelines and river mouths to feed. The bunker are stacked to the west, which is where more of the big stripers are concentrated right now.
Migratory bass continue to work their way into Narragansett Bay riding the channel edges as they move in. The bay is holding most of the good fishing in Rhode Island right now, but as waters warm, the fish should begin to spread out into the ocean.
Cape Cod/Massachusetts Striper Report
Cape Cod hit a bit of a lull this week. A few fish settled in, but the big wave of bass leading up to the new moon appears to have continued north. Fish have been sporadically appearing in the Vineyard Sound rips, but it’s not consistent yet. Monmoy and the Outer Cape haven’t seen a large school of migratory fish yet (expect those by the full moon).
From the South Shore of Massachusetts all the way to Plum Island, schools of big bass are feeding on bunker and mackerel, setting up a great start to the striper season that should only improve as more schools migrate north.
New Hampshire/Maine Striper Report
Fish up to 40 pounds were reported in New Hampshire over the past week, with some large fish showing up in Maine as well. Rivers remain best spots as arriving fish beeline for the warmer water and abundant baitfish.