The May Full Moon got the big bass moving. Forty-plus pound fish were reported all the way up to Massachusetts, while large fish are still being caught in Southern New Jersey. In addition, big numbers of 26- to 32-inch fish are filling just about everywhere, feeding on a variety of baitfish including sand eels, squid, butterfish, mackerel, and rain bait.
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Maryland/Chesapeake Bay Striper Fishing Report
Most of the bass left in the Chesapeake Bay are in the mid-20-inch range and below. The larger fish have vacated the bay and are moving north.
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New Jersey Striper Fishing Report
Resident bass are settling into the bays and surf of Southern New Jersey, with some large, migrating fish still turning up in the inlets and on the ocean side. Sand fleas are beginning to work well for surf side bass, while poppers and soft plastics are catching in the back.
Striper fishing is excellent off the northern half of the state with large artificials and eels accounting for fish up to 50 inches. Most of the big fish action has been limited to boat fishermen, but some quality bass are being caught in the surf on bait.
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Watch Matt Haeffner’s Weekly Striper Migration Reports on OTW’s YouTube Channel
New York Striper Report
Schools of bunker and mackerel in Long Island Sound are drawing schools of large stripers, while schools of big bass continue to stage up off the western end of the South Shore. Montauk is holding good numbers of slot and over-slot fish, with more of the super-sized bass expeted to move east following this moon.
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Connecticut/Rhode Island Striper Report
Bunker schools remain sparse in C0nnecticut, but fish to 30 pounds are around, with big numbers of 30-inch class fish all over
Stripers from schoolies to 40-plus-pounders continue to rove through Narragansett Bay, with some more quality, migratory fish showing up along the beaches.
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Cape Cod/Massachusetts Striper Report
The full moon and breaking tides brought big stripers to the Cape Cod Canal. Cape Cod Bay is seeing more larger fish move in from around Race Point and from the Canal. Off the south side of the Cape, large schools of 26- to 32-inch fish are hitting Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and the rips.
Thirty-pounders have been reported in Boston and beyond, with more fish bound to move in following the moon.
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New Hampshire/Maine Striper Report
Stripers to 40 inches are hitting the rivers in Maine and the coast of New Hampshire.
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Cornwall area ? The
catching 30″ers in the New Meadows