Category Archives: 2011 March Fishing Reports

Spring is in the Air, Bucktailing for Stripers

Posted on March 15, 2011 by avatar

This past weekend we took the Kids to the Center Moriches St.Patrick’s Day Parade.

Katie and Mia St.Pat's Parade 2011

 We all had a good time watching the bag pipers march blowing there familar Irish sounds which to me, is like they are calling all the bait fish to return to our waters and bring with them the return of our beloved Striped Bass.   

                                                       

As the sounds of St.Patrick’s day bag pipers echo in my head I begin to look for the tail tell signs of spring.  As each flower and tree starts to bloom I can’t wait for the pear trees to blossom and turn white, for I know as soon as I see them along Wm Floyd Pkwy blooming the Striped Bass (Morone Saxatilis) have come in and there hungry to feed.  
 
In the spring the Striped Bass along with many other game fish come into the bay to spawn in the warmer waters in and around rivers and tributaries and flats, when the bait fish show up the Striped Bass start gorging they are voracious eaters. They’ll eat all most any kind of fish,  crustaceans, worms, frogs, insects, crabs you name it. If it can swallow it whole the striped bass will eat it.
 
Spring Sand Eels

Bait Sand Eels

In the past few years Sand Eels have been the dominate bait followed by Spearing,Bunker and everything else.
 
Once the water temps hits mid to upper 50′s the striped bass head for these areas to spawn. The males show up 1st with the bigger females right behind making there way up the rivers and tributaries. This is a what we call the spring run. Some of these fish have swam from as far away as North Carolina or swam down from the Hudson River. Opening day is April 15th but I have seen a few small fish the week before, by the third week of April the Bass are in full swing with blue fish all over as well.  This is when Double headers are commonly caught.

Capt.Paul and Dean Locke

Bob Haneman with a Double Header Spring time Stripers RELEASED

  

Click above for the Video of that Double Header
 
Some of my favorite tactics for catching striped bass is a 1 to 1.5 oz blue frog bucktail with a uncle josh pork rind trailer. Some of you are saying what is he talking about let me break it down. The weight of the buck tail co insides with the depth of the water you are fishing. 0-5′ a good choice would be  1/2 oz to 1 oz. The depths I usually fish are around 10′ and I like to throw a 1.25 or 1.5 oz bucktail in this situation. If I’m fishing in 20′ of water I will go with a heavier bucktail like a 2 oz or may even go up to 3 oz depending on the current. In some areas you even have to use a three way swivel with much heavier lead up to 16 oz sometimes and a 6′ leader attached to 1.5 oz bucktail. But for now lets stick with shallow bay fishing like I do in Moriches bay. Also there are many kinds of Bucktail jigs to pick from,
 

4 Different Types of Bucktails

Spro, Smiley Bill’s, Andrus to name a few but my favorite is the Blue Frog Arrow Head Swing Hook.

5 Blue Frog ARROWHEAD BUCKTAILS IN MY FAVORITE COLORS

 I like the Swing Hook because of the hook up ratio. No matter which way the fish hits the lure you have the best chance of a hook up with the swing over a fixed hook. But that’s just my preference. And last but one of the most important parts of bucktail’s is what to tip it with. I’m a big fan of Uncle Josh to me there’s nothing better and it comes in many sizes and colors.  
 
 

Bucktail and different color Uncle Josh

In the spring I like to use green and white or all white bucktail with red split tail josh or yellow or even green depending on the bait that day. I also like to add a spearing or sand eel teaser tied using a dropper loop about 1′ above the bucktail. This will increase your odds until the Blue Fish show up then you’ll want to remove the teaser and buck tail or they’ll just rip that pretty combo to shreds  

Bucktail with Teaser

 
But if the color combos are getting to much go with all White and Red Josh
you can’t go wrong with that combo

Striper caught on a Blue Frog Bucktail

Striper caught on a Blue Frog Bucktail too

One more important thing to do when throwing Bucktail’s especially in the spring is a slow retrieve. Just fast enough to keep it off the bottom but slow enough for the Bass to bite it. Once you find that magic retrieve speed and your bucktail is in the strike zone you’ll be hooked up before you know it…

Capt.Paul with a Spring Time Keeper Striped Bass

Mia and Dad with a Striper

The Family with a Spring Time Striper

One more important thing I think you need to know is where to look for these fish. What you want to do is look for any large body of shallow water flowing into a deeper area. because the sun heats up these waters on the flats all day long  an afternoon bite with a out going tide usually produces a lot of fish. In Moriches there are several places I can find this sinario and you can find thses drop offs in any body of water especially on the south shore.
 
Soon the boat will be in and the 2011 season will begin. If you would like to get out and land some of these fish just give me a call
 
                                     Catch em up
                                   631-433-6220
                             Captain Paul Peluso
              CaptainPaulPeluso@MamaMiaFishing.net
                         www.MamaMiaFishing.net

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