Striped bass are one of North America’s premier gamefish — a powerful, schooling predator that pursues baitfish with explosive surface aggression, grows to trophy size, and produces some of the most exciting moments in all of fishing.
Striper Overview
Atlantic Coast (Migratory)
The most famous striped bass fishery follows a seasonal north-south migration. Stripers winter in southern waters, then move north in spring following spawning runs of bunker (menhaden), herring, and mackerel. The spring run brings stripers to New England, New York, and the mid-Atlantic. Fall produces another peak as fish head south again — fat with accumulated forage, the fall run produces the largest stripers of the year.
Key spawning rivers: Hudson River (NY), Delaware River (PA/NJ), Chesapeake Bay tributaries (MD/VA).
Pacific Coast
A robust striped bass population exists in San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta — the same species, with the same behavior, providing excellent fishing.
Landlocked Reservoirs
Large striped bass populations in Keystone Lake (OK), Lake Texoma (TX/OK), Santee-Cooper (SC), Kerr Reservoir (VA/NC), and dozens of other southern and midwestern reservoirs. Landlocked fish pursue gizzard shad and threadfin shad exactly as their coastal relatives pursue bunker.
Finding Striped Bass
Follow the Birds
The fastest way to find actively feeding stripers is from the crow’s nest or by scanning the horizon: diving terns and gannets mark the spot where stripers are pushing baitfish to the surface. When you see birds working — motor to them quickly and cast into the carnage.
Current and Structure
Stripers position in current seams near structure to ambush baitfish:
- Jetties and rocky points with tidal current washing over them
- Rips — where two current lines meet, creating an upwelling that concentrates baitfish
- Bridge pilings — current accelerates around pilings; stripers stack on the downstream shadow side
- Channel edges in estuaries and rivers
- Dam faces and tailwaters (especially in landlocked lakes)
Night Fishing for Trophy Stripers
The largest stripers (40–70 pounds) are almost exclusively caught at night in coastal areas. Big fish move into the surf, around jetties, and into river mouths after dark. This is when the biggest bucktail jigs, large surface poppers, and live eels produce trophy fish.
Best Techniques for Striped Bass
Casting to Surface Feeders
When stripers are blowing up on baitfish schools at the surface, almost any lure cast into the school will draw a strike:
- Topwater poppers (Arbogast Pencil Popper, Yo-Zuri Hydro Popper)
- Metal spoons (Kastmaster, Stingsilver)
- Soft plastic swimbaits — match-the-hatch with bait size
- Bucktail jig worked quickly through the surface school
The rule: Don’t motor through feeding fish — shut off the motor and coast in, or cast from the edge of the school. Stripers scatter immediately from boat noise.
Bucktail Jigging
A 1–3oz white bucktail jig is the most versatile striper lure — it catches fish on the surface, at mid-depth, and dragged along the bottom. Work it with a retrieve of short lifts and drops at any depth where fish are holding. The white or chartreuse tail color works in virtually all conditions.
Knot: Palomar Knot on 30–50lb fluorocarbon leader directly to jig head.
Live Bait Fishing
For trophy stripers, a live bunker or live eel on a circle hook (6/0–8/0) is the top method. Freelined (no weight), the bait swims naturally and covers water on its own. Under a balloon (used as a large float), the bait is suspended at a specific depth.
Circle hook use: When a striper picks up the bait and runs, resist setting the hook — let the fish run, then reel down steadily and the circle hook sets itself in the corner of the mouth.
Surf Fishing
See: Fishing the Surf — Rigs and Knots
Surf fishing for stripers involves heavy sinkers (2–8oz pyramid sinkers) holding cut bunker or live eels in the current at the surf line. Heavy rods (11–13 foot surf rods) cast lures or rigged baits into the breaking waves. The Palomar Knot is standard for attaching hooks to leaders.
Gear for Striped Bass
Light to medium (schoolies and mid-size fish):
- 7–8 foot medium-heavy spinning rod, 4000–5000 series reel, 20–30lb braid + 20–30lb fluoro leader
Heavy (trophy fish, surf, live bait):
- 9–10 foot heavy spinning or conventional rod, large conventional reel or 6000+ spinning, 40–50lb braid + 40–50lb mono leader
Knots for Stripers
- Braid to fluorocarbon leader: FG Knot (strongest, slimmest) or Double Uni Knot
- Leader to lure or hook: Palomar Knot
- Live bait circle hooks: Improved Clinch Knot on 30–40lb monofilament leader