New England Striper Season Is Here

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer. What is also indicates in the start of the striper season - at least in my mind and in my geographic area. Even though stripers (of quality and of quantity) have been caught throughout souther New England and Cape Cod, I feel like Memorial Day is a good time to start hunting trophy fish, particularly in my area now which is now Boston Harbor and the N. Shore.

Look for the Canal to have reports of large fish (especially during the breaking tides this weekend), and also the North and South Rivers. I also assume that large fish will start being hauled from the river on the North Shore as well.

Use big baits as herring and mackerel will be on the menu. I like to use 9" sluggos and hogys, loaded red fins, sebile magic swimmers, and big pencil poppers this time of year. Don't forget the spooks and glide baits either.

Go get em!

Warmer Temps, Herring, and Fresh Stripers

Temperatures are finally on the rise. Despite the frost on my windshield this morning it appears that the never ending winter has finally receded. Flowers are rapidly popping up through the soil, flower buds are appearing on shrubs, bird chirping is increasing everyday, and herring are showing up in runs and entering the ponds all along the east coast.

I love the Spring. After a long, cold, snow-filled winter, the spring is an enormous breath of fresh air. It is time to start casting at your favorite early season spots, as fresh stripers are rapidly moving into CT and RI waters, with Cape Cod seeing fresh fish in a week or two.

Though I need to wait a little longer until fresh stripers reach me up on the N. Shore of MA, I have been out scouting some spots, and seeing how the winter storms changed our beaches and rivers. I encourage you to do the same, and why not bring a rod along with you.

Still Cold

Since ice fishing isn't really my cup of tea, we've reached the 3rd month of the year and I hadn't been fishing yet, until yesterday, when I made a half-hearted attempt at nabbing a holdover trout on the Cape. Well really, it was more of a scouting mission; however, I did manage about a solid half hour of casting in 20 degree temps to catch a 10" holdover brown. Man was it SWEET! The 2011 fishing season has officially begun for me.

As some anglers get in their last ice trips of the season, others are pursuing opportunities on the open water for trout, bass, pickerel, and panfish. Some are even harassing holdover stripers, anxiously awaiting the return of the fresh striped bass in about a month's time. Until then, I have some more plugs to build and jigs to tie, but hopefully as it gets warmer, I'll find some time to hit the sweetwater. Here's to our dreaming of stripers nearing reality.

First Post

Welcome to the New England Striper Fishing blog. I am hoping that this blog can be a community to share tips, tactics, and experiences for catching striped bass, as well as the variety of other fish that call New England home. I am by no means an expert angler, but I am hoping that I can take my experience and use it to entertain and educate followers of the blog. Stay tuned for pictures, stories, and more, as we have officially begun the 2011 fishing season.

Tight Lines, S.B.