Inshore water temperatures are warming fast and stripers are spawning in Chesapeake Bay tributaries. Big bass are moving up the Hudson River, while plenty more continue to feast in the Raritan Bay. Migratory schoolies have reached Rhode Island and Cape Cod, with reports improving daily.
Signs are pointing to a great striper fishing season! Now is the time to sign up for the Striper Cup and get your sign-up package complete with a Rapala lure, Columbia PFG shirt, and great discounts on gear.
Maryland/Chesapeake Bay Striper Fishing Report
Maryland’s spring striped bass catch-and-release season remains closed until May 1. Striped bass spawning continues, though rivers are facing warm temperatures and low flows due to a lack of rain recently. Rain next week could help the productivity of the striped bass spawn.
The MD Department of Natural Resources website includes maps of which areas can be legally fished. Remember, all fishing for striped bass in the main part of the Bay is closed from April 1 until May 1. The tidal rivers are closed to catch-and-release fishing for striped bass.
New Jersey Striper Fishing Report
More slot-size stripers are moving into Southern New Jersey’s inlets and backwaters, and beachfront fishing is improving as well, with fish in the 30-inch range taking clams, worms, and soft plastics from Cape May to LBI. In the Delaware Bay and River, anglers are encountering the occasional larger striped bass, as warming temperatures get the Delaware River stripers ready to spawn.
Good surfside action for stripers can be found from Island Beach on up to Sandy Hook as well, with bait being best. Mainly clams.
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The Raritan run continues, with reports of bass being “everywhere,” but heavy boat traffic and fishing pressure has been putting fish down at times. Some of the larger fish are departing for the Hudson to spawn, but there are plenty of bass staging and feeding on menhaden throughout the bay.
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New York Striper Fishing Report
Stripers to 20 pounds have been reported all the way out to the East End of Long Island, and with the New York Striper Season now open, anglers are finding slot size fish all around the island. Big bass are moving all the way up the Hudson River on the way to spawn, which typically gets underway by the first week of May.
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Connecticut/Rhode Island Striper Report
Herring continue to get holdover stripers active in Connecticut’s tidal rivers, with larger fish feeding after dark.
Schoolie fishing in Rhode Island is improving daily, with some fishermen even reporting blitzing fish on herring. There’s been a good batch of schoolies, with many 24-inchers making for fun light-tackle action. Stripers carrying sea lice are being reported off Rhode Island’s beaches, as the presence of migratory stripers has increased dramatically over the past week.
Cape Cod/Massachusetts Striper Report
Migratory bass have reached Massachusetts. The first ones hit the Vineyard last weekend, as per usual, and have since moved across the sound, with sea-louse-bearing stripers being reported in Buzzards Bay and on the South Side of Cape Cod.
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The post Striper Migration Map – April 21, 2023 first appeared on On The Water.
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