Question for the Captains who Keep Log Books

[mattlist]

Unfortunately I have not been chasing the striped ones long enough to have a log worth a salt. I was wondering; At what point of the fall striper migration are we at now? Is this the peek? From last weekend I would say so. What should we expect in the upcoming weeks? From what I know things will calm down in about two weeks when the water hits the low 50's. Thirsty for more knowledge. Thanks!

[Kobie]

This is the begining of the migration,I IMO consider Thanksgiving to be the Peak and some years the season does not end until after Chrismas.There are a few Capt. who have fished well in to Jan. and Feb. and still caught fish.But the migratory fish are usaully gone in Jan.You can catch stripers with water temp. as low as about 42 degrees but after that its very slow.

[Don C]

From what I've seen we are just at the start. As the water gets colder the blues will move on and the larger fish will move in. Around Thanksgiving to the second or third week in December is best then slowly drops off and we stop fishing the second week in January. But this is only the last three years. We have caught fish off of Sandy Hook as cold as 35 degrees last year.

Don C

[JoeyZac]

This is just the beginning. It will get better every week this month and will still be good in Dec.

I would put the peak around Thanksgiving, but it also varies year to year.

[Capt Harv]

We started seeing the influx of the large stripers coming down from the north the last two weeks. It was after the big NE blow that the fish showed up. We have been catching the resident fish all summer long, but now we see the beginning of the migratory fish coming down. This typically begins the third or fourth week of October but varies a little depending on water temps. The migrators will stay in the Delaware Bay area until the water temps get too cold, usually by the end of November or first week of December. These fish are the big breeders from the Chesapeake, Hudson, and other breeding populations. A portion of our Delaware breeders will overwinter in the bay if the water temps are not too severe. Most of the population migrates down south off Virginia or North Carolina.

In the meantime, many of the midsize and smaller fish are working their way down the coast. This fishing will improve as we get further on in November and December. Loads of stripers feeding on sand eels, spearing, and other baits work their way down the coast. How long they will be in our area varies from year to year. Most years they are around into January and some years into February. When the water temps get near 40, most have left, yet fish are caught well into the winter months.

[Captain Ken W]

I agree, we are definitely in the beginning of the fall run and it will only get better from here on in. The last couple of years we have seen fish well past the end of the December. As the water cools the blue fish will move on and the stripers will move in.


Oh……did I say that out loud, what I meant was that it is absolutely over so take your boat out of the water and winterize it. ;);)

[FishingLuhrs]

Our last trip of the year for 2007 was Dec 28th and the bite had definitely cooled off by then but bass were still being taken and continued to be caught for at least 2 weeks after that. On that day we only caught one bass but it was our biggest of the year. The bite was red hot for us until the second week of Dec last year.

[WreckinBall]

They always bite through December, and many times into January, but they are mostly just schoolies. A few years back though, I remember fishing on the Miss Chris in February and jigging bass off the beach. It was a warm winter, and the bite actually restarted after slowing down during January. They will stay on the offshore humps as long as the sand eels are around, however it's obviously not legal to target them out there.

[striper2278]

We fish into January pretty much every year! Last few have been right into Feb!

[Bet On It]

In my opinion, It's the beginning. Water Temp dropped quickly and they moved in quickly. Water temp is dropping fast though and have been successful til the water temp drops to 45 down to about 42 degrees.

[mattlist]

Thanks for the info. Just pushed my dry dock date to December. Can't get enough..