Striper Migration Map – June 30, 2023
Large bass continue to press north through New Hampshire and Maine where anglers are reporting migratory fish up to 50-pounds.
Fueled by sand eels, bunker and squid, trophy-class stripers are still rounding the tip of Long Island and pushing east through the Sound. Meanwhile, large bass continue to press north from Rhode Island and Buzzards Bay through the Cape Cod Canal, and anglers from Boston to Maine battle pogy- and mackerel-munching cow bass. Over the coming weeks, stripers will seek out cooler, deeper, bait-rich environments to spend the summer before beginning the long journey south again come autumn.
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Maryland/Chesapeake Bay Striper Fishing Report
In the upper Bay, striped bass are being caught on soft plastics in the Susquehanna River as far north as the Conowingo Dam Pool. Other anglers are finding success in the shipping channels by live-lining spot, or casting topwater plugs along the eastern shores and river mouths of the middle and lower bay.
Summer regulations inside Chesapeake Bay allowing anglers one striped bass between 19 and 31 inches per day are in place. Come July 16th, all areas of the Chesapeake Bay will be closed to striped bass fishing. Before fishing, be sure to check the Department of Natural Resources website for a map to locate areas open or closed to striped bass fishing.
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New Jersey Striper Fishing Report
Resident bass are settling into their summer patterns in the backwaters of Southern New Jersey while schoolie- to slot-size bass patrol the surf for easy pickings. There are still some quality fish in the back bays being caught on live spot or eels around the bridges, and schoolies are mixed in with cocktail bluefish picking off small baitfish being funneled through the inlets.
For the best opportunities to catch striped bass this summer, target deep, back-bay channels early in the morning or late at night, or bait an inline circle hook with sand fleas and clams in the open surf.
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New York Striper Fishing Report
Stripers are hanging in New York Harbor, where three-wayed eels and bunker are catching bass of all sizes from the deep, fast-moving currents of the Hudson and East Rivers. To the east, bass are taking bunker chunks and sand fleas on South Shore beaches.
Meanwhile, large stripers are still rounding Montauk point and many 30- to 40-inch bass are beginning to stage in the rips of the Long Island Sound, where sand eels and squid are satiating their appetites.
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Connecticut/Rhode Island Striper Report
Connecticut’s craggy shorelines are holding some quality bass that are gorging on adult and peanut bunker, small scup and sand eels. In open water, live-lining bunker has been the name of the game for anglers in the western/central Long Island Sound.
In Rhode Island, ocean water temperatures are right around 68 degrees, which has led to spectacular topwater feeds from bass in the 40-inch range feeding on abundant sand eels. At the same time, big migratory stripers have begun to settle into the waters around Block Island.
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Cape Cod/Massachusetts Striper Report
Unfavorable tides and shoddy weather slowed the bite in the Cape Cod Canal this week while anglers in Cape Cod Bay enjoyed a consistent bite from sand-eel-crazed stripers. The Outer Cape beaches saw a good push of fish from 25 to 45 inches that were also full of sand eels, and the rips of Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds had steady topwater action from squid-hound bass in the 30-inch range.
Despite the small and scattered pods of pogies around Boston, bass to 50 inches are being caught with live bunker, live mackerel and flutter spoons responsible for much of the action. Anglers on the North Shore are finding better fishing in close proximity to the Merrimack River and around the harbors, using the abundance of bunker in the harbors to their advantage.
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New Hampshire/Maine Striper Report
Striped bass to 50 pounds are hammering pogy schools off the coast of New Hampshire, while further north in Maine, bunker and mackerel schools fuel the bite in open water. Bass in the 30-inch range are lingering around the river mouths picking off the last of the young-of-year herring that are trickling back out into the ocean.
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