Striped Bass Fishing Guide: How to Catch Stripers from the Surf to Open Water

The surf rod loads and the tip bows toward the water. Something hit your chunk bait in the wash and it's pulling drag in the first light of dawn. The line angles south along the beach, cutting through the foam, and you feel that heavy, rhythmic headshake that tells you exactly what's on the other end. Striped bass. Nothing else pulls like that - steady, powerful, stubborn. That first fish of the fall run is worth every cold morning and every empty cast that came before it.

Striped bass are America's most popular saltwater gamefish, and they've held that title for generations. They migrate the entire Atlantic seaboard from North Carolina to Maine, they eat everything from bunker to eels to bucktails, and they'll hit from the surf, from a boat, or from a kayak in three feet of water. Whether you fish the Outer Banks, the Chesapeake, Montauk, or the Cape Cod Canal, stripers are the fish that defines the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic coast.

Species Overview

Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) are anadromous - they live in saltwater but return to freshwater rivers to spawn. The major spawning grounds are the Chesapeake Bay, the Hudson River, and the Delaware River. Females reach maturity between 4 and 8 years old, while males can begin spawning as early as age 2-4. Larger, older females produce significantly more eggs per kilogram of body mass than younger fish, which is a critical reason why protecting big breeders matters.

Stripers prefer water temperatures between 55 and 68 degrees F, though they'll feed in water from the low 50s down to surprisingly cold conditions - anglers have caught them breaking ice to feed on baitfish in near-freezing shallows. When water temps drop below 50 degrees, the fall migration kicks into gear. When temps climb above 68, fish push offshore to deeper, cooler water or stack up in areas with favorable current and temperature breaks.

Most stripers anglers encounter run 18-32 inches. Fish over 40 inches are trophies. The world record is 81 pounds 14 ounces, caught by Greg Myerson in Long Island Sound in 2011 on a live eel. Fish in the 50-60 pound class show up every season in the right locations. Late-migrating stripers in the fall run sometimes carry a deep purple sheen on their flanks - a beautiful fish that's been feeding hard for months.

Where to Find Striped Bass

Outer Banks, North Carolina. The winter striper run off Hatteras is one of the most overlooked fisheries on the East Coast. From November through January, migratory stripers stack up along the beaches and in the sounds as water temps push them south. Chunk bait in the surf produces big fish after dark. This is home water for me - the NC coast run is real and consistent for anglers willing to brave cold surf in December.

Chesapeake Bay. The Bay is the single most important striped bass ecosystem in the world. Roughly 70-80% of all Atlantic striped bass are spawned in the Chesapeake. The trophy season runs from late fall through spring, with the spring spawn concentrating huge fish in the upper Bay tributaries. Trolling umbrella rigs, live-lining spot and white perch, and chunking bunker all produce. The Calvert Cliffs power plant warm water discharge is a reliable winter hotspot.

Montauk, New York. Montauk Point is striper fishing's Mount Rushmore. The rips, rocky shoreline, and convergence of currents create a feeding machine for migrating bass. Live eels chunked into the rocks after dark, diamond jigs worked in the rips during the day, and big topwater plugs at dawn and dusk are all proven approaches. Block Island and Fishers Island offer similar structure-based fishing with less pressure.

Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The Cape Cod Canal is legendary for striper jigging - anglers line the banks and work heavy jigs with 10-15 cranks through the ripping current. The outer beaches from Chatham to Provincetown hold surf fish from June through November. The fall run at Race Point draws surfcasters from across the country.

Long Island Sound and New Jersey. Reefs like Cable and Anchor off Norwalk, Hatchetts Reef in Niantic, and Bartlett's Reef draw big bass like magnets from May through November. The Jersey Shore surf from Long Beach Island to Island Beach State Park produces outstanding fall run fishing on bunker chunks and swimming plugs.

Techniques for Striped Bass

Surfcasting is the classic striper method. For a complete breakdown of surf setups, rigs, and casting techniques, see our surf fishing guide. Long rods, heavy sinkers, and big baits thrown into the wash. The fall run - September through November in the Northeast, November through January in the Mid-Atlantic - is prime time. Fish after dark when large stripers come close to shore to prey on menhaden, mullet, squid, and herring in the wash zone. A chunk of fresh bunker on a circle hook fished in the trough between the inner and outer bar is as effective as it gets. Use bank sinkers heavy enough to hold the bottom in the current - typically 3-6 ounces depending on conditions. For a complete breakdown of sinker selection, see our sinker weight guide.

Trolling covers water fast and locates scattered fish. Bunker spoons, umbrella rigs, and stretch plugs are the workhorses. Trolling Tony Maja bunker spoons on dedicated bunker spoon rods is a tournament-winning technique along the entire coast. Mojo rigs (surgical tube lures on three-way rigs) work well in sandy, structure-free areas where bass are on the move. For wire-lining applications, piano wire gets your lures down without the bulk of heavy lead. Shallow-diving minnow plugs like the Daiwa Salt Pro in bunker color troll effectively when fish are feeding near the surface.

Live bait is deadly for trophy stripers. Live eels fished on octopus circle hooks are the number one big-fish bait along the entire coast - a live eel on a circle hook almost always finds its mark right in the lip. Live bunker (menhaden), hickory shad, and spot are all top baits depending on location and season. The ferocity of stripers attacking live-lined hickory shad has to be witnessed to be believed - they produce the biggest fish year after year in many fisheries. Thread live baits on stainless bait springs for secure presentations in current.

Jigging is the go-to method for daytime boat fishing and canal anglers. Diamond jigs in the 2-6 ounce range worked vertically over reefs, wrecks, and drop-offs produce consistently. The technique is simple - drop to the bottom, reel up 10-15 cranks, let it fall, repeat. Larger stripers usually hang near the bottom. Bucktails with soft plastic trailers are equally effective and give you more flexibility with presentation speed and depth. Bluewater Candy Roscoe jigs and Bluewater Candy bottom rigs are built for this exact application.

Fly fishing for stripers is an absolute blast. Clouser Minnows in chartreuse and white, Lefty's Deceivers in bunker patterns, and large sand eel imitations cover most situations. An 8-9 weight fly rod handles schoolies; step up to a 10-weight for fish over 30 inches. The best fly fishing for stripers happens on the flats, in back bays, and around rocky structure where you can sight-cast to cruising fish in clear water.

Tackle Setup

Surf setup:

• Rod: 9-11 foot medium-heavy to heavy surf rod, moderate to moderate-fast action
• Reel: 5000-8000 size spinning reel with a smooth drag
• Main line: 20-30lb braided line
• Leader: 30-50lb fluorocarbon, 3-4 feet
• Hook: 7/0-10/0 circle hooks for chunk bait
• Sinker: 3-6 oz bank sinkers on a fish-finder rig

Boat setup (casting/jigging):

• Rod: 7-8 foot medium to medium-heavy spinning rod, fast action
• Reel: 4000-6000 size spinning reel
• Main line: 20-30lb braid
• Leader: 30-40lb fluorocarbon, 2-3 feet
• Terminal: Ball bearing snap swivels for quick lure changes; AFW snap swivels for budget-friendly alternatives

For trolling, step up to medium-heavy conventional outfits in the 20-30lb class. Dedicated bunker spoon rods and wire line setups are common for deep presentations. Keep your drag smooth and your connections tight - stripers in current generate surprising power, and a bad knot or corroded swivel will cost you the fish of the season. Brass crimp sleeves keep wire connections reliable trip after trip. For leader selection help, check our leader weight chart.

Bait and Lures

Stripers eat everything. That's not an exaggeration - their diet includes menhaden, herring, sand eels, squid, crabs, shrimp, clams, mullet, and basically anything that fits in their mouth. Match the hatch for the best results.

Top live baits: Bunker (menhaden), live eels, hickory shad, spot, white perch, mackerel, herring. Live eels after dark are the single most consistent big-fish producer on the striper coast.

Top cut baits: Bunker chunks, fresh clam, squid strips. Fresh bunker heads fished on bottom in the surf catch big fish consistently throughout the fall run.

Top artificial lures: Bucktails (white is a must-have color), paddle tail soft plastics in bunker and sand eel patterns, large swimming plugs (Daiwa SP Minnow, Bomber Long A), topwater plugs and spook-style lures, diamond jigs, and soft plastic jerkbaits. For our full breakdown of bait vs artificial selection, read live bait vs artificial lures.

Spook-style surface lures deserve special mention. Stripers will often blow up on a topwater and miss it completely, then come back for a second and third strike. The visual explosions make this the most exciting way to catch bass, period. Fish them at dawn and dusk over shallow structure for heart-stopping action.

Migration Patterns and Seasons

The striped bass migration is one of the great natural events on the Atlantic coast. Understanding it is the key to being in the right place at the right time.

Spring (March-May): Stripers move north from their winter holding areas off Virginia and North Carolina. They enter the Chesapeake Bay and Hudson River to spawn when water temps hit 55-60 degrees. The first fish show in New Jersey and Long Island Sound by late April. By mid-May, the migration pushes into Connecticut, Rhode Island, and southern Massachusetts.

Summer (June-August): Fish spread along the entire Northeast coast from New Jersey to Maine. The biggest concentrations stack up around structure - Montauk, Block Island, the Cape Cod Canal, and the reefs of Long Island Sound. Warm weather pushes fish to early morning, late evening, and after-dark feeding windows. Water temperatures above 68 degrees drive bass deeper during midday.

Fall (September-November): The fall run. Stripers begin moving south, feeding aggressively on herring, bunker, and sand eels as they go. This is the best fishing of the year - the biggest fish in the best numbers. The run progresses from Maine and Massachusetts through New York and New Jersey, eventually reaching the Mid-Atlantic by November. The 50-degree water temperature mark triggers the heaviest migration movement.

Winter (December-February): Most migratory stripers winter off Virginia and North Carolina in deeper water. Holdover populations remain in rivers and bays throughout the Northeast. The winter run off Hatteras and Virginia Beach produces big fish for surfcasters willing to endure the cold. Some areas see stripers breaking through ice to feed on trapped baitfish - proof that these fish are tough and opportunistic.

Regulations and Circle Hook Requirements

Striped bass regulations are complex and vary significantly by state. Slot limits, minimum sizes, bag limits, and seasonal closures change frequently as managers try to rebuild the population. Check your state's current regulations before every trip - this is not a fishery where you can assume last year's rules still apply.

Circle hooks are required when fishing with natural bait for striped bass in many states, including Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and others. This regulation exists because recreational release mortality is the single largest source of fishing mortality for striped bass - roughly 40-50% of stripers that die from fishing each year were caught and released. circle hooks dramatically reduce gut-hooking, and using them is both the law and the right thing to do. For a full comparison, check circle hooks vs J-hooks.

If a fish is hooked deep despite your best efforts, cut the leader as close to the hook as possible and release the fish with the hook in place. A deeply hooked fish released with the hook still in has a better survival rate than one where you spent five minutes trying to dig the hook out. snap swivels make quick terminal tackle changes easy when you need to switch rigs.

Conservation - Protecting the Future

The striped bass population has been through boom and bust cycles. The moratorium of 1984-1990 saved the fishery from collapse - harvest was banned in most states until the population recovered. That recovery was one of the great conservation success stories in American fisheries. But we're facing challenges again.

Recent spawning surveys in the Chesapeake Bay have shown below-average juvenile production in many recent years. Warmer winters, reduced snowmelt, and altered spring zooplankton production are changing the spawning environment. The population has shrunk, and managers have responded with tighter regulations - reduced bag limits, slot size requirements, and mandatory circle hooks for bait fishing.

Release mortality is the biggest controllable factor. Land fish quickly rather than playing them to exhaustion. Use circle hooks with bait. Keep fish in the water during release. Avoid fishing for stripers when water temperatures exceed 70 degrees - warm water stress combined with fight exhaustion kills released fish at much higher rates. Handle fish with wet hands, support them horizontally, and point them into the current to revive before letting go.

Stripers are resilient when given the chance. Maryland has shown that favorable environmental conditions produce strong year classes. But the fish need our help - responsible angling practices today determine whether your kids and grandkids get to feel that headshake in the surf 20 years from now.

Striped bass are the fish that built the Northeast saltwater fishing culture. They're worth fighting for - both on the line and in the management arena. Get out there this fall, fish responsibly, and enjoy the greatest gamefish migration on the Atlantic coast. Tight lines.

Questions about striper tackle or rigging? Call us at 888.453.3742 or email help@thetackleroom.com.

Know Before You Go: Regulations change frequently. Always check current size limits, bag limits, seasons, and gear restrictions with your state fisheries agency before heading out. For interstate management updates, visit ASMFC.org. Circle hooks are required for bait fishing in many Atlantic states.