The striped bass (Morone saxatilis) is the most popular saltwater fish for anglers in the United States and has been an important commercial and recreational catch since the 1600s. Commonly known as stripers, the striped bass is found along the entire coast of the Eastern United States. In 1879, stocks of stripers were shipped cross-country to the San Francisco Bay area. Now, stripers can be found in the Western United States from Washington to Oregon.
The fish populations on the East Coast have fluctuated wildly, as a result of commercial overfishing, pollution, and other factors. In California, commercial fishing for stripers has been banned since the 1930s, so the sport fisherman is the primary seeker of the fish. Stripers are anadromous (they live in saltwater and spawn in fresh or brackish waters) so they need to have access to freshwater bays and rivers. They are coastal fish that migrate north for spawning every spring.
Stripers are a large fish with large mouths, a forked tail, and smaller eyes. It is a fairly streamlined fish with a long body and long head and a slightly protruding lower jaw. Most saltwater stripers caught by anglers are from five to ten pounds, although they can often reach the 30 to 50-pound range. The IGFA recognized saltwater record striper is 78 pounds, 8 ounces caught off Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 21, 1982.
Stripers are active and aggressive fish that prefer moving water. They are voracious eaters and live on a diet of other fish including anchovies, alewives, surfperch, and herring and they also worms, crabs, and other invertebrates.
Catching stripers can be done using a variety of methods and baits. Stripers can be caught casting from the surf, which can be more adventuresome, or anglers can fish from boats, which offers more flexibility. Although stripers can be feeding at any time, many anglers prefer to fish at night, especially in the warmer summer months.
Surfcasting from the shore, anglers search for signs that stripers are feeding. The appearance of jumping baitfish on the surface of the water or seabirds gathering and circling can be good indications that stripers are feeding. Bait and lure techniques can vary, but many anglers look to plugs and artificial squid baits. For live baits, eels and small baitfish are popular choices. Beginning anglers should be extra careful fishing from the shore. Many popular spots for stripers are on rocky terrain in heavy surf. Anglers must be careful in such conditions, especially when fishing at night. When a fish is on the line and approaching shore, anglers should let the surf do some of the work by allowing the fish to come in with a wave instead of trying to pull a fish through one. Surfcasting requires long spinning-style fishing tackle, which is capable of sending lures and bait out past the surf break points. Anglers use prefer artificial lures tend to try plugs (wood or plastic lures that resemble fish) or jig baits. Eels are effective natural bait; they are often combined with an artificial lure with the intention of bouncing the eel along the sea floor.
Fishing from a boat can be less intimate than surfcasting, but it provides more flexibility. From shore, if a school of fish moves too far offshore, even the farthest cast will be too short. With a boat, anglers are easily able to follow feeding schools and cast right into them. Trolling from a boat (moving steadily through an area with a lure) can be an effective method for locating deeper schools of if feeding fish on the surface are not visible. Popular trolling lures include spoons and jigs. Drift fishing with live baits can also be a good way to locate schools of stripers. Once a fish is caught on live bait, some anglers switch to casting artificial lures right into the school.
