Chesapeake Bay
As the largest estuary in the United States, with over 150 different freshwater river systems emptying into it, Chesapeake Bay is where the majority of striped bass stocks spawn. Many rockfish winter a little bit south of here, off Virginia Beach and North Carolina, but the Chesapeake is the first spot to hit on their migration northward. As bass set up and enter the Susquehanna River to spawn, the shallow flats are the perfect place for them to gather the sun’s rays to warm up and gain energy. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, with 5,198 pilings, adds 17.6 miles of striper-magnet structure inside the bay. Rockfish pick off the mussels, clams, crabs and baitfish that hang around the pilings, while the structure provides ideal ambush cover.
Trip Planner
Hot Spots: Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, Virginia Beach coast, Susquehanna flats.
Top Techniques: Mojo balling, trolling plugs, live-lining spot or croaker.
Essentials: 50-pound fluorocarbon leader, Mann’s Stretch 30 plugs, Abu Garcia 7000i C3 Mag reel, warm clothes, crab-cake sandwich for lunch.
Who:
Capt. Chandler Hogg
www.captainhoggscharters.com
Capt. Pete Dahlberg
www.fourseasonsguideservice.com
Nick Honachefsky
Striper Road Trip
Striped bass make their spring run up the East Coast, hitting spots like Chesapeake Bay, New Jersey, Montauk, Block Island and Cape Cod along the way. Varied techniques of bucktailing, livelining bunker and eels, surfcasting with plugs and poppers, trolling spoons and shad bar rigs, and jigging metal lures all lay claim to catching and hooking big striped bass.
PHOTO: Behemoth bass line Jersey's shores during the Spring Run.
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