New Jersey Shore
The spring run off New Jersey’s coast the last five years has been nothing less than legendary, with daily individual scores of 30-pounders a virtual guarantee and a 40-pound-plus fish almost a lock. Dozens of 50-pound or larger fish are boated every spring as large bunker schools amass, attracting the big bass and keeping them rooted. Jetty country, north of Manasquan Inlet, has been a main playground for lunker bass in recent years, though the stretch from Island Beach State Park down through Long Beach Island holds promise too. Bass pin bunker schools inside Raritan Bay, and Delaware Bay is the prime time spot to intercept bass spawning in the Delaware River. Tip to tip, Jersey rules.
Trip Planner
Hot Spots: Asbury Park, Manasquan Inlet, Sandy Hook, Delaware Bay, Cape May rips.
Top Techniques: Live-lining bunker, jigging rubber shads 1, trolling bunker spoons 2 and shad umbrella rigs.
Essentials: Bunker snag rigs 3, cast net, 9/0 circle hooks, fluorocarbon leader 4, pork-roll sandwich for breakfast.
Who:
Capt. Mickey Melchiondo / Archangel
www.mickeysfishing.com
Capt. Ken Gallop / Big Kid
www.bigkidfishing.com
Shore Catch Guide Service
www.shorecatch.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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