Joe Mahler / www.markerjockey.com
3. Rumble in the Rips
The mouth of Delaware Bay is home to the Cape May Rips, an extensive series of shallow sand ridges that create standing waves on running tides. Stripers set up feeding stations on the down-tide side of the ridges, where they are quick to jump on a live eel drifted through the rough water. The favored rig is built around a 1- to 4-ounce torpedo-shaped drift sinker with a 3- to 4-foot leader to a hook and eel. The eel is dropped back 50 or more feet behind the drifting boat so that it approaches the rip at a low angle and tracks up and over the shoals, presenting the eel at eye level to bass waiting in ambush.
