early season stripers?

[Coop]

OK, I am looking for some theories on our early season stripers off our beach this time of year,,,are they fish that were in our local waters that were hold overs and heading south to the chesapeake or north to the delaware to spawn?,,,are they fish that may have spawned early in the very lower part of the chesapeake and on the move?,,,maybe fish from the albemarle sound area that have spawned and on the move north, not even sure that is a popular spawning ground for stripers, and if it is, do they head north?,,,or are there fish that really aren't sure where the heck to go and are swimming around in circles and suffering from vertigo?,,,how about the smaller ones that have been here all winter,,,where in the heck do they go? such a mystery?,,,I caught one early last year and was definitely a prespawned fish,,,maybe heading to the chesapeake or delaware :?

[Randy Stinchcomb]

good questions Scott, I really don't know the answers. now a follow-up, are ther any tagging programs in place that would have this kind of info and if not, maybe we could start our own tagging program for stripers caught down at the beach?

something similar is going on in the Magothy & Severn rivers wth the chain pickeral, just a thought :wink:

[Coop]

Randy,,,The ALS (amarican littoral society) has a great fish tagging program,,,I belong to it and have tagged several stripers, until I tagged one and it bled more than I care to see one bleed,,,probably my faught in the placement of the tag and will probably start tagging again,,,it provides excellent info on there migration,,,they send out a pamphlet and show info on a fish that was caught with a tag,,,its amazing how far they do travel, but I still think there are questions about there migration,,,they do have a good idea about the migration but there is always some variables that make a year different from the next.

[Randy Stinchcomb]

hmmm, sounds interesting. are these tags free like the Apex tags or do you have to-be a member of ALS?

I practice "catch & release" almost 100% of the time*, no matter if its the beach or the bay. so tagging fish just might be a good thing for me to-do.



*baitfish excluded

[Coop]

Tags were $6 for 10 tags and there is a fee to become a member,,,the organization does many things as well concerning our coasts.

Personally, I do keep some stripers and other fish as well,,,It's one of my favorite foods :chef: .,,,I like to have fish twice a month.

Here is the link:
http://www.alsnyc.org/

[Randy Stinchcomb]

Thanks Scott :up:

Im not much of a fish eatter* but I can put a hurttin' on crabs, lobster, shrimp, clams, oysters & muscles :mrgreen: :v:


*exception to the rule = Wahoo, Mahi-Mahi & Grouper 8)

[Steve]

I think you have a lot of hold-over Stripers, Coop pretty much showed that to be true by catching them all through the winter.
An unknown percentage of migrating fish don't move past OC enroute to the CB. Many come through the inter-coastal waterway from the DE Bay down into the CB. A couple'a buddies of mine boiught a boat up north and came through that way and they said they could get out and walr on the Stripers. The locals say it's like that every year. They also spawn in the CB and head north the same way.

As for the main bulk of the fish, it is thought that they winter with the baitfish off the NC coast in the Mid-Atlantic Bight.
http://marine.rutgers.edu/mrs/sat_da...ght&nothumbs=0

They'll come inshore when the waters warm a bit and continue north following the isotherms.

[Charkbait]

It is my understanding that the mojority of east coast stripers will spawn in/off the Susquehanna Flats of the CB, there have been very few cows caught to this point up there and until this weekend few fish over 30". I would think what you are getting now are Delaware bay and other fish that spawn in northern sections migrating up the coast. It is agreed upon to this point there has been no upper bay spawn.

One thing I was wondering about on AI this weekend is yak trolling some big lures off the bar for these migrating fish, they are extremely aggressive this time of year and this is how it's done in the bay to get into them. They aren't holding in spots like in the summer or fall, and are mostly solo fish, they are on the move so the best way to hit them is to cover water. If I had my yak I think I could have hooked up that way a little better then drowning bait. On the Flats they are being caught up to 40" on casted 5" bass assins.

[Sam]

That is cool to think about. Just a little cold. I gotta get a dry suit and a nice day and give it a go.

[Charkbait]

[quote user="sam" post="3046"]That is cool to think about. Just a little cold. I gotta get a dry suit and a nice day and give it a go.[/quote]

drysuit is mandatory for that, sounds like you guys bail a lot =). I use waders and a drytop, seals okay if you self rescue quickly. If you do crash and burn it's not like you have a long paddle to get warm like I do in the bay 2-4 miles home.

[Skylar]

Congratulations on the big catch!

Steve

[Coop]

Steve, I never thought about the route through the canal and have heard many stripers running through there,,,excellent point,,,I think since the water temps have gone up right along the coast, has brought them closer to shore and riding either up or down the coast close to the beach to there spawning grounds,,,like steve said,,,probably heading north to the delaware bay,,,brings me to my next question,,,since they are on the move to spawn, I am thinking maybe we may only have a few more days to week for a chance at one and then things will dry up until the end of April and beginning of May, when they come out of the chesapeake,,,whadya think?,,,one thing is for sure,,,I can almost guarantee some bluefish action in about two weeks to fill the void if that scenario plays out,,,I guess if the blues dont show, we can always count on skates and doggies to fill in the void .

[Randy Stinchcomb]

:wallb: Damn-it you guys are gunna' make me drive down this weekend, Hmmmmmm wifes on call so she can't go, Phillips got work out the butt, so maybe I could swing a day-trip and get my OSV permit and fish alittle :mrgreen:

[Sam]

Come on Randy, I'll fish with ya!

Scott & Steve, I think you guys may be right.... I gave it my best shot for 3 hours tonight and not a nibble. We may be in for a dry spell...


Then again, who the heck knows

[Charkbait]

I don't know much about their behavior in the surf but when I when did catch it was a point where the current between the bar and the wash was ripping pretty good, once it slowed then nothing. 5 in 45 minutes. Could have been that bait ran over the bar into where I was fishing and they followed. Sharks hang out on the other side of the bar, why not other predatory fish?

That's why I was dying for the yak...if I could have just fished the dropoff on the other side of the bar...they were all waiting and hungry, I just know it.

I'll try it and let you all know how it goes...beach trolling for stripers! Ususally it's beach trolling for strippers!