best water temperature for stripers

[porgy75]

What water temperature are the stripers most prevalent in?

[jimbob]

I have read that the Stripers are most active when water temperatures are in the 60s. I have caught Stripers in waters from 45 degrees to 75 degrees, but most of my fish were from waters that were 55 to 65 degrees.

[jonthepain]

I always used to start looking for them in the spring when it hit 55 on LBI. Not sure about other places.

[bababooey]

^^^ Agreed. Once the temperatures hit 65, the bass start moving north to colder water.

[paumanok]

Or, you have to start fishing at night. Especially around estuaries. Or any kind of beach with lots of rocks, last of the flood, first of the ebb.

[bababooey]

Or, you have to start fishing at night. Especially around estuaries. Or any kind of beach with lots of rocks, last of the flood, first of the ebb.


Wisdom from someone who obviously is sad to see the bass move on.:thumbsup:

[surfwalker]

Now, I don't go down to the water out front with a thermometer and my readings were taken from sites around the area I fish (north Jersey), so they are with a plus/minus. Maybe we should say what temps the baitfish make their way outside instead. But, 2 of my best months have always been May (50°-56°) and November (56°-50°). this co-insides with the bait movement. October (67°-58°) and June (59°-66), with most Bass hooked up follows May/Nov. I didn't throw April in because as it has always been pretty decent, I had one year in 2001 that was very exceptional and not the norm, for me. Like I said this is not scientific, only by what I have done. Some may fish harder or less than me, but at around these temps, my production has been better.

[paumanok]

From mid-May through the rest of the season, I fish almost exclusively at night. My biggest stripers (for me on a fly rod we're talkin' 30-35") come in early spring and the fall. My biggest numbers--July and August. many, many double digit outings. Mostly catching first light at the middle to the end of an ebb. Or in the deeper part of the night on the flood. I've never actually taken the water temperature--I rely on what I get for the day in the papers. Sometimes it feels really warm. But the fish are there.

I fish strictly on shore or wading. And, except at the very beginning of the season or near the very end, water temperature is something I only incidentally keep track of. My main focus is on tides, time of the night (deep night or first light--I've had feeding fish shut off like they were on a switch, as soon as the sun peaked over the horizon), wind and current.

Unlike the boat boys that have so much mobility, we shore-trekkers really have to learn where the fish'll be and when they'll be there.

Being out all night and gettin' skunked is not my idea of fun.

[surfwalker]

paumanok, I am plugging open sandy beaches and like you, prefer the dark into first light. These temps, as they rise, only determine more time in the dark for me. They do not stop me from going, just adjust my times. And yes, the wetline walkers will do more searching.

Happy Trails

[paumanok]

surfwalker--hi.

I came by night fishing purely out of necessity. The only time I had for myself was when everyone else was sleeping. It was spooky at first. But now, seldom do it any other way.

I remember a time late last fall, I had a chance to fish through a late morning into the afternoon. I couldn't find my way around. I felt completely disorientated. That was spooky, too.

I like your expression "wet line walkers" . . .

[surfwalker]

paumanok, I still get spooked, I thought it would fade away, but hasn't. Do you strickly fly fish?

[paumanok]

Not strictly, surfwalker, but close to it.

Saltwater, I've got to say, more than 95% of the time.

Trout? Strictly on the fly. Except for two occasions: once drifting a rapala for steelhead and browns one frigid February day on the Niagara River; and once when my daddy took me fishing when I was 8 years old--he sat off reading his newspaper while I dangled a worm on a hand line off some rocks.

Other freshwater fishing (small and large mouth bass, pike, salmon . . .), I fly rod 70-80% of the time.

[RJC]

Will - You own the Night. You will be promoted to the rank of Scout at Worm Camp.

And just down the road at the first salt pond there is a rock filled beach just north of the breachway. We will have time to recon and fish it in May.

[mick2360]

Having fished with Paumonok, I will tell you he has an uncanny knack for finding which area the stripers are feeding in and he covers A LOT of water. More than once I have been left thinking he is 25 yds to my right to observe the night lite go on 1/4 mile down the beach in the manner that suggest he has just unhooked another bass. DOH! :embarassed:

[mick2360]

Will - You own the Night. You will be promoted to the rank of Scout at Worm Camp.

And just down the road at the first salt pond there is a rock filled beach just north of the breachway. We will have time to recon and fish it in May.

Imagine fishing the worm hatch DURING a worm hatch! I've got a good feeling about this year......:HappyWave:

[cowherder]

, but most of my fish were from waters that were 55 to 65 degrees.

That makes great sense to me, jimbob, because it seems the bass fishing is slowing down around here, and the waters are flirting with 65 degrees. :learn:

[johnnysaxatilis]

http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/factsheets/stripedbass.html

not a bad little profile. but the stocks aren't completely restored and the dissapearing act of the bunker, the stripers main food source, is having a drastic effect on the number of shored stripers in the past 2 years. Regulations of the commercial industry need to be persued and tighened if another crash is to be avoided.:banghead2: kinda off topic?

o ya that article says 65 to 70 degrees lol

[vpass]

I notice more blitzes around 55 to 52 deg. Anything between 65 and 50 deg.

[ledhead36]

http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/factsheets/stripedbass.html

not a bad little profile. but the stocks aren't completely restored and the dissapearing act of the bunker, the stripers main food source, is having a drastic effect on the number of shored stripers in the past 2 years. Regulations of the commercial industry need to be persued and tighened if another crash is to be avoided.:banghead2: kinda off topic?

o ya that article says 65 to 70 degrees lol

I agree with you. They need to be more strict with the commercial fisherman. Especially keeping on top of catching those who pay no attention to the regulations and get away with pushing the limits.

Great informative article.

[storminsteve]

For the water temps, a friend and I were at Wood's Hole a few years ago on a tour. You folks should check it out sometime if you want to learn a lot about the life cycle and habits of striped bass. One of the people there said that the optimal temp for striper activity was 55-60 degrees for smaller schoolie stripers, and 60-63 for larger bass.That seems to be in line with what is being said in this thread. One of the things I like about this place is that if someone says something that is different or slightly inaccurate, they are not criticized or ridiculed.

Thanks for putting that up, Johnny. There are a bunch of good folks who just love fishing. No whining, no holier than thou, no pissing contests to brag about who is the best angler, and the incessant jealousy and criticism whenever someone catches and releases a nice fish. Or the 10 pages of internet tough guy arguing you get on another site when somene posts an opinion that isn't necessarily popular. Or god forbid someone say something that ins't completely correct, you will have dozens of guys ready to be negative and jump down that person's throat.:lynchmob:
I'm not a complete C&R guy, I like to eat a fish if I want. I fish on a boat when can, and I don't get a sense that any of that is judged here.
Bad behavior on the parts of surfcasters, boaters, and poachers, is brought up and discussed rationally. I don't see the veiled racist comments about poachers that are prevalent on other sites either. Anyone can be a poacher, white black, yellow, purple.
And you folks have always helped me out when I sent discreet pms, even sending me some helpful pm's when I am doing something that is not quite right, and missing a chance on a good catch.

So thanks darkskies, pebbles, finchaser, clamchucker, surfwalker, gjb1969, monty, jonthpain, bassbuddah, ripplugger, voyager, charlietuna, fishinmission, wish4fish, vpass, stripercoast1, frankiesurf (the official SnA spelling nazi) and the stripercoastsurfcasters guys, nitestrikes, jimbob, stripercrazy, capt nemo, dogfish and all the other people whose stories and crazy anecdotes (bababooey) I have come to enjoy. Sorry if I left anyone out.
I like that there are a bunch of committed folks out there who try to bring articles and knowledge to us here. I enjoy reading it all, except maybe some the legislative stuff. I would need a fifth of scotch to get through some of that reading!:plastered::D

[jonthepain]

I like that there are a bunch of committed folks out there

or should be

[storminsteve]

jonthe pain I always enjoy your stories, especially the hunting ones. You even mangage to make "getting skunked" while hunting an entertaining read. I do have a sense sometime when reading your stuff that you are truly "out there". At this time I don't know if it's good or bad, but you are definitely funny in a twisted sort of way.:)

[jonthepain]

twisted sense of humor? moi?
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e248/jonthepain/elconejofresajt7.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e248/jonthepain/familycircuslittleleague.jpg

btw, thanks for the kind words, i really needed them; the wife has been giving me a ra...well you know what i mean.

thanks again,
jon

[Monty]

How cold is the water in November/December when all the schoolies are along the beaches? They are very active.

Storminsteve, I agree with you 100%, Dark has a great group of members. Helpful, good sense of humor, no bickering. :thumbsup:



Thanks for putting that up, Johnny. There are a bunch of good folks who just love fishing. No whining, no holier than thou, no pissing contests to brag about who is the best angler, and the incessant jealousy and criticism whenever someone catches and releases a nice fish. Or the 10 pages of internet tough guy arguing you get on another site when somene posts an opinion that isn't necessarily popular. Or god forbid someone say something that ins't completely correct, you will have dozens of guys ready to be negative and jump down that person's throat.:lynchmob:!:plastered::D

[jonthepain]

How cold is the water in November/December when all the schoolies are along the beaches?

around 50

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/catl.html

[Stripercoast1]

One thing to remember, These are SURFACE temperature readings. Areas I fish have deep water off the reefs in the 40 foot depth range within 30 yards of shore. Ask a scuba diver, it drops 10 degrees within 10 feet of depth and can be up to 20 at 35 feet.
It's one of the reasons the reef fronts hold fish close to shore during the heat of the summer.
Just a comment on the commited part, Everyone that fishes with me knows how commited I am to catching them, and conserving them. Everyone I know that doesn't fish feels I need to be commited.

[DarkSkies]

So thanks darkskies, pebbles, finchaser, clamchucker, surfwalker, gjb1969, monty, jonthpain, bassbuddah, ripplugger, voyager, charlietuna, fishinmission, wish4fish, vpass, stripercoast1, frankiesurf (the official SnA spelling nazi) and the stripercoastsurfcasters guys, nitestrikes, jimbob,stripercrazy, capt nemo, dogfish and all the other people whose stories and crazy anecdotes (bababooey) I have come to enjoy. Sorry if I left anyone out.
I like that there are a bunch of committed folks out there who try to bring articles and knowledge to us here.


or should be


Just a comment on the commited part, Everyone that fishes with me knows how commited I am to catching them, and conserving them. Everyone I know that doesn't fish feels I need to be commited.


Thanks for the kind words there Steve. Some might look at that list above not as a list of people who love fishin, but those who only by a small stroke of luck, have not been filed away into the sanitarium. I know fishin makes me happy, glad you feel the same. :D :fishing:

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[7deadlyplugs]

I don't have science behind me, but it seems I always do better in the spring when the water temps go above 55, and in the fall when the temp starts to hit 60 or below.

[rockhopper]

Wow cool thread, I wonder what is the coldest temp anyone has caught a bass at?

[plugginpete]

For the spring I'll be on the hunt as soon as it hits 45. I have caught around that temp with bloods.

[ledhead36]

I agree with plugginpete. Seems there is some activity when the temps hit that magic 45 degree level. If there are a few sunny days after that to heat up the flats, the activity will get better.

[VSdreams]

Yes, 45-50. Come on spring and sun!

[porgy75]

How about the highest temperatures? What are some of the highest temperatures you guys have caught a bass at?

[buckethead]

I think around 75-78 degrees. That was on bait though, specifically crabs. I seem to remember they shut off for the artis around these temps. Unless you have a lot of bait around. I got some nice ones around the last new moon. They were on the bottom feeding on the crabs. One of them was all red like it rubbed up all over the rocks getting those crabs. Tried plugs and bucktailing for no results. I have caught them in warmer water at montauk but that was when the water was loaded with bait, chock full of it. Otherwise they sit like logs on the bottom and in deeper water at the higher temperatures.

[captnemo]

I agree with buckethead. We found stripers at higher temperatures but it had to do with a lot of bait as he said. According to my logs once the water hits 65 to 70 degrees it pushes most of the stripers to look for cooler water.

[CharlieTuna]

Wow cool thread, I wonder what is the coldest temp anyone has caught a bass at?

I have caught them right outside of Boston Harbor in early winter when the water reading was 43. We were jigging them and they were aggressive. They were on herring though. Without the herring to charge them up things might have been different.

[clamchucker]

I found that below 42 they shut down for jigging from a boat or artificials from the beach. Have seen that reflected in the recent reports here also. Dark and finchaser have mentioned that several times. We have caught them while worming perch in the back bays in the winter. They seem to shut down around 40 degrees for those areas. The perch will still bite but the bass stop. I can't tell you an exact temperature but that is the way it has been for me.

[finchaser]

40 to 65 IMO is prime under 40 and the fat lady sings

[baitstealer]

I found that below 42 they shut down for jigging from a boat or artificials from the beach. Have seen that reflected in the recent reports here also. Dark and finchaser have mentioned that several times. We have caught them while worming perch in the back bays in the winter. They seem to shut down around 40 degrees for those areas. The perch will still bite but the bass stop. I can't tell you an exact temperature but that is the way it has been for me.


40 to 65 IMO is prime under 40 and the fat lady sings


Thank you for your experience. Very informative.

[porgy75]

I was going back over some of the questions I asked when I first joined and this was one of them. Thanks so much for all the helpful info guys.

[VSdreams]

Was just searching and found this. At what water temps do you think they will start to turn on this spring?
40? 42? 45?

[finchaser]

They start at 42 and turn on pretty much at 45

[VSdreams]

Thank you sir. Great thread btw

[surfstix1963]

I like it around 50 degrees.

[finchaser]

I like it around 50 degrees.

Me to^^^but the snot slingers will be out there any day. Watch out juvenile fish:scared: keep your mouth shut and save your guts

[cowherder]

^^^ lol!

[porgy75]

I started doing a search to answer a question I had in the fat lady thread. Forgot I started this thread a long time ago.

[porgy75]

Wow cool thread, I wonder what is the coldest temp anyone has caught a bass at?


I remember folks here saying 42?

[finchaser]

45 to 60 is optimum
small schoolies can take it to around 40 to 42 same as when they come in the spring

[ledhead36]

^^^^ What he said. We were catching some schoolies around 43 in March. That was with tapeworms tho. The last week with temps in the 50s has been pretty good for us. Only got bluefish that one night. Wish this weather pattern would last for the next month.

[baitstealer]

Thank you gents that is helpful. One of these days I will purchase a thermometer at the store that can handle being tossed in the water and bring it with me.