Make sure you keep stripers in mind

OUTDOOR REPORT Anglers: Make sure you keep stripers in mind

http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/2.../WCT03/4220346


By Mark Sampson • April 22, 2010

CITY -- With all the hoopla that's been going on over flounder and sea bass regulations, it's no wonder those two species have captured headlines for the past few months. If someone didn't know better they could be inclined to believe that flounder and sea bass are the only two fish in the sea. Of course, we all know better, and from here on out, as the days and the waters warm, more species will filter into our area until after a while the two stars of the wintertime tabloids will be just a couple more names on a long list of the many fish being actively pursued by local anglers.

One fishery that tends to stay under the radar is striped bass -- stripers, or rockfish, as we like to call them in Maryland. In the fall and early winter these fish are so popular that it seems to be about all that many fishermen wish to talk about, but the spring run of rockfish usually comes and goes without a lot of fanfare, likely because inshore fishermen direct so much effort on flounder and offshore anglers stay so focused on what they can pull off the wrecks in the way of sea bass and tautog. But coastal anglers have the opportunity to catch striped bass nearly all year; while the action might not be as good in the spring as it is in the fall and early winter, it can still provide some incredible fishing when conditions are right.
I prefer striper fishing in April and May to the fall season because the fish are so much more willing to strike artificial lures and flies.

On the Chesapeake side of the Eastern Shore, the striped bass season opens and closes at different times, and the size limit varies. Fortunately for us on the coast, it's all very simple; the season is always open, and the limit is two fish per angler at 28-inches or larger. Wouldn't it be great if all fishery regulations were that simple and consistent from year to year? Anglers needn't wait for the season to open; they only have to worry about when the fish start to bite, and that conveniently occurs about the time the weather starts to warm up and folks think about fishing. They're biting now, and though the inshore waters haven't exactly been choked with fishermen chasing rockfish, enough of them were caught to show they're here and they're hungry.

Unlike the fall season, when a lot of the striped bass are taken by anglers drifting live spot or eels down the channels or the deeper parts of the inlet, in the spring, these fish tend to be found in shallower water around structures and are most often found behind big objects that block or divert the flow of the current, such as the inlet jetties or the Route 50, Route 90 and Assateague Island bridge pilings. Anglers shouldn't limit themselves to only fishing man made objects, because natural structures such as marsh banks, underwater humps and edges of shoals can be productive. They all provide rockfish a place to hold out of the current as they wait to ambush prey as it's swept past.

The spring is also a time when a lot of natural bait such as shiners, anchovies, crabs, minnows, shrimp and other little critters begin to move about the bay, creating a feeding frenzy by larger predators like rockfish, bluefish and shad. Such activity will usually occur in open water away from hard structures but over a drop-off such as the edges of channels or shoals. Sometimes the only evidence of this feeding will be that of a single tern repeatedly diving in the same area. Other times it will be very obvious what's going on below the surface as anglers observe countless birds diving and squawking as baitfish, and even big fish, periodically jump out of the water.
Anglers will typically find best results casting jigs such as bucktails or soft-plastic lures or by cranking noisy floater-diver type plugs past the nose of their prey. Most of the rockfish taken in this early season will be under the minimum size, so anglers should make sure they have a measuring device and good de-hooker to stay on the right side of the law.

Flounder and sea bass have been getting all the attention, but anglers should keep in mind that even in this early part of the season there are more than just a couple types of fish out there willing to bite their hook. Striped bass, rockfish, or whatever you choose to call them -- they're here and they're hungry!