Striped Bass Fishing Forums Forum banner

Stripers 101 / Starter Kit Rigs - tubes - lures

119K views 35 replies 16 participants last post by  zimno1 
#1 ·
Stripers 101 Starter Kit

The beginners clinic was an endevour by us to inform the new striper fisherman on the basics and approach to striper fishing. It is by no means comprehensive nor is it designed to be the final word on any of the subjects. We encourage all additions to help make the site more informative.

More advanced tactics.

Hope you all enjoy the site and respect the sport and the fish as much as we do.
 
#2 ·
FISHING CUT BAIT FOR STRIPED BASS AND BLUEFISH
Chunking Bait

Jim

THE THREE KNOTS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Easy knots for the beginner. Practice so you can tie them in the dark.

The improved Clinch Knot. For attaching your line to the swivel.

The Palomar knot.
The recommended knot for attaching braid to the plug / hook or to the swivel.

The simple snell using the uni knot.

Thread six inches of line through the eye of the hook.
Hold the line against the hook's shank, and form a Uni-Knot circle


Make five to seven turns through the loop and around the standing line and hook's shank.


Tighten by pulling the standing line in one direction and the tag end in the other


What knots are used for
 
#4 ·
Stripers 101 / Starter Kit

This is a fishfinder. It is a plastic sinker slide that slides
up and down your standing line. It is used primarily to
attenuate the weight of the sinker. The principle is so
that the fish won't feel the wieght when it
picks up and runs off with your bait.




This is a rig with a fishfinder long leader and bank sinker.
Its a setup often used for stripers when bait fishing.



(Forget the 5 foot leader. Use 18 to 30 inches on the leader.
Especially if your trying to cast it. Ok for 5 when on a boat. )]

******************************************************
This is one version of a high lo rig. It is used to
keep one hook off of the bottom and is sometimes used with
a float attached.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rigs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eel Rig. Short shank short live bait hook. 18 to 30 inch leader.


Drum Rig


Fluke rig


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trolling Tubes and rigs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tube and worm Rig


Tube with a rudder


Umrella tubes


This is an umbrella rig. Known as a niner with multiple baits
attached to each arm. It is used when trolling.
 
#5 ·
Saltwater Lures
What do I buy to put in my plug bag?
Lures for each part of the water column.

What type of lures are used for stripers?
Plastics, Wood, resins, rubber and Metal.
Topwater, swimmers and bottom lures.

What are the categories of Plugs?
Surface Swimmer, Subsurface Swimmer, Mirror plug,
Bottle Plug, Popping Plug, Rattle Plug, Darter Plug, Pencil Popper Plugs,
Bullet Plugs,Needlefish plugs, Stainless steel jigs, Block tin squids,
Rigged Eels, Diamong Jigs, Kastmaster, Chromed Spoons, Leadheads, Jigheads,

There are So many what do i use?
The short answer.
Lures that resemble the forage base
available in the area you will be fishing.

Where can i purchase some of these?
Many of these items can be purchased at various online
tackle stores. a google web search with the keyword will
bring you to many. You can also click on the links below
and it will take you to some secure and reputable stores
where you can purchase them.

What are the most popular striper lures?
Besides the custom lures the Atom Striper Swiper, Atomizer,
Smiling Bill bucktails.
Kastmaster metal lures, a Mambo Minnow, Assalt Bomber,
Rebel broken back, Cotton Cordell Pencil Poppers and red
fins. FinS soft plastics, storm shads and sluggos.
Red gill sand eels

What type of retrieve do I use for all my plugs?
A good rule of thumb is to avoid carrying a bag full and changing
lures every few casts. Master a few and become
comfortable with the action of that particular lure. Learn
under what conditions a particular lure is most appropriate.
The surface swimmer has a verical lip which will give it a
side to side motion. It is maximized when retrieved very
slowly. You want it to lazily swim along like an unsuspecting
baitfish. Keep the line taught and speed up when a wave
hits it like its riding in the wave.
With popping plugs its best to vary the retrieve and even
let it sit. The design of the plug makes it wiggle. gentle
pop, hesitation and gentle pop.
Work these over rocks and rocky outcrops.
The pencil popper you point the rod at the popper and
move the tip up and down in a rapid motion. Soft tip rods
are best here.
On the subsurface swimmers these are most effective
when worked slowly, the faster you retrieve them the deeper
they will dive.
Bottle plugs were designed to be cast a mile, due to the
shape and their aerodynamics. The big lower lip design
pulls it under. It dives during your retrieve and will dive
deeper as you speed it up. Slow retrieve and it will still
wiggle.
When using darters vary the retrieve and twitch the rod tip.
Keep the line taught.
Needlefish are best worked when there are sand eels present
and without twitching. Let it sink and then retrieve it.
With steel jigs let them sink for a few and retrieve them at a
speed that will allow them to move side to side.

Atom Pencil Popper


Atom atomizer ---- Striper Swiper Mackeral pattern


Striper Swiper


Storm Wildeyes swimbaits


Wildeye Swim Shad - 9" - Bunker


Spro Primetime Bucktails


FinS soft stickbait


Acme Castmaster


Red Gill Sand Eels


Sluggo


Cotton Cordell Red Fins
Pencil Popper Chrome Black


Deep Diving Red Fin 5/8oz. Pearl/Red





Creek Chub superstrike



Bomber Saltwater Minnow - Black


One of the most recognized names of fishing lures.


What are some of the more popular custom Lures?
Deadly Dick


Charlie Graves Tins


Al Gags Grabber floating poppers and Black Darter


Al Gags Grabber Mambo Minnow


Stetskos Mr Wiggly's and Nantucket needlefish



Stan Gibbs


Feel Tree to add yours.
 
#6 ·
Saltwater Natural Striper Baits

American Eel, American Sand Lance, Atlantic Silversides, Bay Anchovie,
Crabs and Sand Bugs, Herring, Hickory Shad, Lobster, Mackeral,
Menhaden (Bunker), Mullet, Mummichog (Killie), Porgie,
Seaworms, Shrimp, Squid, and Surf Clams.
Small snapper bluefish, and Spot will catch stripers.
 
#7 ·
Thanks CC. cool_blue.gif
Freshwater Lures
Springtime Artificials


Saltwater Long Cast Minnow - Blue Herring

The Crystal Minnow comes remarkably close to duplicating live baitfish and its erratic zig-zag, side-to-side, frantic wobbling motion is an instant turn-on to any gamefish.
It all started with a lightweight lure no one knew how to use, with a name no one knew how to pronounce. The back room of a south Minneapolis bait-and-tackle shop. A beat-up metal desk. And lots of enthusiasm.What began as a simple dream in 1959 has evolved into one of the fishing tackle industries most influential organizations. Based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, with companies in 12 countries and distribution in more than 130 countries, the Rapala-Normark Group is the largest fishing lure company in the world.The only Long Casting Wooden lure available on the market today. The weight transfer system design allows you to cast farther then ever before. When you cast the weight system transfer the weight to the back of the lure and lock it in place for a further flight. When the lure hit the water the weight transfer to the front of the lure and lock into place for an unhampered retrieve. So easy to use it has anglers casting like pro's right out of the box. Available in Mullet, Green Mullet, Blue Herring, Moss Bunker, Hot Pink, Hot Chartreuse, Redhead.
 
#8 ·
hey Jim here's one for 101.. basic overview

didn't know if I was suppose to post this here or elsewhere but here it is happy3.gif

Stealth

Approach: This is probably the most important issue in successful striper fishing. I cannot stress this point enough! If your approach is clumsy and noisy you might as well stay home, because your only going to get discouraged. First off, if fishing from shore, your already in high-stealth mode, so don't ruin your chances by wearing bright clothing or clumsily wading out into their world. Stay low in your initial approach and make casts from a distance first. Once you've done that, you're reasonably certain that there are no stripers where you'll be wading. Once in the water, stay as stationary as possible, you are now structure that won't spook them when they are in the area.

Clothing: As mentioned above, I feel clothing is fairly important. Bright colored clothing is a big no-no, even in a boat. Unnatural colors, (i.e.: bright orange, White, yellow, red) are rather offending to any fish. Try to keep a cover shirt with you if you need to cover up bright colored clothing. I like browns, deep greens, on shore. In a boat, pale blue to match the sky works real well. Leave that bright colored hat at home along with the flashy mirrored sunglasses.

Tip: The more shallow the water, the more stealthy your approach should be. Just clanking something against a rock even on shore and the biggest stripers will be spooked. You may catch a few schoolies but the big ones are gone. I've personally witnessed a school of hundreds of feeding stripers shut down completely due to the starting of an outboard over 200 yards away. Some folks may say I'm full of baloney but chances are, they catch smaller fish and are happy with that. Just the facts mam.

From a Boat: When ever possible make your approach by poling or with an electric motor. If you absolutely have to use your outboard to get into position, then so be it, your going to spook fish to the utmost degree. Move yourself slightly upstream of the area you want to fish and way anchor. Now you need to wait long enough for the fish that you've spooked to move back into feeding mode. Depending on the size of the fish, could be 20-30 minutes. Don't cast to the first fish you see rise, let them get comfortable with you being there for a bit and you'll catch a lot more fish. (Note: You should be using an anchor heavy enough to do the job. Clanking your anchor across a rocky bottom will spook them also, just make sure you tie off to the bow not the side or stern. In tidal waters, what is a near Stillwater at one time, can be a raging current in an hour, so always tie-off to the bow.)

Fly / Lure Selection: Select a fly or lure that represents the forage prevalent to the time of year and area your fishing.

Spring May/June: Alewife and Shad .. 6-10 inches long, a dark colored top and light colored bottom.

Fall Sept./Oct: Prevalent bait is reduced in size significantly, I'm talking about an alewife young that is congregating to head out to sea. they range in length from 3-5 inches, again, dark top with a light bottom.

Striper's Sound and vibration Sensitivity: Sound waves (sonar) travel 5 times faster and more efficiently in water then air, and we're talking about a fish that can sense bait fish struggling 100 ft. away, and can hone in on it in a five knot current. They probably have the most sensitive lateral line of any fish I know of. It keeps them alive by both finding food and sensing danger. This is a series of nerve endings in a line along the side of the fish. Next time you catch one check it out, look how it differs from other fish you've caught. You'll notice how it is much more predominant.

Stripers are extremely sound wave sensitive and very weary in shallow water (10ft. or under), once you have started an outboard or made any other noise or vibration contacting the water or adjacent ledges, all the big fish are spooked and if your lucky you may get a schoolie to bite. Oh they may follow your offering and give you all kinds of hope, but they're not going to bite when they are spooked. Trust me! It's been proven to me without the shadow of a doubt just too many times to count.

Tip: Just the moving shadow of your boat on the bottom will spook them, even canoes will and maybe more so, because remember, in the river their largest predators are seals with a body shape very similar to a canoe or kayak, so being stationary and quiet will increase your odds 10 fold.

Gear: Reels and line should be of good quality. Spinning reels should have multiple ball bearings and plenty of line capacity. They should feel very smooth while reeling, also drag release should be smooth and set at 1/2 your line's strength. Set the drag from the end of the rod while bent, not from the reel face. 12lb. test a very minimum up to 20lb. 'clear line'. Stay away from those ultraviolet blue colors especially. Blue being one of the most visible spectrums in water, even deep water. I get a kick at the ones that advertise "high visibility blue" line. My question would be; "why?"

Rods: should be stout but light. I like a 6 1/2 to 7 foot medium to medium/heavy action graphite blank with plenty of backbone or 'spine' at the butt, and a fast action tip. You don't want a noodley limp rod. However, I do like a slightly softer rod for the no-stretch lines.

Fly gear: should be of good quality, 8-12wt. systems to cast the large flies required for these fish. Plenty of backing on your reel, 50 yds. minimum; Leader 12lb tippet minimum. I like an intermediate line as well, it will help keep the fly just subsurface in a fast current.

Just remember if you buy junk you'll have to buy it many times, so spend the money on good gear and save money in the long run, not to mention the headaches incurred through failures of your gear. Keep your gear maintained well, you'll only buy it once and be happy with it's performance.

Tide Schedules: You'll need to know the tides for your area, even areas that see no tidal influence. New fish come into the river and move up and down based upon tide, bait supply, and light conditions. You need to be prepared with this information or you'll be wasting a lot of time not catching fish. All times of the tide are good when it is moving in or out, some locations are better than others at these different times. I'm not going to spell it out for you, what you'll need to do on your own, is to carefully log when during the tide you catch fish and where. What were the conditions at the time? (i.e. was it cloudy, sunny) How did you catch them? then come to your own conclusions as to the best spots for incoming and outgoing tides... keep a log! Use it! Next year you can compare water temperature, tides, times, places, water levels and the like. You'll be impressed how you will be able to replicate and expand upon the successes year over year. After a few years you will waste little time looking for, and trying to catch, fish.

Water Conditions: Stripers are a fickle bunch. The rule I use is: If your in an area with a lot of rough water, seek the calm to hold fish. If the water is mostly calm then seek the roughest water available for feeding fish. What you are looking for are the active fish, not the ones that are done eating and are on the bottom burping from their meal. As far as temperature goes, the Striped Bass' range is from 50-80 degrees with an optimum range of 58-70 degrees. Always remember that these fish are temperature-driven as well as bait-driven. You will not see them in water outside their range of temperature unless they have no choice. In the spring, I've personally never caught them in the river below 53 degrees, so the ocean needs to be a sustained 50 degrees before you'll see them upriver, no matter what the river's temperature is running.
 
#11 ·
Re: Stripers 101

Just a quick comment on the braid backing info you posted.. Most everyone uses mono. I personally don't care for it. Basically the mono dries out and gets 'chalky' and needs to be replaced almost every year. I dunno about you guys but I have had braid on for three seasons before replacing it. Just trim back 20 or 30 feet every once in a while to get the frayed and weak stuff out of the picture. The problem is the mono ends up getting brittle and crummy way before the braid runs out. God forbid you should ever GET to that mono. It doesn't happen that often but at 2am when I hooked that 43 incher IN the river current while fishing off the bank I ended up with a far amount of the backing coming in the play. I prefer a Dacron braid. It's cheap, it stays flexible, has almost no 'memory', doesn't dry out or get chalky plus it packs on the spool very tightly and doesn't slip or spin like mono can do... Prestige from Cabela's is available in 80 lb test. I use 80 lb with my 80 lb Power Pro on the 'big rod' and 40 behind the 50lb PP on the boat rigs. To each his own but having used Dacron braid as backing for my fly rods for years I can tell you the stuff lasts forever. It's good to know when/if you ever end up with your backing spooling off the reel that it won't let you down.
 
#12 ·
Re: Rigs-Lures-Tubes- Rods and other FAQ's

Plugs 101 Essentials for the surf.
You should have at least these for your surf arsenal.

Chicken scratch A-Salt Bomber
Creek Chub Striper strike
Acme Kastmasters
Hopkins No Equal Spoon
Atom Striper Swiper
Luhr Jenson-Needle Fish.
Luhr Jensen - Krocodile 1oz. Chrome
Baby Striper A-Salt Bomber
Mambo Minnow
Smiling Bill Bucktails (not shown)

 
#13 ·
Re: Rigs-Lures-Tubes- Rods and other FAQ's

Rigging a soft plastic​


Video by Arts and Flies​


YouTube - Loading a Cotton Cordell Redfin
Steve McKenna shows how to successfully load the Redfin​

Master surf angler Steve McKenna currently writes for On The Water magazine and can usually be found, when not fishing, at Quaker Lane Bait & Tackle in North Kingstown Rhode Island.​
 
#14 ·
Re: Rigs-Lures-Tubes- Rods and other FAQ's


The Little Neck Popper made by Super Strike is one of the most
well-known and productive topwater lures for bass, bluefish and
weakfish in the Northeast Atlantic.
It works as well from surf or boat.
Extreme long distance casting. Made of extremely durable
and rugged plastic that will withstand the toothiest fish. Will
work anywhere on any kind of inshore saltwater surface-feeding
gamefish that takes such type lures.

Super Strike Little Neck Poppers come in multiple model weights
ands lengths. The 2-3/8 oz sinking swimmer is the most
popular and productive.
Not only does this model of Super Strike Little Neck pop perfectly in all
kinds of surface conditions from smooth to wave-tossed, but this model has the knack to swim much like a bottle plug when retrieved between pops.
There are few other poppers that do this so well. Highly effective is a
three part retrieve rhythm: Sweep the rod to pop it,
Bow the rod momentarily to pause it to let it sink under a bit,
Reel it to swim several feet back up to top before repeating the sequence


Bottle plugs and darters go hand in hand.
Like darters, bottle plugs develop a zigzagging
swimming action in strong sweeping currents.
Bottle plugs are most at home off deep beaches
and off sand or gravel bars that drop off quickly to deep water.
A strong, steady cross-tide sweep is the ideal situation for swimming
bottle plugs
Darters work best in moving water, such as a tide rip or inlet.
 
#15 ·
post is duplicate from another thread

The dropper loop is very usefull for tying hi low bottom rigs or
when game fish are feeding selectively on small bait, attach a small teaser fly, or other lure ahead of a larger, heavier spoon, jig or plug. The system has several advantages. One, the small lure can precisely imitate the size and shape of the natural bait. Two, the larger lure provides weight for casting distance and keeps the rig below the surface. Three, the rig presents the illusion of a medium-sized baitfish chasing an even smaller baitfish, which may draw attention to the rig or trigger a competitive feeding instinct in the game fish.

You can keep the loop intact or cut one "leg" of dropper loop and tie on teaser

Dropper loop​
 
#16 ·
Re: Rigs-Lures-Tubes- Rods and other FAQ's

Saltwater Rod Manufacturers
How much do you want to spend?
E glass -- Where toughness, durability and cost are factors
S glass -- casting rods for light line and lures
graphite -- the next step up from s glass but more prone to breakage than fiberglass
composite -- combination of glass and graphite

Action
Extra Fast: Flex in the upper 1/4 of the rod blank
Fast: Flex in the upper 1/3 of the rod blank
Moderate: Flex in the upper 1/2 of the rod blank
Slow: Flex is from the lower 1/3 of the rod blank to the tip
Power Ratings
Ultralight
Light
Medium
Medium Heavy
Heavy

Under 50 bucks. Manufactured overseas.
Shakespeare ugly stick
Silistar
Ande
Eagle claw
Shimano
Okuma
Quantum
Penn
Over 50 bucks
Commonly referred to as el cheapo heaver rods. Manufactured overseas
Tsunami Rods
Tica rods
Daiwa
Fenwick
> $100
Lamiglas rods
St Croix
Breakaway Usa
G - Loomis
All Star
Cal Star Rods
Rain Shadow
Anyfishanywhere Rods
 
#20 ·
Re: Stripers 101 / Starter Kit

Yup... Great thread, great people... Like the info you get from the site? Check out the gatherings... Its like the site on crack years and years of experience... Great times

Bryan
 
#25 ·
Re: Stripers 101 / Starter Kit

One thing I know, is that many new to striper fishing, want to get the bass of a lifetime, ASAP. Now, that is not impossible, but if it doesn't happen right away, or if ya don't get a bass the first trip out, don't get discouraged. Putting the time in to be the best you can be is sometimes what it takes.
There are many plugs out there, lol, I know, I have most of 'em, but to me they mean nothing if I don't have the passion and desire to do this thing we do.
It's more than just fishing, for me anyway, wave.gif, it's this thing I do, because I love striper fishing.
So, for anyone who wants to succeed at striper fishing, learn, and learn more. Have options, when something doesn't work, have solutions, when ya need 'em.
There is plenty of info, but it doesn't mean anything if it is not internalized, and used. This is a lifetime of enjoyment, this is the best there is. Be part of the best people on this earth.thumbsup.gif
 
#26 ·
Re: Stripers 101 / Starter Kit

That's me, new to striper fishing, new to this site....and it's incredible. Truly an unending wave of vast knowledge and precious experience all in one place. Last week I got up at 3:30 a.m. and drove 160 miles to fish stripers in Newburgh, caught only catfish but was hooked on stripers anyway..now I can't shake the addiction. Apparently they were suspended ~ 16' down in 34-35'....have been through the learning curve on jigging/trolling/casting walleye (everywhere they be), salmon on Ontario, big and little jaw bass, fingerlakes browns, lakers, landlocks, etc...of course there's something new to learn everytime out, but I'm green on the stripers. Going back to Newburgh this fri/sat. for an overnight and was wondering if anyone had any advice. Drift, troll, jig, fish bottom or suspended? I plan on doing it all, every part of the water column but am DYING to get bit and don't want to waste time on a technique that may not be successful this time of year. Read that the pigs like the bottom and the schoolies run higher up, but I've been fishing for almost 30yrs (and I'm 33) and I know it's just not that simple and easy...evidenced by my virgin outing with fishfinder rigs that produced gnarly cats as opposed to the target species...I will be forever indebted to the guru who's words of wisdom help me boat my first striper!

MADfisherman
 
#29 ·
Re: Stripers 101 / Starter Kit

I would like to add two things to this string if I may;

#1 My compliments--This is absolutely a dynamite website, packed with more useful information than any other site I've seen. Great bunch of guys also. Not many people I've met are so willing to share and teach such information, that sometimes took generations to learn.

#2 Another "need to know" knot such as the uni-uni (my favorite) for attaching line to leader.

Great job guys thumbsup.gif.

Brad
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top