Stripers are a very elusive species of fish to catch. Ask any Angler around and they’ll attest to that. So, what time of year is best for striper fishing?
The early summer and spring is the best time of the year for striper fishing. Professionally, you can go out to fish for striped bass All year round! You may wonder, how possible it is. Well, you’ll discover it now.
Knowing the period when it is best to fish for stripers is germane to the success of any fishing expenditures.
Most often, people use their intuition to determine when these stripers would be readily available to catch, however, it doesn’t always work that way.
In this article, an explicit exposition on striper fishing is discussed.
What Time Of Year Is Best For Striper Fishing?
Any professional fisherman would attest to the fact that there’s no particular time of the year best suited for striper fishing. Striped bass is a very elusive species of fish that after every spawning season during spring, swim far back into the deep Pacific Ocean.
Although it is a fact that striper fishing can take place at any time of the year, do well to watch out for the specific periods discussed in this section.
The best time of the year for striper fishing includes mid-June to Early-September, Late September to Early December, Late September to Early December, Late December to Early March, Late March to Mid-June.
And a major factor that can contribute to the success of your striper fishing expenditures is understanding their unique migration pattern.
When you carefully study the migration patterns of striped bass, you’ll properly equip yourself with appropriate gears when fishing at any time of the year.
The migration pattern and water preferences of striped bass make it quite difficult to exactly determine the time of the year best suited for catching them.
Since catching striped bass is all year round, I won’t leave you stranded or confused on how to go about fishing for striped bass during the year. So, here we go;
Summer: Mid-June to Early-September
Overall, it is during the early summer that you can go out fishing for striped bass and you’ll catch the biggest and even easier.
The early summer is more than perfect for surf casters as these elusive species of fish love relatively cool weather.
During the early summer, the atmosphere, as well as the water, is coolest when compared to other seasons.
The cold weather will push the striped bass to the top layer of the water because they detest hot weather.
During the hot seasons, they escape to the deepest and coldest area of the water, a unique movement of striped bass.
Talking about the time of the day to fish during the early summer, fishing at dawn and dusk will be most profitable to you during this period as these are the times that’ll mostly feel the impact of the cold.
Top-water striped bass fishing is possible as you will end up grinning with big-sized fish.
Mid-summer is the hottest time of the year, and due to the movement pattern of striped bass, they swim to the depth of the water that is cooler. This isn’t a great season for anglers who aim to catch big striped bass.
However, you can still make a reasonable catch during the mid-summer by understanding how deep the striped bass can go.
If you seek to catch fairly large sizes of striped bass during the mid-summer, then you should know the farthest distance they can go to avoid the heat is 30 to 60 feet. So, you’d have to adequately gear up!
For a better chance at getting a good catch, ensure that you set out to fish a couple of hours before the sun comes up. More so, you’d have to cast your line farther to deeper waters to have an amazing catch.
Fall: Late September to Early December
The ‘Fall’ is the period when the striped bass rarely bites baits because of cold spells, when they migrate, and when they occasionally come to the topwater.
The sea cools around mid-September, and with this, you find more striped bass at the surface of the water. Topwater fishing is most effective during this period.
Cold spells are one factor any angler must put into consideration when fishing in mid-September because it can slow down biting, making you have long hours with little or no catch.
You will need to modify your fishing technique as the cold season kicks in.
During the ‘Fall’ around late October up to mid-November, you’ll discover that there would be a greater topwater action because the striped bass finds this period most comfy.
Ensure to arrive at the sea when the day is cloudy and when there is a slight breeze blowing. More so, try to avoid the sunny days for better biting hits.
At approximately the end of this season, the striped bass begins to migrate all thanks to the cold temperature of the water. With this, topwater bites become less frequent.
This period shows that it is their migration time and they are now moving to the north ends of lakes and are getting ready for their spawning season.
What’s left is for you to rethink your strategy and get appropriate gears that’ll facilitate your catch.
Winter: Late December to Early March
An expert piece of advice I’d give to you is to follow the birds when it’s winter because the striped bass would be found in deep and shallow waters.
During winter, you find very few anglers fishing for striped bass, however, this period, like others, is also great for catching striped bass.
Don’t hang your rod during the winter and you won’t regret it.
Fishing deep and shallow during the winter has more chance of you reeling bigger catches.
If you’re a topwater fisherman, then don’t expect many topwater catches during winter.
Spring: Late March to Mid-June
This is the best time of the year to catch striped bass as the massive schools of bass would be churning the waters.
Topwater catches are at their highest during these months (March to June).
It is during this period also that the striped bass tends to eat up and store body fats that would help them scale through their spawning season.
Around May, you’d discover the presence of bigger bass. This is the best time to go home with a 15-20 pounds bass from the sea.
Where Do Stripers Go During The Summer?
During summer, long points and deep humps on the main lake are the best places to look for striped bass.
It is during this season that you can easily find and catch this elusive fish.
Typically, a striped bass grows up to 3 pounds a year and when they are 4 years of age, they go far north to spawn.
The spawning process is very tiresome and the effect will be evident in the feeding habit of the fish when they return to the lake. They come back very hungry and weary, ready to eat anything.
Stripers are very sensitive to light, so early morning or at night is the best time of the day during the summer to catch them actively feeding.
What Time Of Day Is Best For Striper Fishing?
What is the best time of day to catch striped bass? Well, the best time of the day to catch these elusive creatures is early dawn or late dusk.
Precisely, from the early morning ( say 2 hours after sunrise from dawn) and late afternoon (roughly 2 hours before sunset till dusk)
As every other aquatic animal, striped bass will eat all day long, but you’d have to target going at the specified time above for productive fishing expenditure.
Their activity levels are intensified in the early morning and late afternoon when they set out to search for food in low light and cooler temperatures.
Can you striper fish at night?
Can I striper fish in the dark, chilly night? Yes!
Striped bass takes advantage of the dark to hunt down prey, as their victims would hardly see them coming.
So, with their increased activity in the water at night, there’s a high chance of you catching the biggest striped bass in the lake.
The best place to find striper fish at night is at the mouths of creeks or rivers where they will roam around in search of ignorant baitfish.
You can also see them carrying out their activities along any sharp drop-off or ledge where they swim in search of baitfish.
What Is The Best Way To Catch A Striper?
Below are some of the best ways to catch striped fish;
- Bait: Striped fish are avid eaters and can readily eat anything after their spawning period due to exhaustion. There are many proven methods of catching striped bass, however, live bait is a popular and authentic method to catch striped bass because it’s peculiar to them.
- Fly Fishing: One of the most difficult methods of catching striper fish is with a fly fishing rod. This method requires a high level of expertise, knowledge, skill, and precision. However, of all the fishing methods, it is the one that has proven to guarantee a rewarding catch.
- Trolling: If you’re looking to catch large quantities of striped fish, then you should try trolling them behind a boat or kayak. This method allows you to catch multiple fish at once while encircling a large region in a short amount of time.
- Surf Fishing: Stripers can be caught onshore as well as in the deep waters. For sure fishing, anglers are the main fishers with their rod, hook and bait.
Final Verdict
Striped bass is a ‘one of a kind’ fish that is very difficult to catch at specific periods without proper knowledge and gear.
In this article, I’ve successfully covered the best time of the year, day, and season to successfully catch striped bass.
I hope you’ve gained knowledge on the feeding habits and migration patterns of this evasive fish and how you can have a smart catch on your next expenditure.