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North Shore stripers

greybeard

By greybeard,
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greybeard Newbie

greybeard

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I took the kayak out this morning to where I got the 12 pounder yesterday.. Bunker were still there in tight schools.

I looked around and it seemed to be the only place where they were tightly schooled..It was tucked away a little, so I had it all to myself...

 

I snagged bunker, took it off the snagger and put in on my striper set up...

 

I had some runs and lost them.. Some were blues, but I suspected that some were bass because they weren't chopped up..

 

Around 7:30 am , I got a hit, let it run and set the hook and landed a 33 inch striper...I almost crashed into moored a boat, but I back paddled it out and landed it...

 

A little while later, I snagged a bunker, but I left it on the snagger to run.. I almost never do this because I lose to many that way, and if blues take it they can cut my line and I lose the snagger...I only use wire leaders for that when the gorilla blues are in and even then, sometimes they bite thru it.

 

I let the bunker swim and WHAM !!  got hit, I put it in free spool and let it run then put it in gear and set the hook.. Great ride and fight.. I got it into the kayak and measured it. It was 36 inches...You can only keep one unless one of them is 40 inches...

 

I was tired so I left .. It was 10 am..

 

I was told that stripers are in most of the harbors on the North Shore, but can't verify it..

 

 

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Pygmy Experienced

Pygmy

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Your kayak fishing sounds like a blast, GB..!..

I love all kinds of fishing, but I've never been towed around in a little boat by the fish..

I've never done a lot of salt water fishing, but I've caught enough stripers to appreciate them both as a sport fish and a good eating fish..

Blues, on the other hand, are great fun to catch, but not too great to eat, IMHO..

Do you have a tandem, outrigger kayak..?

I'd like to come down fishing with you..LOL...Maybe we could mount a beer cooler between the boats..

BTW...We have some pretty good pike fishing here on Seneca and Cayuga lakes, and some excellent fishing for BIG muskies ( 40 " PLUS) on Waneta Lake..

I've caught plenty of northerns but never got into the musky fishing as much..The only ones I have caught have been incidental catches when I was fishing for walleyes in the Chemung/Tioga/Canisteo river systems.

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greybeard Newbie

greybeard

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Pygmy.. I have 3 kayaks.. all sit inside...One is a tandem...When my father was alive I used to use a tandem to chase blues and bass.. He loved it.. great memories..

 

I am a fisherman who uses a kayak, not a kayaker who fishes. it's a tool.

 

I don't have an outrigger..

 

My main fishing kayak is a 14 ft. sit inside, which has a bigger cockpit.. I bought it for waterfowling and fishing..Before I bought it , I loaded it with decoys to make sure they fit, then I put all my fishing gear in and took it out and casted and trolled..I had experience kayak fishing in my other kayaks, and also helped out on demo days at a local kayak shop so I kinda knew what to expect..I don't recommend shooting from a kayak.. I almost flipped over once shooting a Canada goose flyin' over... I learned my lesson that day !! It's great to get to spots, and my wife sewed camo cloth to fit so I could sit in it on the shore

 

I am a total bluefish fanatic, I'm obsessed with them.....I live to catch them..Unlike a striper, they never quit .. Chasing blitzing bluefish and casting to them is "the best"... And when the gorillas are in and charge in to bunker schools, and I see them  cut  the bunker  to pieces, my heart still pounds thru my chest.. I've been bitten ,had them pull me into moored boats, had them pull rods(twice) off the kayak and even had a couple jump inside the kayak (one was over 10lbs.)... My wife says that they hate me.. and says that they mug me ..I'm so used to them I even love the smell of those yellow eyed devils..I have lotsa photos of them, and even though I get them for about 7 months a year, I still look at photos a lot...

 

Up until this year I ate blues all the time and loved them, but ate so many that I just can't eat them now(same with porgys).. I used to love to eat the spring blues in particular. My wife hates to eat them, but loves striped bass !!   She doesn't fish anymore, but says she liked catching largemouth much more  then catching a bluefish

 

With all that, I love freshwater fishing and drool when I read about the Northern Pike that you guys upstate get. I've caught a number of them up there, and a couple in Quebec, when I was walleye fishing a few years back,but never a really good one. It's not only the catching, it's the surroundings.. God's country !!  Just being upstate probably lowers my blood pressure.. I'd like to see  posted photos of your pike, and read some stories..I winter pickerel fish here quite a bit , but even the biggest don't compare to a Northern

 

 I have dreamed of muskys since I was VERY young and my brother showed me a picture in a magazine. He told me that they were great fighters, and I never forgot... It's on my "bucket list", as they say...I'll do it someday, but for now it's something  I like to dream about, so I'm not rushing to do it..

 

 

 

 

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virgil Rising Star

virgil

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Speaking of 'incidental muskies', I got my fish of a lifetime that way.  I was on a fishing trip on Lake of the Woods in Ontario with my brother.  My brother is handicapped and needs to use specialized splints and adapted rods to fish.  Our guide brought us to a spot at the beginning of our first day.  We were going to drift a weedy channel throwing spinner baits for pike.  I had bought a new rod before the trip.  While my brother was getting his splints set up, I decided to try a couple of casts with my new five foot bait caster.  I fired off one cast to get a feel for it.  Then, fired off another and landed my lure right at the edge of the weed line.  I started cranking and felt the line stop.  I thought I snagged a log or some weeds, then realized I had a fish on.  About two seconds later, I said 'I think it's big'.  Long story short, I boated a 51" muskie on 12lb mono with an 8" wire leader.  At one point, the fish wrapped himself around a sunken log, but eventually came free.  To this day, I still can't believe I caught that fish.

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greybeard Newbie

greybeard

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fasteddie.. You're right !! Sorry about that, I get carried away these days and have to be "reeled in"...I think it's age, but regardless of reason ,I shoulda stuck to my topic...I really went off it bad...Thanks for pointing it out, I appreciate it..I'll work on staying on point..

 

Virgil..   Wow !! congrats on the Musky.. Very Impressive..Did you get my last pm on striper spots

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greybeard Newbie

greybeard

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Stripers are still on the bunker on the North Shore !!

 

 Yesterday, I received a call that a friend caught a 30 lb. bass where I fish, and he had numerous "runoffs", predominantly by bass.(another friend got a 40 inch bass days earlier).. We have a small network..

 

Although the winds were predicted for gusts of 30 mph, and my cutoff is 15mph , I decided that since this spot has some wind protection, I'd go.

 

I got there at around 7am, wind was tough, but I found the Bunker where they've been hanging and snagged one. I transferred it to my other set up and within a minute I was hit and after a really good ride, I landed a 20 lb. Striper.

 

The adult bunker are not as numerous as they had been and I had to wait for them to show in my spot  to snag them, which took a little time. However, for the next five bunker,that I live lined, I got hits and good runs, but failed to connect, except for a bluefish.(They would not take bunker chunks)

 

I then snagged another and watched as it surfaced and get whacked, on top, by what I thought was a blue. I stupidly horsed it in because I was only looking for bass today, and I just wanted to get "the Bluefish" in and release it. It hit like a blue, and fought like one, but when I got it to the yak I saw that it was a bass, a good one.. I landed it and put in in the yak to measure it. It was bigger then the 1st. I released it after the measurement, and was home by 10am.

 

So bass are still on Bunker for those that fish the North Shore, but from my observation, and others that I have spoken to, they may not be as numerous inside the harbors.

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  • 3 weeks later...
greybeard Newbie

greybeard

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Thanx Shawn, I appreciate the compliment, but luck, and being there has a lot to do with it..

 

I was in Hawaii, so I'm not sure if the bunker are still in and if the Big Bass are still;; around...I gotta check to see..But not today because I just got in and am beat from all the flying.

 

I'm gonna get out in the yak to search the harbors next week,

.

Ford, do you fish for stripers the North Shore ??

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greybeard Newbie

greybeard

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I use them for stripers and have done well with them, but do not use them as often as soft plastics with lead heads, but I have friends that use them a lot and do very well on stripers. One fall, a friend suggested that I switch to bucktails so I tied on a   heavier bucktail in the rough surf and was greatly rewarded.

 

 When I use bucktails,I mainly use Spro bucktails, but do like Smiling Bills. I use either yellow, or white, but the more experienced bucktailers change around to other colors too.

 

I think that I'm using soft plastics more only because I have so much confidence in them and I think that bucktails would work equally as well if I used them more.

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greybeard Newbie

greybeard

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ATbuckhunter..Congrats on those nice fish, you had a great day.. .. I dream of 10 lb. bluefish, and all stripers over 26 inches were some nice bass !!

 

Were you on the North Shore(I won't ask specifics, just the shore). Were Bunker slapping ??

 

A southshore surf fisherman told me that the south shore surf  wasn't too good. I may try the bays, but will probably go to the North Shore this week, I got a better report from there.

 

Was anything on top, or all deeper..

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greybeard Newbie

greybeard

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First Light, I didn't see your post earlier..That's some great fish..Did she keep you on the bottom long ?

 

I don't use pork rind, I use twister tails, but I gotta try the rind. Many of the guys I know use pork rind, now after reading your post, I gotta use it too..

 

Thanx for that info and congrats  on the HUGE fish !!  I would like to see a photo

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ATbuckhunter Rising Star

ATbuckhunter

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ATbuckhunter..Congrats on those nice fish, you had a great day.. .. I dream of 10 lb. bluefish, and all stripers over 26 inches were some nice bass !!

 

Were you on the North Shore(I won't ask specifics, just the shore). Were Bunker slapping ??

 

A southshore surf fisherman told me that the south shore surf  wasn't too good. I may try the bays, but will probably go to the North Shore this week, I got a better report from there.

 

Was anything on top, or all deeper..

I cant give away the spot soo all I will say is that I was on a north shore back bay. You could go into any back bay and catch bass in early spring to early summer. The only problem is that its a little warm now but there still out there. There was some bunker every once in a while but other then that nothing like it was a month ago. The only problem is finding access to the back bays since a lot of the access points are privately owned. I suggest you get your self some circle hooks as well because they seem to swallow the bunker chinks if you give them a chance. They were all on the bottom but I never brought out the top water. Good luck out there. 

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greybeard Newbie

greybeard

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ATbuckhunter...Thanks for the info. I would NEVER ask for a specific spot, I really understand that. I am the same. I don't even like people seeing me take a fish from the kayak, or off the beach to my car.

 

I have no problem with access to my favorite spot on the North Shore. I would love access to some other prime spots, but the ones that I like are ALL private so I have to paddle further. I don't surf cast on the North Shore, so  access for that is not an issue with me

 

I heard the same as you said about the bunker last night from a friend, so I guess that they thinned out in my spot also. I expected the bunker to thin out around this time . Last year was an exception in my favorite North Shore spot, they stayed from spring thru fall. The problem last year, where I was, there were no Stripers under them and even the blues were scarce in the bunker schools. I got them on lures outside of the schools of bunker. Late November the blues finally did go to the bunker, but almost no bass.

This year, chunks did not work for me, all of the bigger bass that I caught were live lining. Some guys that I know who were there got them on chunks , but I just couldn't connect with them.

 

I haven't checked, but porgys should be in my area , so if they are, I may try live lining them .

 

Thanks again for the info

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