Striped bass add weeks to fresh, saltwater fishing season

outdoors Outdoors: Striped bass add weeks to fresh, saltwater fishing season

Photo courtesy of Ken Neill

Here’s a side-by-side look at the two fisheries with input from Dale Wilson, a Smith Mountain Lake guide for more than 40 years, and Dr. Ken Neill III, an accomplished saltwater angler and commissioner of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.

The season so far

Smith Mountain Lake: “I have had some really good days the past two weeks and some days the fish have disappeared,” Wilson said.

This is the time of year stripers moved up the lake, but they have been slow to do that, Wilson said. Stripers in the mid-to-upper sections of the lake are easier to find and catch than in the dam area. Wilson prefers the Roanoke River arm of the lake over the Blackwater River arm.

One recent day, he landed 18 stripers in shallow water, but the fish are just as likely to be deep.

Chesapeake Bay: Anglers had hoped the fall/winter fishery in the Bay would show a marked improvement over last year, which was a disappointment, but so far the action has been hit or miss. The wind has been a problem, and fish have been slow to move out of Maryland and other points north.

On the positive side, fish in the 40-plus-pound range have been more abundant and some have shown up to win fishing tournaments, like the 58 pound, 5-ounce giant that dominated a contest at Chris’ Bait & Tackle on the southern end of Virginia’s Eastern Shore. That fish was caught by E.B. Padgett of Roanoke, who was bait fishing with an eel at Buoy 40.

“Last winter, if you could just find a fish to weigh in, you won,” said Neill.

As for places to catch citation fish, the people at Chris’ Bait & Tackle had this to say:

“We have had a few citations from Kiptopeke, a few from Plantation Light and a few more from Buoy 36, but the majority have been from Buoys 38 to 40.”

Padgett’s striper is the leading catch in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament.

What next?

SML: “The best fishing will be the end of December and the first of January,” Wilson said. “I don’t think it has come anywhere near to peaking yet.”

Ground zero for Wilson is the section of the lake from Indian Creek to Hardy. No matter where you fish, the key to success is to first find the baitfish. Stripers are never far from their food source. Knowing how to use a fish locator is vital, but just keeping an eye out for gulls can bring rewards. The birds are a dead giveaway for feeding stripers.

Bay: When the catch season ends in the Chesapeake Bay on Dec. 31, most anglers will turn their attention to the ocean front of the Eastern Shore and Virginia Beach where the season continues. Like that of the Bay, this fishery was a disappointment last year, but that could change quickly. Success is dependent on schools of migrating stripers pausing long enough in Virginia water to feed in places within the reach of anglers.

Size of fish

SML: “The size of the fish has increased some (following a major die-off in 2003),” Wilson said. “We still don’t have the 30-pound plus fish we once had, but they are a little better.”

Bay: While catches of 40-pound-plus stripers are up, the overall citation count of 117 is about 75 fewer than for the same time period last year. The 2012 citation total at this point was just over a 1,000.

Lures and bait

SML: Wilson uses a variety of lures on stripers, including jerk-baits, swim-baits, bucktails, Zoom Flukes on 3/8- to 1/2-ounce lead heads and Alabama rigs. Deep spooning with a ¾-ounce Hopkins Spoon works well in late December. Trolling live bait with a planing board also is productive.

Bay: Almost all of the citations register at Chris’ Bait & Tackle have been hooked on eels, either fished under a bobber or with a planer. When the fishery moves to the ocean front, trolling and casting to schools of stripers feeding near the surface will be the most used techniques.

Changes in regulations

SML: Beginning Jan. 1, the current 26-to 36-inch slot limit will be boosted to 30-to-40 inches, which means fishermen will have to release stripers in the 30- to 40-inch bracket November through May. There is no size limit June through October. The year-round catch limit remains two per outing.

Bay: Virginia is under a mandate to lower the recreational striped bass harvest by 20.5 percent in the Chesapeake Bay and by 25 percent along the coast. Right now there are no changes in coastal regulations, but state officials are considering ways to meet the mandate.

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