[SharkBait3]

Hi guys,

Any suggestions on which islands may be better to try for striped bass after May 16th? Is it better to fish the side that the tide is hitting (uptide?). i have only fished the islands once (with a guide in his boat) and caught a nice schoolie in October off the rocks. We were fishing the forth island along the ocean side I believe on an incoming tide. I have a 800 sinking line that I was going to fish 3-4" clousers/deceivers on. Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks,

Wally

[FelixtheKat]

Wally,

clousers1/0 blue over white (daytime) black over blue (at night), a floating or intermediate line is fine casting right into the rocks, 4 ft leader is plenty, they like to have the water moving, the faster the better, even the south side of fishermans island bridge produces some nice ones. Night time is the easiest time, and the bigger fish are taken then. check out the light lines, quite often you will see the fish feeding there - that is a blast, catch all you want then, may be blues, shad, trout - ya never know what all is feeding there.

at times when they are feeding with great intensity you will want to use a fly made of synthetics and lots of epoxy, deer hair gets chewed up very quickly if a blue or 2 get after it, the stripers will eat them up also just takes a bit longer

i like to have a rod rigged with an epoxy body and some flash for a tail and a flash line in the epoxy. they hold up pretty good and mimick a sand eel or silver side.

i used an all black clouser with some silver flash the other night and it got abused, wished i had tied up a few more, since then i have.

experiment, experiment,experiment

we will anchor up so we are upstream and between pilings and throw out so that the fly is tailing out as it goes in front of the pilings - small boat channel is great for that -- also there is a piling over on the north side that always has a few stripers hanging inside it, on the ocean side just off the bank of fishermans island

good luck

[beawolf]

Hi guys,

Any suggestions on which islands may be better to try for striped bass after May 16th?  Is it better to fish the side that the tide is hitting (uptide?).  i have only fished the islands once (with a guide in his boat) and caught a nice schoolie in October off the rocks.  We were fishing the forth island along the ocean side I believe on an incoming tide.  I have a 800 sinking line that I was going to fish 3-4" clousers/deceivers on.  Any advice would be helpful. 

Thanks,

Wally

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I have had most of my luck with chartouse, both minnows and popers day and night int . line and floating (9wt) 7 or 8 would be better I think, but 9 is the smallest I have. Over the past 5 yeasr I have had my best luck on the second island (from the Va beach side.)