Spring Stripers, Fresh Clams & A Kayak

Yesterday I actually took a day off and had a ball fishing on my kayak for striped bass and bluefish in the back bay.  I ended up catching 4 fish, all good sized as you can see below.  3 nice striped bass and one really large bluefish, the size we were catching last year off the lumber yards at the Atlantic Highlands Marina.  Here's is a shot of the last and largest bass of the day - which I kept.  All other fish released.  As many of you know I don't usually keep fish, but this is one of two bass that I plan to keep for the Spring season.  We had blackened wild caught striped bass last night and it was special. 

Below is the first bass that took a fresh clam about 20 minutes after setting up my chum slick.  I had the chum bag going near the bottom and fresh clams going over the side every 10-15 minutes.  I went through the bait in 3 hours but the strategy paid off.  Most of the other boats around me were chumming with little bits of bait and were catching mostly shorts.  I was also baiting with the largest clams possible, as again the other boats looked to be using just small pieces of bait.

 

I loaded up with 2 large chum balls and 2 dozen clams from Pete Crosta's Atlantic Highlands Bait & Tackle Shop (732 -291-4500) at the Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbour. As usual there is always a crew hanging out at Pete's.  Yesterday Capt. Robbie Barradale, President of the Bay Shore Saltwater Flyrodders Club was there.  He's a great guy and actually gave me some great advice which I employed on this trip.  So thanks Robbie for the information, as you can see it paid off.  If you want to join a great club around the Bayshore area and learn from some great fisherman, check out their site.  It just shows that patronizing your local bait shop goes way beyond what you actually carry out of the shop.  If you are fishing the beach or from a boat ask Pete for his special spring clam chum balls.  It will make a difference, trust me.  Combine great company, helpful tips and fresh bait, all with a fresh pot of coffee brewing and you can't miss at Pete's.

This final shot gives you a look at my rig, with the last bass of the day on deck. 

 

It's already been a great Spring for me as I have been blessed with a few nice fish.  It's so great to see the water a bit cleaner, the birds in good spirits and of course the fish. 

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I wonder if you could persuade a few of these striped bass to make their way over to our side of the Atlantic?
Our bass look very similar to stripers, but don't attain the same size unfortunately.
In return, we'd happily let you have some of our dogfish ...

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