2016 Striper by Dave Spendiff

Posted on April 14, 2016 by VHFC

I left the dock at 8:00 on 4/14/16 and headed north to the Oyster Creek Power Plant outflow. Water temp in the bay was 50 and got warmer as I approached the creek, reaching 60.7 in the creek. I first fished outside early then went up in the creek and had a hook-up in 8′ of water across from the public launch. I had the fish on for about a minute but simply couldn’t turn it with the light spinning gear I was using – it came unbuttoned. Had another hard hit without a hook-up and worked my way out of the creek to the mouth. I was using a Zoom bubblegum colored soft plastic jerk bait, really trying for weakfish! Had another hook-up and landed my first 2016 striper, a 22″ fish. With the wind howling out of the NE, I headed for home.

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Fishing Facts

Of the fifty United States, thirty-eight have a striped-bass record. New Jersey has the largest striped-bass record—a 78-pound 8·ounce whopper that was caught in 1982. The state with the smallest striped-bass record is Iowa. That landlocked striper weighed only 9 pounds 4 ounces and was caught in 1983.

There’s something fishy about beer these days. Fish Tail Ale is popular as ever, and New Jersey’s Flying Fish Brewery is one of the state’s largest specialty breweries. There’s also Washington’s Wild Salmon Organic Pale Ale, Florida’s Land Shark beer, Delaware’s Dogfish Head beer, and two versions of Stingray beer—a lighter version from the Cayman Islands and a dark beer from Canada.

The triangle fly is probably the most unusual of saltwater flies. It’s one of the few, if not only, flies tied to a treble hook. It’s also barely a fly at all, because hardly any material is used. It is complete after tying the two straw pearl twinkle flashes and the tiny tuft of natural squirrel, leaving an entire hook fully exposed. Incredibly this barebacked treble fly is a knockout when it comes to sea trout.