If you love fishing for striped bass, there is little doubt that you have found that they are easiest to land in areas where there are numerous structures. Whether it is boulder piles, reefs or wrecks, they seem to attract striped bass. If you have ever fished along the Connecticut side of Long Island you are probably familiar with some of the popular reefs in that area. Remember the height of a reef is not always important, instead, you are interested in the steepness of the hill. You may find fish in water as deep as eighty feet or you may be surprised by finding a school in as little as ten feet of water. Funnel formations are the reasons that reefs are such great ambush points for striped bass. They allow you to spread bait across the water column which then flows down and over the crest, and once the tide flows up the hill, the bait gets carried along to the crest of the peak. This is typically where the striped bass are waiting to feed, and depth does not matter in these cases. The better the funnel shape, the more likely you will be to have success landing striped bass. The crest of the reef is approximately the same as the reef line.

Cruise up-tide from the reef once you have located the top. You can use your fish-finder to assist you. Remember that even if you do not see any hits on the fish finder does not mean that there are not striped bass in the area – they typically cling fairly close to the structures making them difficult for even the most advanced fish-finders to track. As a rule, you should most likely start off in waters that are about 20 feet deeper than where your reef crested. With your boat out of gear, drop your rig all the way to the bottom. If you have difficulty reaching bottom, consider adding some additional weight. Remember, that you will want to be fishing approximately three to six feet above the bottom so you do need to know where it is. As your boat drifts, you will soon grow accustomed to where the bottom is in different areas. As you feel the sinker hitting the bottom, simply crank your reel handle to bring it back up. It is best if you attempt to keep your line as vertical as possible as it will help you manage your line better. It’s important to bear in mind that as you drift uphill you are going to contact the bottom more frequently so make sure you keep an eye on your line.

As you travel around in your boat, you’ll find that you need to keep an eye out for specific landmarks while you’re drifting. This will help you map the area where you are getting hits. Using visual landmarks along with your GPS and fish-finder can be a major help when you are fishing unfamiliar areas. In general, if you find one striper in the area, there are sure to be more there. Your fish finder may not be a lot of help when you’re scanning for the simple reason that stripers tend to hug the sides of the structures they are hiding in. Unusually shaped structures in the area are likely to be hotbeds of stripers since they are drawn to large boulders, sharp drops in depth and piles that are different from the rest of the area.

While in most cases, stripers are found on the up-side of a hill, it is not all that uncommon to find them at the crest of the hill or even on the down-hill side. It will require some experimentation on your part to find out exactly where they are feeding. Do not forget to keep your line in the proper depth so that your bait is three to six feet of the bottom at all times. You may find that even a properly placed rod in your rod holder will land the occasional fish or two.

Circle hooks are probably the best choice for stripers. The 5/0 or 6/0 circle hooks baited with eels are probably the most secure. This will avoid you needing to set a hook, all you’ll need to do is lift the tip of your rod or let out the slack a bit and reel it in. Menhaden, hickory shad and scut will more than likely require an octopus hook in the 8/0 size.

When you are getting prepared for a saltwater fishing adventure, having the proper equipment is essential. Some of the most popular products on the market include okuma fishing reels and van staal reel.