Suspended Stripers-Look in Deep Water

Ethan Wendle, Robbe Reddinger, and Andy Campbell met me at Sandy Point State Park and were looking forward to catching some striped bass on light tackle equipment. The current was headed north and we decided to fish in the Upper Chesapeake Bay. Fortunately we located fish suspended between 10 and 20 feet deep over 60 to 45 feet of water most of the day.

Not in the Normal Locations--Look Deep

Plenty of stripers were caught on a various ledges. Look for quick breaking depth changes that occur close to each other. There is a good example of this at Brickhouse Bar. It is located on the eastern shore, south of the Bay Bridge and R"88". 

The Most Productive Technique: Horizontal Jigging: The lure will be jigged while moving horizontally back toward the boat. Cast the lure and count it down to the desired depth (on average lures sink 1 foot per second).  With the rod tip parallel to the water and pointing at the lure (12 o'clock position), start moving the rod, horizontally, toward the 9 o'clock position while jigging the lure.  Take all the slack out of the line when moving the rod tip toward the 12 o'clock position.  Repeat this again and again, until the lure is back at the boat.

Most Productive Lure: Bass Assassin, 5", Shad, Chartreuse Silver Glitter, fished on a BKD, 3/4 ounce jighead.

Robbie Landed the Largest Striper (29")