Hi Guys,
Luna has it right.
Although Stripers migrate, there are a great number that "overwinter" in New Jersey. The problem is that very few people target them. As most folks have read, the Striper fishing was very good into February. That is when all the reports kind of stop.
Folks that target Stripers year round start fishing places like Oyster Creek where the fish will bite in the dead of winter. Also, I know folks that surf fish year round and did well in the Belmar area.
In April, there are fish that do not spawn (young fish and those that just do not spwan). The fish appear to remain in estuaries like the Raritan and Delaware Bays. However, the main stocks head upriver to spawn. After the spawn, the fish stage in the estuaries and then follow menhaden and other bait out into the oceans. There is a mass migration from the Chesapeake Bay, Hudson and Delaware Rivers. The fish have been close in the past few years because the bait is here (bunker).
What I really want people to get out of the chart for stripers is:
1. They spawn in the Spring.
2. There are three major bodies of fish that migrate north after the spawn.
3. Stripers feed before and during a spawn agressively.
4. There are fish that "overwinter" in NJ waters.
5. Stripers have more of a temperature tolerance than most people think.
Thanks,
Capt. Ed
