Some Thoughts On LI South Shore Bait Patterns
by Rich Troxler aka richtrox
We all know the stocks are down, but if you’re going to fish for striped bass, you’ll have your best chance of catching if you have a plan, and bait patterns should be big part of that plan. During my time on Long Island, I was what is generally referred to as a "pattern" fisherman. I did not chase reports and instead relied on what I had learned in over 40 years of fishing for bass. So, the pattern that I would fish at any given time would determine if I used bait or artificials. I'll provide some examples, but the thing to always key in on is the type of bait around at the time, and the available structure.
In early spring there are two primary patterns. One revolves around small bait (rainbait, last years adult spearing, etc) and is usually deep in the bay (any bay). The waters warm there the soonest, the bait wakes up or migrates to the warmer water to feed on the blooms, and the bass follow the bait. In the areas I fished, this is typically all plugs and artificials and my go to plug this time of year was a SS Needlefish because the profile matches the bait. I would also throw small lead head / fin-s combos, as well as bucks and porkrind, and use teasers when bait like grass shrimp appear to be on the menu. In areas conducive to it, clams would also put fish on the hook.
Later in the spring the small bait move off the warm flats, or simply spread out all over the bay due to favorable water temps. Prey items start to enter the inlets and bass are likely to be found from there on back. Could be big bait, could be small, so make sure to adjust your profiles accordingly. Frequently it involves deep fast water, so large bucks/porkrind and lead heads w/ rubber tails that match the profile are a good choice for getting deep. If big bait are in the “right” water, I wouldn’t hesitate to throw a bottle plug (darter if you are a fan) or big metal lip.
About this same time, adult bunker will usually show up in sufficient numbers to draw the attention of the larger bass. Hickory Shad may also be abundant and this is where bait pattern emerges. I used to fish a bite around the 2nd week in June that I split time between the open beach and areas just inside an inlet. The inlet location was usually loaded with hickory shad, with bigger fish on them. In one location I would live line the shad, the other I would tend to fish shad chunks. This is because the live-line spot has a back eddy that keeps the shad in the same area, as they tend to just swim round and round. The chunk area has a bar and channel edge that the fish hang on and I would free spool un-weighted chunks with the current over the edge. Basically, I fed the fish. This bite used to last a good couple of weeks before it fell apart and was quite dependable when the weather cooperated. It's just following the food chain up the ladder.
The ocean pattern revolves around the arrival of adult bunker as they make there way down the beach to whatever inlet they decide to enter, or keep swimming up coast. The migrating bigger bass will tend to stage at various structure locations along the beach. They can be there one day and gone the next. It's hit and miss, so I never spent too much time sitting on any one spot. If I had them at one stage of the tide on one night, and they were not there the next, I moved east to the next bit of structure and tried that, and so on, until I found them again. In the fall I would reverse the direction. Like I said, it is hit and miss, but the size of the fish makes it worth the effort (sometimes). I typically did this from around the beginning of June till around the beginning of July and was almost exclusively cut fresh bunker (no frozen).
Once the warmer weather arrives all bites tend to slow, but the bass still do feed, and determining where and when is much more of a challenge. I tended to focus on the inlets (deeper water) and incoming tide (cooler ocean water). I would periodically check the beaches also as a certain amount of resident bay bass will move back out into the ocean, (cooler water) if there is a bait pattern to support it. Again, cut fresh bunker being the bait of choice, as bass at this time of year are not aggressive in their feeding and prefer to nothing more than suck up the bluefish leftovers.
Many times, in the absence of a solid bite / pattern, the fish go on what I call a rooting pattern. If you notice, people find all kinds of things in bass' stomachs. Bass will eat whatever is around when the primary forage disappears, or is hard to get like after a storm when the water is dirty. They root around the bottom scaring up anything they can get. This can also happen on the open beach after a storm when the surf clams get washed up and broken. I almost never fished clams, except after big storms. When the fish are on a rooting pattern, I generally would go to the old standby, the eel. Never met a bass that could pass up an eel swimming by its nose. It makes a good rooting pattern bait because its easy fishing and the eel does all the work. The eel heads for the bottom, and all you need to do is keep in contact and not let the eel wrap itself up in the bottom growth.
In the fall I fished the rooting pattern a lot, because I believe that bass do a lot of rooting at that time. They know winter is coming, and they put on the feedbag 24/7 to fatten up before they leave. People forget how much they love flounder, clams, worms, eels, crabs, etc. These are all bottom dwellers. I always made a point to check which direction the bass' eyes are pointing, as they do not have the ability to change them quickly. If you catch a bass and his eyes are pointed down, then he is rooting, and an eel is a good choice at that time.
And just for the record, the much awaited fall beach blitz fishing is not a pattern. It is what it is, with the exception of sand eels which don’t migrate east to west. It is fish and bait moving rapidly, and only lasts a couple days to a week, sometimes more, like white Montauk bait blitzes of years past, which is actually a pattern. Some years, if you are lucky, you may find some big fish late in the season, on herring. This has not happened recently, but it still may be worth a try.
So hopefully this will give you a few things to think about for this season. As for learning patterns, stick to the areas near you, so you can fish them a lot, and learn the seasonal patterns. Don't chase reports and 2nd hand information all over the island, as this will disappoint you for sure. Pick a few areas near you and learn as much as you can about them, and fish them hard. Your local B&T is a good source of local knowledge, so spend a few bucks there and ask a few questions. Also, feel free to ask me a question if you have one. Fishing is a life long process so enjoy the ride and have a good season.
by Rich Troxler aka richtrox
We all know the stocks are down, but if you’re going to fish for striped bass, you’ll have your best chance of catching if you have a plan, and bait patterns should be big part of that plan. During my time on Long Island, I was what is generally referred to as a "pattern" fisherman. I did not chase reports and instead relied on what I had learned in over 40 years of fishing for bass. So, the pattern that I would fish at any given time would determine if I used bait or artificials. I'll provide some examples, but the thing to always key in on is the type of bait around at the time, and the available structure.
In early spring there are two primary patterns. One revolves around small bait (rainbait, last years adult spearing, etc) and is usually deep in the bay (any bay). The waters warm there the soonest, the bait wakes up or migrates to the warmer water to feed on the blooms, and the bass follow the bait. In the areas I fished, this is typically all plugs and artificials and my go to plug this time of year was a SS Needlefish because the profile matches the bait. I would also throw small lead head / fin-s combos, as well as bucks and porkrind, and use teasers when bait like grass shrimp appear to be on the menu. In areas conducive to it, clams would also put fish on the hook.
Later in the spring the small bait move off the warm flats, or simply spread out all over the bay due to favorable water temps. Prey items start to enter the inlets and bass are likely to be found from there on back. Could be big bait, could be small, so make sure to adjust your profiles accordingly. Frequently it involves deep fast water, so large bucks/porkrind and lead heads w/ rubber tails that match the profile are a good choice for getting deep. If big bait are in the “right” water, I wouldn’t hesitate to throw a bottle plug (darter if you are a fan) or big metal lip.
About this same time, adult bunker will usually show up in sufficient numbers to draw the attention of the larger bass. Hickory Shad may also be abundant and this is where bait pattern emerges. I used to fish a bite around the 2nd week in June that I split time between the open beach and areas just inside an inlet. The inlet location was usually loaded with hickory shad, with bigger fish on them. In one location I would live line the shad, the other I would tend to fish shad chunks. This is because the live-line spot has a back eddy that keeps the shad in the same area, as they tend to just swim round and round. The chunk area has a bar and channel edge that the fish hang on and I would free spool un-weighted chunks with the current over the edge. Basically, I fed the fish. This bite used to last a good couple of weeks before it fell apart and was quite dependable when the weather cooperated. It's just following the food chain up the ladder.
The ocean pattern revolves around the arrival of adult bunker as they make there way down the beach to whatever inlet they decide to enter, or keep swimming up coast. The migrating bigger bass will tend to stage at various structure locations along the beach. They can be there one day and gone the next. It's hit and miss, so I never spent too much time sitting on any one spot. If I had them at one stage of the tide on one night, and they were not there the next, I moved east to the next bit of structure and tried that, and so on, until I found them again. In the fall I would reverse the direction. Like I said, it is hit and miss, but the size of the fish makes it worth the effort (sometimes). I typically did this from around the beginning of June till around the beginning of July and was almost exclusively cut fresh bunker (no frozen).
Once the warmer weather arrives all bites tend to slow, but the bass still do feed, and determining where and when is much more of a challenge. I tended to focus on the inlets (deeper water) and incoming tide (cooler ocean water). I would periodically check the beaches also as a certain amount of resident bay bass will move back out into the ocean, (cooler water) if there is a bait pattern to support it. Again, cut fresh bunker being the bait of choice, as bass at this time of year are not aggressive in their feeding and prefer to nothing more than suck up the bluefish leftovers.
Many times, in the absence of a solid bite / pattern, the fish go on what I call a rooting pattern. If you notice, people find all kinds of things in bass' stomachs. Bass will eat whatever is around when the primary forage disappears, or is hard to get like after a storm when the water is dirty. They root around the bottom scaring up anything they can get. This can also happen on the open beach after a storm when the surf clams get washed up and broken. I almost never fished clams, except after big storms. When the fish are on a rooting pattern, I generally would go to the old standby, the eel. Never met a bass that could pass up an eel swimming by its nose. It makes a good rooting pattern bait because its easy fishing and the eel does all the work. The eel heads for the bottom, and all you need to do is keep in contact and not let the eel wrap itself up in the bottom growth.
In the fall I fished the rooting pattern a lot, because I believe that bass do a lot of rooting at that time. They know winter is coming, and they put on the feedbag 24/7 to fatten up before they leave. People forget how much they love flounder, clams, worms, eels, crabs, etc. These are all bottom dwellers. I always made a point to check which direction the bass' eyes are pointing, as they do not have the ability to change them quickly. If you catch a bass and his eyes are pointed down, then he is rooting, and an eel is a good choice at that time.
And just for the record, the much awaited fall beach blitz fishing is not a pattern. It is what it is, with the exception of sand eels which don’t migrate east to west. It is fish and bait moving rapidly, and only lasts a couple days to a week, sometimes more, like white Montauk bait blitzes of years past, which is actually a pattern. Some years, if you are lucky, you may find some big fish late in the season, on herring. This has not happened recently, but it still may be worth a try.
So hopefully this will give you a few things to think about for this season. As for learning patterns, stick to the areas near you, so you can fish them a lot, and learn the seasonal patterns. Don't chase reports and 2nd hand information all over the island, as this will disappoint you for sure. Pick a few areas near you and learn as much as you can about them, and fish them hard. Your local B&T is a good source of local knowledge, so spend a few bucks there and ask a few questions. Also, feel free to ask me a question if you have one. Fishing is a life long process so enjoy the ride and have a good season.
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