Drifting Easy by Sue Foster

“I saw some pretty big stripers from the surf in the paper!”

Big stripers are “hit or miss” but if you catch one, there’s lots of 
“bragging rights.”  Anglers fishing the Assateague surf target stripers 
using a whole bunker head on a large #7/0 to #10/0 Circle hook.  These 
experienced anglers fish several rods over a stretch of two or three days 
and may come up with one or two fish for there efforts.  Sometimes more….. 
and sometimes the “big skunk.”   If you want to put the time in fishing a 
whole bunker head, there’s a good chance to catch a big striper if you’re in 
a good hole, but there’s also the chance you will catch nothing.

“How the heck do you hook a whole head?”

Hook the bunker head in the mouth and out the tough part of its snout. Many 
angler cut off the lower jaw which cuts down on the weight when casting.  Be 
sure to use a large hook when baiting a whole head.
Be sure that the point of the hook is clearly outside of the bait.  If you 
try to bury a hook in the bait, you will miss the “hook up!”

“I bought a fresh bunker for bait. What do I do with the rest of it?”

Most anglers cut the bunker up into chunks. Cut out the
belly and guts and throw it away. You can save the belly meat to make strips 
for flounder, blues or trout.  Take the dark upper portion of the bunker, 
and cut it all the way through the bone into chunks. Hook the bunker chunk 
all the way through so the hook goes in one side of the skin and protrudes 
out the other side of the skin.  This helps with the “hook-up” plus it helps 
hold the bait on the hook.

If your bunker is “real fresh” you can also simply fillet the two sides off 
and cut the dark meat into strips. Cutting it into chunks with the “bone in” 
is better for stripers though.  Don’t try to refreeze bunker because it will 
get soft. If you throw your chunks of bait into salt you can use them the 
next day or two. Salt will toughen them up.


(http://www.hatterasoutfitters.com/faq_baitprep.htm) shows  how to cut up 
and
bait bunker.

“The bait shop only has frozen bunker. They are sold out of fresh!”

Frozen bunker is OK if it was frozen fresh for fish bait. But if it was 
frozen for crab bait, it will be soft and you will only be able to use the 
head.  So be sure to ask for bunker for fishing if you go into a bait and 
tackle store. Lots of people buy bunker for crab pots and you don’t want to 
buy the wrong kind of bunker!!!!

You can also buy bunker that has been filleted and salted. This works well 
too in a pinch and is very tough.

“How about mullet?”

If the bait store is out of fresh or fresh frozen bunker, chunks of finger 
mullet is your next best bet. Chunk it into fairly large pieces. You can 
also cut the whole finger mullet in half (at an angle) and hook the mullet 
head part through the snout.

“How about bloodworms?”

Stripers love bloodworms. You may not catch the big stripers, but you’ll 
likely catch stripers if you’re in a good hole and they are there. Cut down 
on your hooks size, and fish “close-in.” It’s a more expensive way to fish, 
but you’ll likely catch something!

“What kind of rigs should I use for stripers?”

If you are fishing from the surf, any large bluefish rig will work. BUT, if 
you are only targeting stripers and not bluefish, use a rig without the 
Stryofoam floats. You’ll have to check your bait more often because floats 
keep your bait off the bottom away from the crabs.  I’m not saying stripers 
won’t take rigs with Stryofoam floats. Last week, the stripers were 
preferring the top and bottom surf rigs with bright green floats. But 
typically, anglers fishing strictly for stripers, skip the surf floats.

One really easy way to make a striper rig is buy a heavy-duty top and bottom 
rig and attach two snelled hooks to the stand-offs. Be sure to buy the heavy 
rig. Sea Striker makes two of these rigs. One is made with heavy wire 
(1040HD) and the other is made with heavy monofilament (1060HD). Most 
anglers prefer the heavy monofilament rig. The stand-offs on both are made 
out of heavy twisted wire.  If you buy pre-made
snelled hooks, use Octopus style or Circle hooks in the #4/0 to #7/0 range. 
(Some anglers tie or crimp on his or her own hooks with Fluorocarbon leader 
in the 40 to 80 pound range.) If you buy long leadered hooks, you may have 
to shorten them up a bit.

Stripers often pick up a bait and then drop it when they feel the weight of 
the sinker. That is why fish finder rigs are extremely popular when striper 
fishing.  Some people think they are complicated, but actually, fish finder 
rigs are the simplest rigs to use!

“ What is a fish finder rig and how do you it?”

A fish finder rig is a simple gizmo made out of a plastic sleeve and a snap 
or clip for the sinker. They cost anywhere from 30 cents to a dollar 
depending upon the quality and where you buy them. The sleeve may be white, 
black, yellow or blue.

Many striper rigs come with a fish finder rig in the package, but you still 
need to know how to set it up.  First of all, feed your line, directly from 
your rod and reel, through the plastic sleeve of the fish finder rig. Next, 
attach a snap swivel or a barrel swivel to the very end of your line. Then 
attach a leadered hook to the snap swivel or barrel swivel.  The last step 
is to attach a sinker to the connecting link or snap of the fish finder rig.
(Hint: If you are using a shock leader place a bead just above the fish
finder rig so it doesn’t get hung up on your knot.)


Some anglers buy a pre-made rig that acts as a fish finder called a Long 
Ranger or Breakaway Pulley Rig.  These pre-made rigs let the fish pick up 
the bait for a few moments before it feels the weight of the sinker.  It 
also has a little plastic cone called an “impact shield” that holds your 
bait and sinker together when you cast out so you can cast 30 per cent 
further. These rigs really work and are pre-made so all you have to do is 
add a sinker.   There’s a  video at www.breakawayusa.com/shop/rigs.htm.

Aqua-Clear also makes several striper rigs that work as a “built-in” fish 
finder rig. These are excellent.

Dale Timmons (Assateague Rig Co.) makes his rigs with a real short leader. 
This helps you cast a big bait out far. If your leader is too long, simply 
shorten it up!

Eagle Claw makes several High/Low striper rigs out of heavy mono and bait 
holder hooks. These bait holder hooks are nice because they help hold the 
bunker chunks on. There’s a loop at the end of the rig that you simply loop 
your sinker onto.

A simple 3-way swivel with snap for a sinker will suffice for
striper fishing.  If you are fishing for the big stripers buy fairly good 
sized 3-way swivels such as a #1/0 or #2/0 size.  Attach a sinker slide or a 
duel lock clip to one eye of the 3-way for the sinker.  Attach a leadered 
hook to another eye of the three-way swivel.  Use a good snap swivel at the 
end of your line to help eliminate line twist. Then attach the last hook of 
the three-way swivel to the snap swivel and you have a simple rig!  Works 
for almost anything!

Stripers are often “in-close.”  In other words, don’t overcast. The bigger 
fish come in close to shore on the higher tides, generally early in the 
morning and towards late afternoon and dusk and after dark. Fish early, fish 
late, and fish high tide. Look for the holes at low tide when you can see 
them, and go back and fish at high tide.

Check your bait often. If you are not using a whole head, but chunks of 
bait, you can use the “cast out, and slowly retrieve in tactic” as well.

Good fishing…

 

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