Postspawn stripers are working their way down Chesapeake Bay, keepers are in the Jersey shore surf, a wave of big striper hit Raritan Bay, and Rhode Island and Cape Cod are awash in fresh schoolies as the Spring 2017 striped bass migration continues along.
Chesapeake Bay
Stripers are trickling out of the spawning rivers and returning to the bay, according to the fishing report for the Maryland DNR. Right now, big stripers are being caught in the middle and upper Chesapeake Bay. The large postspawn stripers are expected to reach the lower bay next week, and after they pass by the Bay Bridge Tunnel, they will hang a left and head for the Northeast.
Delaware Bay
Large stripers are spawning in the Delaware River, but some fish have begun returning to the bay, where fishermen are catching them on clams and chunked bunker.
Note that as of April 1, the striped bass season is closed above a line running east from the South Jetty of the C&D Canal to the Pennsylvania line. Anglers using any type of bait in this area must use non-offset circle hooks even if they are not targeting striped bass.
New Jersey
A few larger bass have moved into some of the…
