Night Time Trolling for Striped Bass

There are a number of significant differences between trolling the tube and worm at night versus trolling the tube and worm in the day. Remember that listed below are just generalities-there are usually quite a few exclusions to these “rules.” Yet, having an idea of how striped bass typically act during the night can help you locate, and hook more and bigger stripers. Trolling for striped bass through the night often outproduces trolling for striped bass during day light.

Generally, I’ve noted that bass stay nearer to the ocean’s surface at nighttime. During the night I find myself trolling three colors in locations where I often troll six colors in the daytime. Even when the bass may not be feeding, they seem to hold closer to the surface when it gets dark. Noticing bass hanging at 10-20 ft . deep is much more frequent during the nighttime than marking bass at 25-40 ft .-at least within the regions I typically target.

I’ve realized that the bulk of the striper population inside a particular region proceeds inside the same general direction through the entire course of an evening. During the past year it was not uncommon for us to find several schools of striped bass inside twenty five ft . of water right before the sun set. When it became darker, these schools of bass slowly and gradually trudged offshore. By 11PM most of the striped bass nearby could be located holding in 60-70 feet of h2o. These fish would likely spend the remainder of the overnight residing in deeper water in a somewhat sedentary condition, then gradually trudge once again in the direction of shore when the sun rose. These bass proved very hard to catch when they were holding offshore. However when in transit, they proved much easier to entice. Either way being able to stay with the bulk of the striped bass biomass throughout the course of a trip will most certainly increase your success rate.

Naturally this pattern of tendencies can alter swiftly and turn out to be very different than expected. If particular weather conditions develop, the trend can be played in reverse. One example is this past fall, when the breeze blew strong off the ocean, the stripers would push up tight to the beach front in just 10 ft of water as night progressed-as opposed to heading to deep water. Then the following evening, when the wind changed, the striped bass would return back to their previous routines. More often than not bass are easier to catch in 10 feet of water, contrasted to 70 feet of water. We made it a priority to go fishing whenever the wind blew onshore, so we could take advantage of trolling for striped bass in less than 15 feet of water.

The way stripers behave within the locations you fish could differ significantly than the ways that bass behave where I fish. The essential idea to know is that it is often probable to pre-plan a pattern of striper habits in your area that will help you find and remain with large schools of bass as the night progresses. Fishing after dark is not for everyone, however if you are up to fishing once the sun sets, trolling for striped bass in the dark can help you catch more and bigger striped bass.

Captain Ryan Collins is a commercial and charter striped bass captain from Cape Cod, MA. His fishing website, myfishingcapecod.com, is full of valuable fishing reports, tips, and hot spots. Visit his website for more trolling for striped bass information.