Come April, most of us have probably gotten some bass by shore in the back bays, creeks, and estuaries on the east end on soft plastics and small surface plugs. To the west large migrating stripers coming up the coast of jersey and down from the Hudson are making their way east and gorging on bunker. It’s only going to get better from here. Unlike the choices we’ll have a month from now in terms of bluefish and fluke, striped bass is kind of the only game in town for April. After a long offseason I’m more than happy with just one species to target.
With the mild winter that overstayed its welcome through March, water temps are a bit higher than in past seasons but not ideal for a full-on frenzy of fish east of Jones Inlet. They’ll start ratcheting up as sunny spring days warm the muddy bottoms of the back bays. Worms are always a great bet from Jamaica Bay all the way to Shinnecock, while trolling bunker spoons and throwing bunker profile shads near bunker pods out front will produce. Snagging live bunker if you’re not cast net sufficient and redeploying on a circle hook is another solid option. There’s typically nothing better than the real thing, except in the case of the new craze of flutter spoons in the past few seasons. Vertically jigging these on the edges of bunker pods in as shallow as eight feet of water will produce some fierce action.
I love fishing out front in the ocean, and primarily fishing on the east end around Moriches and Shinnecock in April can be frustrating. The bunkers are here but the ocean migrators aren’t typically feeding out front. I’m a big fan of light tackle and casting artificials in skinny water and April is the month for it. That warm spring sun gets a wide variety of small baits moving, especially on the marshy banks of the bay. The growing popularity of trolling motors like Minn Kotas make this a dream. Setting up with spot lock a short distance from the mouth of an estuary, or just off a drop-off is the perfect way to spend a nice portion of a tide. Predominantly all spring, the end of incoming and halfway or even all the way to the bottom of the tide is the best choice. On weaker tides just drifting a stretch of marsh with paddle tails on ¼ to ½ ounce jigheads is another solid approach to landing schoolies to midslot bass.
April 15th marks the official start of the 2023 striped bass season south of the George Washington Bridge with a bag limit of 1 per day between 28 and 35 inches. Breezy Point, Rockaway, and Jamaica Bay don’t typically turn on according to the calendar with fish staging as early as mid-March. For those that haven’t splashed their boats yet, the party boat fleet will be in full swing with night bass staring the first night of the season. Sea Queen VII offers a 7 to midnight trip and has been doing extensive scouting. Those that have splashed their boat and want in on the early season bite, stick to structure and moving water near the inlet mouth at night for a shot at some slot fish. East and West of Marine Park Bridge has been a productive spot year after year. Further east any of the bridges east of Jones inlet often hold a nice number of bass, and some weakfish as well.
On the north shore, Manhasset Bay, Hempstead Harbor, and Little Neck Bay have a nice amount of school bass to target on light tackle and fly. In the nighttime hours chunking the channel will raise a few fish of better size.
Have a great season! Glad to be back for another one with everybody!