Fishing For Striped Bass

A beginners guide to catching striped bass

By Rick Seaman

Nov 18, 2024

Tips For Striped Bass Fishing

Beginners

Striped bass fishing for beginners and novice anglers, with tips which can be used while fishing from a boat or while fishing from the bank.

Basic Bass Tackle For Beginners

Rod. Start with a 6', medium to medium heavy action rod, with a fast-action tip is you plan to throw small lures.

Reel. Baitcasting reels work best for the vast majority of striped bass fishing conditions. Get the best quality you can afford, and practice until you can make accurate casts.

Line. Begin with 14# to 17# monofilament line. Pay a little extra and get decent quality line.

Bass fishing basics video.

Basic Lures For Beginners

Spoons. Casting spoons and jigging spoons both work well for striped bass, depending on depth of water. Start with a 3/4 oz spoon and go heaver if you are working below 40'.

3 Important Tips For Beginners

Tip 1. Striped bass hang out nearby schools of baitfish. Look for schools of either bait or stripers on a fish finder to establish a depth to begin your search. Mid day, especially in summer or winter, expect to find the schools deeper than usual.

Tip 2. Thoroughly fish the area by trolling, jigging or casting. When fishing from shore, long casts to deeper water may be in order.

Tip 3. Use good knots and re-tie anytime the knot or line has been nicked or frayed. Always use sharp hooks, if they are dull replace or sharpen them

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Intermediate Anglers

Striped Bass Tackle For Intermediate Anglers

Rods. For longer casts and more powerful hook sets, choose a 7' or longer, medium to medium heavy action rod, preferably with a fast-action tip. Shimano, Bass Pro Shops, G. Loomis, Fenwick, Lew's and Abu Garcia, among others, all make a variety of quality rods in varying price ranges.

Reels. Baitcasting reels work best for the vast majority of bass fishing conditions. Shimano Curado, Abu Garcia Revo, Lew's Mach Crush, Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Series and Daiwa Fuego are five good choices, and there are many others. Accurate casts are crucial to success.

Line. Line choices include monofilament, fluorocarbon, and braided line - sometime in combination. Braided line with a monofilament or fluorocarbon tip can be an ideal setup, depending on conditions. Use an alberto or albright knot to join lines. 50# or 65# braid with a 17# to 20# leader works well for most situations.

Basic Lures For Intermediate Anglers

In addition to spoons, learning to use the following baits can improve your chances for success.

Topwater Lures. Buzzbaits, poppers, propbaits, walking baits, wake baits and many other topwater options will catch striped bass when they are feeding near the surface - over deep or shallow water.

Crankbaits. Based on depth, choose from lipless crankbaits, medium-depth crankbaits and deep crankbaits. Down riggers and weighted line can help get the lures deeper in the water column when trolling.

Jigs. Lead-head jigs can be dressed with all sorts of creature-bait plastics to imitate crawfish or sunfish. They can be retrieved fast as a swim jig, or slow crawled on the bottom.

Live bait. Minnows, baitfish, shrimp, worms and numerous other options will entice bites from striped bass.

Cut Bait. Sunfish cut into pieces (where legal), is a good way to entice bites when stripers are lazily hanging out in deep water.

5 Important Tips For Intermediate Anglers

Fishing Reports. Read current fishing reports and striper tournament results from the lake you wish to fish, also review these reports and results from this time last year. Learn how to gain maximum knowledge from fishing reports.

Lake Maps. Contour maps can identify creek channels, flats, ledges, drop-offs, and depth variations. This information can help you plan your time on the water, well before you head to the lake.

Focus On Finding The Fish. Striped bass move up and down in the water column in search of the best available water temperatures, availability of food, and a variety of other factors. Begin the day fishing shallow, medium and deep water in search of the best depth for the day. Stripers also migrate throughout the lake following baitfish, so fish out on points, back in coves, on ledges in open water, and along the edges of creek channels at a variety of depths. Once you locate fish, concentrate on that depth and similar locations.

Keep Lure Selection Simple. Striped bass are not as picky as we tend to think. Stick to basic colors. For crankbaits and jerkbaits stick to shad or crawfish colors. For worms and jigs, stick to basic crawfish colors. Depending on water clarity contrast may be an issue dictating dark or flashy colors.

Use Multiple Baits. Once you locate an area holding striped bass, try a variety of lures to see which entices more bites. In shallow water, try topwater, crankbaits, vibrating jigs, and jerkbaits for reaction bites. In deep water try jigging spoons, cut bait or live bait. For each bait vary the speed and action to determine the best approach for getting bites

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Experienced Anglers

Advice For Serious Striped Bass Fishing Enthusiasts

Study the life cycle of bass, their annual migrations, daily movements, and food sources available in the lake you plan to fish. Our focus here is to assist beginner and intermediate anglers. For those wishing to take the next step there are a multitude of options for growing your knowledge of fishing for striped bass.

Bass Clubs & Tournaments. You can join and participate, with or without a boat, and learn from some of the better anglers in your area.

Time On The Water. Experience is the best teacher. Spend time locating the fish and experimenting with a wide variety of lures and techniques.

Gather Information Online. Read information on your local Fish & Game Department website. Review websites offered by expert bass anglers, fishing organizations and local fishing guides. Some highly regarded websites covering striped bass fishing include On The Water, Panther Martin, Bass Online, and many others

Have Fun. Fishing for striped bass can be very rewarding. Be diligent, but enjoy the process. Fishing is a life-long journey, and you can learn something new every day you spend on the lake!

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World record: 69 pounds, 9 ounces

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Rick Seaman is a fishing enthusiast with over five decades of fishing experience, a retired bass tournament fisherman, author of numerous published articles on fishing, and co-author of the book "Bass Fishing - It's not WHAT you throw, It's WHERE you throw it".

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