Artificial Intelligence

I love everything about American eels. They are arguably the most effective and versatile bait when targeting striped bass. Many a book chapter, magazine article, and blog post have been written about their ability to entice stripers into gulping them down like candy. An eel was responsible for my largest bass ever landed and I’m sure the same can be said by countless anglers up and down the Striper Coast. 

For a long time now, lure makers have been trying to, with varying levels of success, duplicate the American eel’s shape, suppleness, and action. I have been fishing eels in nearly every fashion possible for as long as I can remember and don’t plan on giving them up entirely anytime soon. All that said, they are expensive, can be a pain to deal with, and are sadly becoming scarcer as the years tick by.  

Companies like Lunker City, Hogy, RonZ, Al Gag’s, Berkley were some of the OGs of my early days of fishing eel imitations, and they still make great baits today. However, it’s been intriguing to witness the arms race of long, slender soft-plastics come to market over the last 20 years. By names like Got Stryper, Game On!, Fish Snax Lures, JoeBaggs, Zinger Baits, and Gravity Tackle to name a few. There are limitless combinations of size, color, and rigging options available to today’s angler for nearly any situation they could encounter. So much so the choices can be overwhelming.

Over time, I have been building up my arsenal of soft-plastics and my confidence in using them. I am starting to find more consistency in my success and part of that can be attributed to selecting the right bait and rigging style to match the spot and its conditions on a given outing. Like in every kind of fishing that I do, it has been a fun, never ending journey of learning. The farther down this rabbit hole I go, the more I realize how much there is still to learn, explore, and experiment.

We’re on a loop. Enjoy the ride.

The author with a healthy striped bass that fell for a 13.5" GT eel rigged on a 1/2 oz. jig head. 

Of Access and Eels

The Connecticut coast isn’t known for its public access. Much of Long Island Sound’s shoreline is privately owned and challenging to access legally. There are several city and state-owned beaches and parks, but they’re dwarfed by the amount of private beach associations, mansions, and manicured lawns. While the public trust states that Connecticut’s shore belongs to the people, you still have to get to the water without trespassing (or without getting caught). So when an opportunity presented itself to fish a private stretch of striper heaven with landowner permission, I jumped at the chance.

This past weekend I finally linked up with a family friend after a year or so of talking about fishing together. Probably like most reading this, Rob is crazy about fishing. He’s caught trout on the Provo, smallies on the upper Housy and schoolies on the lower Connecticut, but he had never attempted full-on surfcasting at night for that next size class of stripers. Rob was determined to change that and recently scored permission through a childhood friend to access a rocky shoreline that screams big bass. He texted me some possible dates and we hatched a plan.

What a sight we must have been fully decked out in surfcasting gear strolling across a great lawn at sunset getting showered by sprinklers. And how refreshing it was to be able to fish a spot like this without having to sneak in after midnight and constantly look over a shoulder. Once on the water, we maneuvered a maze of bowling ball-sized rocks until we found boulders to perch on and tossed top water lures to kill time before dark settled in. When we could no longer see our plugs, I gave Rob a brief tutorial on how to handle, hook and fish live eels. He had never used this prime striper bait before; in fact, he told me the only nightmare he could remember having as a kid involved spearing huge eels. Nothing like a baptism by fire.

Wading up to our waists, we began working the water in front of us that had a left to right swing forming with the incoming tide. It was a gorgeous summer night with a light breeze. The last quarter of the strawberry moon hadn’t risen yet and the dark sky aided us in seeing a few shooting stars. Even better was that there was no one else around. Only one boat passed our field of view the entire time and there wasn’t another surfcaster for miles. On the flip side, the fish didn't seem to be around either...at first. After about 90 minutes without a touch, we took a short breather on shore and re-hooked our now dead eels.

Sometimes a quick break can make all the difference, or at least renew confidence, because within moments of resuming I saw Rob’s rod double over. It was difficult for me to tell what exactly Rob was dealing with because he didn’t make a sound and the fish didn’t take a yard of drag for the first half of the fight. But that soon changed as the bass came in close and bugged out in the shallows. His locked-down drag started paying out line and the fish moved a good deal of water around. When I finally clicked on my headlamp, there was a thick, healthy bass a rod's length away. It was easily twice the size of his best striper to that point.

Rob’s reaction to the catch ranks up there to some of the better I have ever witnessed. I don’t remember seeing an angler so genuinely happy in that moment. His smile said it all. Rob knew this was special; that you don’t just waltz into a spot like that, fish at night with eels for the first time and catch a 30-pound striped bass. It took me many a night of trial and error to eventually stumble upon a striper in that class. But I was ecstatic for the guy. We could have went home with a skunking and Rob would have been more than fine with it, and I could tell he soaked in the info I shared like a sponge.

That bass bought us another solid hour of fishing. Both of us, now brimming with confidence, fished hard for one more fish, a smallish striper in comparison but a decent catch from shore most summer nights. With the hour getting late and a wedding the following day hanging over me, I had to call it quits. Back at his family’s cottage, we rehashed the tide over a cold beer. As a sign of appreciation, Rob presented me with a bottle of Irish whiskey he had been aging for some time. He texted me not long after I left saying that he was going back out solo that very night, and since then he’s contacted me again about gaining more access along Connecticut’s striper coast. I have seen his condition before in me and my close friends; it appears to be early onset of diehard surfcasting syndrome. If not controlled, it can ruin relationships, careers, and leave you broke and sleep deprived. To all of you like Rob out there, be forewarned. 

Out Front

It felt good to break free from the tidal rivers on Monday evening and fish the open Sound for my first time this season. I was aboard my buddy Mike's boat of Reel Cast Charters. He'd been on a solid bite for a week leading up to our trip, with catches including striped bass up to 32-pounds and two elusive weakfish. It was shaping up to be a gorgeous night as we launched in the western Sound around dinner time. We made a B-line to a popular weakfish spot to try for a unicorn and saw a couple dozen casters lining the shoreline. I have never caught a squeteague before and, while reports this year have been better than the last few, my luck wouldn't change on this outing either. Instead my first several bluefish of the season jumped all over the metal spoons and plastic swimmers that were intended for a more prized catch. Nonetheless, it was still fun to have the toothy critters back on the scene.

Once the we had our fill of the blues, we shot out to deeper water and focused on throwing top-water lures around rocky structure. Mike had a boil on his spook right away so we knew there were fish around. We kept at it for a while and he finally stuck a nice bass right before dark. The nearly 20-pound striper fought very well and was incredibly clean and bright having just made its way in from the Atlantic Ocean.

Once the sun went down, we switched tactics and began drifting eels along the same structure. The wind and tide combination created a quick drift and we both missed some strikes while adjusting to it. Mike boated a few smaller keeper-sized bass and I struggled but enjoyed every second of it. We knew there were a lot more bass around than we were catching because we could hear them popping on small bait on the surface. After a while of no love with the live eels, I downsized to a slender swimming plug and drew a hit on my first cast. A short while later I nabbed my first striped bass of the season outside of a tidal river.

Losing the tide, we made a few more passes before heading back to the launch through a thick blanket of fog. I've been in fog like that before, but not always at night. It really dawned on me how crucial good electronics are to a boat captain in situations like those. And like someone flipped a light switch, poof!--the fog was gone as soon as we entered the harbor. Regardless of my subpar fishing performance, it was an awesome night on the water. It sure felt good to have the salt spray on my face again after a long winter. Here's to a great and safe season ahead!

October Blues

It may not have been our target species, but this big bluefish kept us from going home with the smell of skunk on a crisp October night. Conditions were ideal and our confidence high, yet no striped bass wanted to cooperate. The lone blue hit right at my feet, serving as a stern reminder to always fish my offerings all the way in. I basically gave up on that retrieve while my live eel was still 10 yards away from me and started reeling quickly to get another cast off. The gator blue exploded on my bait a rod's length from me and a wild fight was underway with a mighty foe against a strong current. 

There are still few solid weeks left of the so-called "fall run" in these parts, although they will fly by fast. With any luck I will get to hear the sweet sound of a screaming drag a couple more times before the surf season is all said and done for another year. 

Photo credit: Derrick Kirkpatrick

A Few Good Fish

We are in the midst of a great stretch of night fishing from shore. There is a fair amount of bait in the area that has drawn in quality striped bass and bluefish that are eating our live eels like Tic Tacs. It has been a fun few weeks in the surf and I have a feeling there is more coming our way. The best part about it all is that every bass and blue was released to be caught again. 

  

Two For Two

It is mid September and fall is in the air. Water temps are cooling down and local fishing is heating up. Spots that treated us well back in the spring run are showing signs of life again. There is a cornucopia of baitfish in the area and striped bass are taking advantage. My buddy Derrick and I fished hard Friday night and were rewarded for our efforts and lack of sleep. Gator bluefish put a dent in our eel supply, but persistence paid off and two quality striped bass were eventually caught and released. 

Derrick's catch almost didn't happen, as spot number one seemed lifeless when we first arrived. There was plenty of tiny bait around, but no signs of anything bigger feeding on it. For over two hours we hopped from rock to rock casting live without a touch. On the walk back to the Jeep, we made a last ditch effort and found two more rock perches to fish from. Not a minute goes by before D yells, "I'm on!" After a nice fight, she thrashed on the surface in front of us and I waded neck-deep to lip the 39 inch bass. The feisty striper kicked off strong after a quick measurement and photo.

Derrick hoisting a well-deserved striped bass

A half hour more went by without another sniff, so we left to recharge the batteries before the tide would be right for spot number two. After a quick catnap only a few hours of darkness remained. We exchanged our wetsuits for waders and set out again with renewed confidence. Between the two of us, we carried a silly amount of plugs, but live eels would once again be the ticket. A 41-inch bass slammed an eel right at my feet and a wild fight ensued in strong current. The fish got a little roughed up in the rocks, but she too swam away strong after posing for the camera. The final tally was two local spots and two respectable fish--I'll take those results any night of the week.



Is this the start of a memorable Fall Run? (Photo credit: Derrick Kirkpatrick)

Summer Stripes

A friend and I paid a visit to some local surf haunts last night after a long break. Expectations were not too high for early August, but we were confident that we could drum up a fish or two using live eels. The approaching new moon made it nice and dark for us, though air temperature floated above 80 degrees and the Sound felt like bathwater. There were legitimate rollers at the first destination, which made it sorta feel like we were fishing the Rhode Island surf. We waded out on a cobblestone point and tossed artificial plugs into the mid-outgoing tide that was sweeping right to left. After two hours of casting we had just two small bumps. So while the steady south wind died down and the water flattened out, it was time for a spot change and a switch from plugs to live eels. 

Following a short drive, we waded out on a rocky point covered in slick bubble weed. An hour flew by of casting and retrieving eels in a low dropping tide. This rhythm was broken up by a tap tap on my bait followed by the welcomed sound of a fish thrashing on the surface. Throughout the fight I was convinced I had hooked a bluefish because of violent head shakes, yet was pleasantly surprised to soon see stripes at my feet. It was by no means a trophy bass, though it was certainly a respectable surf-caught fish for the western Sound in early August. This striper seemed to be a loner, as no more bumps were felt for the remainder of the tide. My fishing partner had an eel chopped in half by a bluefish right before slack, so we thought that was a good time as any to pack it in. All in all, it was a good night on the water. 

Fishing live eels during late tides can help your chances in the August surf.  (Photo credit: Mike Gill)

American Eels

Live or dead, American eels are incredible effective at enticing large striped bass. When it comes to surfcasting, I cannot think of a more versatile bait. They can be fished simply on a hook, rigged as a lure, fixed to a wobblehead or jig head, and you can drape their skin on a plug. Eels can be purchased in almost any tackle store or even trapped in almost any harbor, marsh or river in the Northeast. They can be easily kept alive for long periods of time in a tank or on ice. Dead eels can be frozen and used again. Rigged eels and eel skin plugs can be stored in kosher salt and saved for seasons on end. And I would bet if you asked a group of veteran surf fishermen what they took their best striper on, the majority would say they were using an eel in one way or another. Eels are a surfcaster's best friend.