Trials and Tribulations of Chunking

When the first adult menhaden invade my local waters around mid-May, it's hard for me to target striped bass with anything else. I love tossing flies and plugs in early spring and live eels when the dog days of summer kick in, but chunking bunker dominates my saltwater fishing for a good portion of May and June. While snagging this oily baitfish with a weighted treble hook, lopping off its head, and sending it to the bottom attached to a 10/0 octopus hook is far from glamorous fishing, it's a pretty damned effective method. For some reason, maybe the lack of big bluefish locally, the small pods of menhaden roaming out front haven't really concentrated yet, which means snagging, especially from shore, is no easy task. The other night, in fading daylight, a friend and I could barely make out the small circles of nervous water moving quickly from left to right about 50 yards out. A near perfect cast was needed, placed behind the school so not to spook them. We missed a few shots, but ended up with one lone bait between the two of us. A few beers and some whisky kept us busy as we hoped for more bunker to pass us by, but eventually it was time to soak what we had. After about 20 minutes, a healthy bass picked up the head piece and treated me to a great fight in shallow water. After a few photos, we sent the sea lice-laden fish back on her way. My only piece of bait was in the bass' belly and my partner's half soon fell off the hook during a retrieve after spider crabs had their way with it. We would have paid top dollar for a few more fresh bunker that night. Who knows how many stripers were prowling in front of us on that outgoing tide? Sometimes I take for granted large, concentrated schools of menhaden in close proximity to shore. It sure makes for easy snagging. This time I worked hard for one prized menhaden, and it payed off. 

Sunset Blues

If there was ever a perfect time to be boat fisherman, it is during the dog days of summer when the relentless heat has most striped bass and bluefish hanging in deeper water. Surf fishing has been brutal as of late around here, so when a friend asked if I was up for a boat ride after work I jumped at the chance. 

Pods of bunker have been getting slashed by bluefish not far to our east, with striped bass underneath cleaning up the mess. As we approached a known bunker hangout, two boats boats were drifting with their own pod of the nervous baitfish. Big blues were cutting through balls of bait, sending bunker leaping out of the water left and right. An all-out massacre was going on and the sound of thousands of bunker moving in unison to avoid a sudden attack was intense. We picked a school and proceeded to snag and live-line them. As soon as a bunker was hooked and tossed back into the thick of things, it was instantly ripped to shreds. The only time we weren't catching was when the boat drifted too far from the chaos, and then we'd just motor back into position again. For an hour and a half this went on right until last light. While we didn't land any bass, one unlucky bunker came back to the boat mangled and lacking teeth marks--a sure sign that it had been crunched by a striper. It didn't much matter; with a bloody boat and a smiling crew, the hard fighting bluefish were were more than enough to keep us content.

Sound Check

With my brother in town from San Diego, our friend hosted us for an evening cruise on Long Island Sound aboard his 25-foot Sea Ray. In lieu of a fuel charge, the Captain requested fresh bunker for resetting his lobster traps. There was a steady blow out of the southeast that kicked up a decent chop, which made it difficult to swig beer without fear of chipping a tooth. From the harbor we ran a few miles east to check the first batch of traps that yielded the only two lobsters of the trip; one short and one fresh-molted keeper that were both thrown back. The other traps were far from empty, just not harboring the species we were after. We had starfish by the bucket loads, scup, black sea bass, a keeper blackfish, bait-stealing spider crabs, and giant conch shells. 

A legal-sized tautog, or blackfish, caught in a lobster trap

The traps were reset with cut up bunker pieces placed in onion bags. Another check after a two-night soak may produce a tasty lobster dinner, but that's becoming more of a rarity ever since a major die-off in 1999. The trap locations are in proven grounds, but competition is strong and the lobster populations are weak. Many factors are at play, but warming water temperatures is just the latest culprit of the lobster's demise from these waters. It is sad times for Long Island Sound lobsters and those that make a living off them. But it was an awesome evening on the water, especially for my brother who had not experienced a trip like that in a long time.



Cashing In

The ingredients for serious thunderstorms were mixing all day. They finally materialized in the afternoon and we waited until they passed before our sunset bait-snagging mission.  A friend and I were soon cruising along a stretch of shoreline that has been home to bunker for the last few weeks.  They were right where we left them last, but teasing us just out of casting range. After back-tracking a half mile west, we witnessed another school getting sliced and diced by bluefish. No doubt there were also bass underneath, cleaning up their mess.  We only had a few cracks at snagging before the bait moved out of range for good.  On our furthest casts with weighted treble hooks, we connected with four hard-earned baits that would soon pay huge dividends.

Three of us arrived to spot B in fading light. Our fourth partner had already been there for a short while, slinging rigged eels to no avail. Conditions were ideal with a light southwest breeze and a low outgoing tide. We cut up the crunchy bunker and each took a most-coveted head section.  All was quiet for over an hour until dead low tide. What at first felt like bunker lightly tapping my line, was really a striped bass mouthing then dropping my bait. The fish came back not 10 seconds later, this time making its presence known by peeling several yards of braided line from my Baitrunner. The bass soon thrashed on the surface in the shallow water, with the sound of the displaced water giving us an idea how large she was. A short and memorable battle ensued and I was shaking with adrenaline as my largest surf-caught striper slid into my lap. After cooperating for a quick photo, the fish swam off strong, leaving a lasting impression for one happy angler.  

Strike While The Iron's Hot

Our local waters are loaded with life and fishing very well at the moment. Fresh with sea lice, migratory striped bass have returned to the area and are corralling pods of Atlantic menhaden in the shallows. Like clockwork, bluefish have also joined the party. In addition, thousands of alewives and blueback herring are dropping out of tidal rivers while schools of silversides and sand eels round out the baitfish smorgasbord.

Now would be a good time to log some hours on the water before summer sets in. Water temperatures remain cool enough for nice bass to be taken close to shore in broad daylight. As long as all this food sticks around, the shallow water all-you-can-eat buffet will continue. And as the water warms up, it will be time to start playing the night game a little more. Bottom line: go fish!