Striped bass fishing in the Hudson River begins at the Battery on the southern tip of Manhattan Island and goes north to the Federal Dam at Troy. It is an extensive spawning ground for the stripers that move in from the Atlantic or have wintered in the depths of the lower Hudson along the western edge of Manhattan. Many fisherman follow the large schools of fish as they move northward up the Hudson in the spring. Most however, prefer their own locality along the banks of this magnificent river.

In the mid-Hudson area one can usually look forward to seeing striped bass around the middle of April. Some years have produced fish, although small, around the first of the month. During springs in which the weather conditions are not favorable it may be as late as the end of April before any appreciable activity is taking place. One thing I have learned over the years is the only thing one can predict about the striper season is its' "unpredictability"!

Smaller males tend to arrive first and are caught with not too much difficulty using blood worms, sandworms or a combination of both. One technique is to anchor in an area of relatively shallow water (10 - 20') during a flood or ebbing current. Using sufficient weight to keep your bait from surfing the current and combining a blood worm on the hook and a long sandworm trailing behind will usually produce action. Trolling sinkers work nicely as they can be used in line with a 36" leader. I prefer light tackle when fishing this way as the fish are most likely to be small. Of course, you may hook a thirty pounder and then your skill and patience will be tested. Another technique that may be tried early on as well as later in the season is to troll. I would suggest using a deep running lure by "flatlining" or controlling your presentation depth by using downriggers. Once again, your best bet is to work the shallow areas where water temperature may be slightly higher than the deeper areas near the channels.

As the season progresses into May and the weather becomes warmer larger males begin to show up along with females. These fish can be very big! There are times when your fishfinder will show so many fish it appears there is a false bottom. The chart shows 50 feet of water and your fathometer is reading 30 feet due to the density of the school beneath your boat. Using downriggers in this situation gets very interesting as the cable and weight are constantly hitting fish. It is not unusual to snag fish under these circumstances. Rarely does one catch many fish when they appear in large numbers in deeper water. They may be referred to as "travelers" and are not real interested in what you have to present to them. During May when the river is full of stripers I like to drift over flat areas of shallower water using live bait such as eels or herring. vIt can be especially productive if you locate a temperature gradient of two or three degrees just at the edge of the channel as the bottom rises. There is an area north of the Kingston-Rhinecliff bridge directly in the middle of the river which produced some very large fish consistently over a two week period last May. Just about ever time we put an eel in the water we had a fish! It is also interesting to note that we did not mark large numbers of fish on this flat, but those that were there were feeding. One evening during a flood current all fish caught were exceeding 25 pounds.

That particular evening also produced a 40 pounder.

Many bait shops in the area sell live eels and herring. Keep in mind, however that herring are difficult to keep alive on board your boat. It is essential that you have a large live bait container preferably round and with a constant flow of fresh water. Herring are a lot like bunker; they need lots of room and plenty of oxygen. A 25 gallon container is not too large, you may find even larger ones that work better - especially if you are out for the day. Eels, on the other hand, appear to be immortal. Icing them slows their metabolism and they are a lot less active and easier to handle. Once on the hook and in the water their activity will increase. By the way, you have no idea what your frustration limits are until you have to deal with "eel knot" on your terminal tackle, especially if the fish are active and your friends are hooking up. A suggestion; cut the line and sacrifice the eel and hook.

If you have the time you can catch your own herring as they move from the river into the feeder streams. Netting them or catching them on a "herring rig" is most common and there are areas that are accessible to the public along the banks of these streams.

Allowing the live bait to act as naturally as possible must be factored in when determining how to arrange your terminal tackle. When using eels the time tested method of 3-waying is probably the best. Although I have used a barrel sinker as I do with herring. Both of these methods allow the bait to swim freely. The amount of weight to use will depend upon the current in your particular location of the river - it can be moving at 4-5 knots. One benefit of the barrel sinker rig is when the fish picks up the bait it can run with it without dragging the sinker - a more natural "feeling". I have a friend who loves to use sliding floats. This allows him to adjust the depth of the bait and at the same time visually note a "pick up". I fish with him often and always feel like Huck Finn sitting on the river bank with a bamboo pole in hand just watching that float. It is a way of fishing that is often overlooked. The more sensory input we can receive when the 60 pounder hits the more exciting it will be!

Live bait fishing has its downside. Fish are more likely to take the hook deep and be injured and there are those fisherman who just will not use it. Trolling lures is very effective as well. The use of downriggers, as mentioned earlier, is a way to present your lure at a controlled depth. This is very important as you obviously want the lure where the fish are. Once again, the flat areas with depths of 20 to 30 feet are the most productive and I will run downriggers in the water column where the fish are marked. Everyone on the river has their favorite lure and of course there is the "color of the day". Just listen in on the VHF and you will find out what it happens to be. Jointed Rapalas, small Rebels, Bombers all work well. You do not need the larger lures; 3" to 4" is fine. My preference is 20 pound test mono, a 36 inch leader tied to a barrel swivel and the lure tied directly to the leader. I like as little hardware near the lure as possible.

Some of the more popular spots in the mid-Hudson area include: the Esopus Flats located north of the Esopus Light House on the west side of the river, the flats opposite the lighthouse on the east side of the river just in front of the Mills Estate, the west side of the river running south from the Esopus Light between the main channel and the shoreline to the mouth of Black Creek across from Norrie Point, the mouth of the Rondout Creek and the creek itself, the flats just south of the mouth of the Rondout Creek following the western shore and the shallows in mid-river up to and north of the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge. All of these area can be located by using the NOAA-NOS charts of the Hudson River.

The first part of June marks the exodus of the vast number of stripers from the Hudson. After spawning these fish now begin their move down river and into the ocean to be pursued by fisherman along the coastline from Jersey to Maine. Before they leave however, they put on quite a show. We were fishing off a region known as Turkey Point on the west shore north of Kingston late in May last year. We marked a number of fish below the boat but they were not interested in taking bait or lures. They were more involved in propagating the species. Large females on the surface would be struck by a number of large males creating a splashing and boiling of the water that made us stop fishing and pick up the camera. A sight to behold for any fisherman!

Fishing for stripers on the Hudson during the spring is truly a unique experience.