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 Most striper anglers get itchy as the calendar flips to May.
The bass season is in full swing in some places such as the Raritan
and Delaware Bays, but anglers who instead ply the Monmouth and
Ocean County oceanfront are really just getting ready and waiting
for the first bunker schools to leave Raritan Bay. Once that first
big school rounds the tip of Sandy Hook and begins its southern
migration, cell phones begin ringing and internet message boards
light up with hopeful posts. From mid-May through June, boat and
beach anglers track the movement of these schools with GPS-like
precision, all the while knowing that it is only a matter of time
before the migrating bunker meet up with the northward moving
stripers, and all hell breaks loose!
There are few pairs in nature that are better matched than striped
bass and bunker (menhaden). Their migration routes intersect just
at the time the stripers need it most, when migrating post-spawn
fish require substantial nutrition to replenish reserves and pack
on additional pounds for the remainder of their northward trek.
Large “racer” bluefish, still rather slender from
their winter fast, enter the mix as well, gorging recklessly on
the oily, energy-rich baitfish.
With all this feeding going on, it is only natural for anglers
to want to get in on the action; in fact, most of the 40-plus-pound
bass taken in New Jersey waters fall prey to anglers under spring
bunker schools, and not during the fall run as most anglers believe.
No doubt, spring has become monster bass time in New Jersey! Just
as with the miraculous timing of these three species’ migrations,
Mother Nature always has a plan, and when it comes to the “Holy
Trinity” of bass, blues and bunker, there is a perfect arrangement
that all anglers should know.
If you are a reader of the New Jersey Angler Magazine,
or at least have attended one of our striped bass seminars, then
you already know that the heads of bunker usually make the best
baits for truly big bass. While the reason for this has always
been clear in our minds, it was never better demonstrated than
on this action-packed day. Early in the morning, Bill and Darren
allowed the faster, more aggressive bluefish to take their shot
at the bunker first. The blues took the hind section of the bunker,
but showed little interest in the heads. Burly linesiders were
smartly positioned below the blues, and were all too eager to
swallow these sinking “noggins”. Battle on!
This behavior clearly illustrated what we have always known
to be true…that bunker heads are a favorite food of big
stripers. And, when given the choice between chasing down an elusive “livie” and
simply sucking down a big ‘ol noggin, they’ll opt
for the latter nearly every time. You can call them lazy, but
we prefer to use the term “opportunistic.”
If you have never experienced a bunker/blues/bass blitz, then
this show is a must see! Even Bill and Darren, despite having
experienced such blitzes many times, were not quite prepared for
the absolute carnage that occurred. Darren’s first bunker
was immediately eaten by bluefish right on the surface. The second
livie over the rail lost its hind quarter to a bluefish, then
was sucked right off the surface by a 30-plus-pound bass. Now
that’s a good way to start a day!
Throughout the morning, bass and blues held court on the bunkers,
and the Angler crew watched in amazement as giant fish after fish
pounded the bunker right in front of their eyes. Bill’s
first hookup was a 40-pound monster that ate a bunker head after
being chopped in half by bluefish, just like it should have. The
action continued for hours on end.
From a rigging standpoint, livelining bunker is not a complicated
scenario. A barrel swivel is tied to the end of the line, followed
by a 3-foot leader of 60-pound fluorocarbon and an 8/0 to 10/0
Gamakatsu Octopus-style hook. Usually, no lead is needed; the
bait simply swims where it wants to, but usually swims down toward
the bottom anyway. If weight is desired, a fishfinder rig works
just fine, as does an egg sinker rigged above the swivel. With
such big fish around, Bill and Darren opted to use their Penn
7-foot Pro Guide rods (PK1740C70) matched with their Penn International
975LD and 975CSLD baitcasting reels, all spooled with 50-pound
Power Pro braided line. These rigs were perfectly matched to the
fish.
There are many ways to hook a bunker for livelining. When targeting
bass, we prefer to hook the bunker either through the back, just
forward of the dorsal fin, or through the mouth and up through
the snout. Either method works, and we suggest trying both to
determine which way works best for you.
The 2006 spring run was more intense, and lasted longer, than
any in recent history. This is a direct result of the staggering
numbers of bunker that were present off the New Jersey coast.
Since organizations like the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA),
and Jersey Coast Anglers Association (JCAA) helped to pass legislation
that pushed the commercial bunker reduction boats out of State
waters, the bunker population has exploded. In any natural system,
if the prey population increases, so will the numbers of predators
to eat them. While this season was phenomenal, we have no reason
to believe that seasons to come won’t be even better!
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