Stalking Rising Striped Bass
Its been a frustrating week with long nights listening to bass tail slapping along the banks and watching them rise and swirl all up and down the canal. I can literally see the stripers and cast to them but they want nothing to do with what I have on. I have experienced this scenario before when there is an over abundance of natural bait fish in the water the striped bass get so keyed in on one thing that they will not feed on anything else. I am in fishing purgatory and beginning to slowly lose my mind. I know there are bass here but I can't seem to figure it out.
Day five and I am sweating profusely in this humid marsh while for the last three hours ravenous mosquitoes feed on my sweet blood. My insect repellent seems to have little affect on these tenacious creatures. My retrieve speed goes something like; reel, reel, reel, pause to kill mosquito, reel, reel. I continue the steady rhythm of casting deep up current and waiting for my lure to swing along the bank. My senses are heightened in this deafening quite and pitch black night when my lure gets slammed and stops dead in the water. At night these bass hit so hard it literally sends a jolt into your body as if you where hit by lightning. My striped bass slips into the middle of the canal and drag rips out as the bass takes advantage of the fast moving current. If I can't turn the fish on this first big run its going to snap me off on the pilings under the bridge. I jump down from some rocks and move up the bank to get a better angle to fight from. Its swimming right towards me now with its huge mouth wide open like a giant wind sock. I finally get my first view of this beautiful bass under the bridges red lights as it rolls and tails slaps water in the shallows. I have established what works and have my go to "confidence" lure. Its game on for the next few nights…
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Lewes, Delaware {est. 1631, First Town in First State}
Striped Bass 28" - Except 20" to 26" from July 1 thru August 31 in Delaware River, Bay and their tributaries. Daily Limit - 2
*Most of the Striped Bass we have been getting have been in the 18" to 24" range. We got three legal slot fish and I landed one striper that was too big for the slot at 27 1/2"
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