Do strippers ever hit poppers? My friend and I have been fishing off his boat in the upper bay area day and night. We have caught nothing but blues on the poppers. My friend insists we keep fishing with the poppers, but I was thinking and heard we would be better off with live eel set ups. How exactly do you work the eels? Trolling? or can you cast and reel them in? Im not exactly an experience fisherman except for being an offshore lobsterman a few years ago. But anyway, I have yet to catch a striper and I really want one this season. What do you all recommend using for the upper bay? Thanks in advance.

edited - (but left the strippers part in there) damn i was a googan back then...:hs:

Originally posted by MotoXcowboy
Do strippers ever hit poppers?


Only if they Touch them on Stage...:D

haha...I meant stripers.

eeling 101 (http://www.striped-bass.com/StriperTalk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7020)
Good read for eeling techniques. It definately works.:D

thanks bigBo! Still wondering though..if we dont catch any eels in the traps for the night, are we wasting our time with the poppers ? Well, its never a waste when you're out on the water with cold budweisers and good friends. But, Im talking about catching the stripers. :D

I'd suggest you try telling your friend you need to motor out of EG bay and try working some of the reefs and the south shore.

You might want to try trolling a tube.

I have asked him, the cost of fuel is the problem..We arent exactly rich. A road trip to the south shores wont cost half as much though. We've also heard of some decent size stripers that have been taken by locals in some areas around the mouth of (whoops spot burn) Is there any truth to this?

Thanks rwilhelm, next time we are out there I'll give it a try!

edited - spots!

Poppers work on striper , especially in the fall. Greenwich Bay is loaded with blues off Goddard park. just hard to get past them. I doubt anything lures or even eels will get past the blues. eeling with blues around is expensive and frustrating.

They don't call the Striped Bass Rockfish for nothing.......

Find a rockpile down the bay a bit and start experimenting...

slow down your retieve.. bass like a slooooooow retrieve with an ocasional twitch and a pop... none of this pop pop pop pop crap.... cast into the edge of the melay as bass seem to either work the edges and are below the bloos... that being said, a kastmaster worked below the pod might work well, but forget the eels if theres bloos around, they will chomp those to pieces.

Sounds like your on the right track. Locate structure and baitfish and you should hook up.

Originally posted by Eben
slow down your retieve.. bass like a slooooooow retrieve with an ocasional twitch and a pop... none of this pop pop pop pop crap.... cast into the edge of the melay as bass seem to either work the edges and are below the bloos... that being said, a kastmaster worked below the pod might work well, but forget the eels if theres bloos around, they will chomp those to pieces.

Thanks for that info Eben, I've been pop pop pop pop'in (bluefish style) the poppers to fast for the stripers definetly. When we go down south and find some rocks I'll bring em in slow instead with an ocasional twitch like you said. If we can get our hands on some eels we'll probably try cast those guys too. You guys have been very helpful. I've been fishing all wrong. Atleast yall have pointed me/us in the right direction. I feel as if I've learned ALOT from yall even though it was only a few things...Thanks fellas.

Like Eben said try something that sinks near the edges of the schools of bluefish. Buctails, metal etc.

your welcome..

also, what time of the day are you going?? bass like to eat at night.

i have better luck with bass on a polaris type popper, i rarely ever use any other type anymore. try this retrieve with a polaris..chug...pop...stop..chug..pop..stop you get the idea. try varying the speed and amount of splash and the fish will tell you what they want. also certain times are better for poppers than others. cloudy days, sunrise/set...etc

you have to leave EG bay to catch stripers this time of year durring the day, and for the most part at night. A few may come in at night, I don't think too many. How much fuel could you use trolling down the west coast of jamestown down to beavertail and then fishing down there some? Or even just down to the bridge and fishing around the bridge? Are you fishing on a Cigarette boat or something?

Poppers have worked for me most often when water is somewhat calm and fish are feeding on surface.

_Z_

12-14 stripers yesterday on yozuri hydro popper blue and chrome all schoolies but a lot of fun on lite tackle , i tend to only throw poppers now to breaking fish or when i see other signs of life (swirls ,birds hanging around , nervous bait ect.)strange thing about yesterday was when i put on a storm to see if there were any bigger fish underneath they came back shredded the blues were hanging underneath and i did not catch 1 blue fish on top , never saw that one before usually its the other way around .

S-L-O-W is the answer when working poppers for bass, in fact, try this technique -- it has worked wonders for me over the years ...

... pop and then let the rings settle, pop and then let the rings settle, pop and let the rings settle, pop-pop and let the rings settle, pop ...

You get the idea, this was a technique I learned from an old timer on the Cape back in the 70s and it rarely fails. If you switch it up and speed up the retrieve, then slow it down again and let the rings settle, this at times will score the larger bass. But it also varies according to water conditions, but again, the slower method has always been best.

Good luck.

Do strippers ever hit poppers? My friend and I have been fishing off his boat in the upper bay area day and night. We have caught nothing but blues on the poppers. My friend insists we keep fishing with the poppers, but I was thinking and heard we would be better off with live eel set ups. How exactly do you work the eels? Trolling? or can you cast and reel them in? Im not exactly an experience fisherman except for being an offshore lobsterman a few years ago. But anyway, I have yet to catch a striper and I really want one this season. What do you all recommend using for the upper bay? Thanks in advance.

edited - (but left the strippers part in there) damn i was a googan back then...:hs:
Try that swimmer I gave you at night, it will catch, also try bombers, take the center hook out.

nothing related to this thread...but this is funny because i just looked back at my first thread post ever.

what a noob :)

Moto,

Try a white jumpin minnow by Rebel. You can fish it about 5 different ways, fast to walk it under neath, slow on surface walk, twitch, twitch, let it sit, bass come up and slay it.

Pete at SWE turned me on to them, he has em.

12-14 stripers yesterday on yozuri hydro popper blue and chrome all schoolies but a lot of fun on lite tackle , i tend to only throw poppers now to breaking fish or when i see other signs of life (swirls ,birds hanging around , nervous bait ect.)strange thing about yesterday was when i put on a storm to see if there were any bigger fish underneath they came back shredded the blues were hanging underneath and i did not catch 1 blue fish on top , never saw that one before usually its the other way around .


Bait concentration must have been down low methinks on that one.

From shore, I like to always begin my retrieve with a few violent pops to really impart action, stir up the water, and get some attention. Then I like to slow it down to a crawl, shaking my rod instead of popping it. I usually get my hits within seconds after slowing the retrieve.

Poppers will Work DAY or NIGHT for Bass, Try Varying your retrieve. Nothing Like a Pencil Popper in the Morning. That Top Water WHACK

Try that swimmer I gave you at night, it will catch, also try bombers, take the center hook out.

I havent got it yet.. Thought you forgot!

Shoot, I really wanna try that alien thing!! Ut oh...now im worried...

Poppers will Work DAY or NIGHT for Bass, Try Varying your retrieve. Nothing Like a Pencil Popper in the Morning. That Top Water WHACK

I like throwing the pencils alot now too..I wish they were as easy to make as regular poppers.

never had any luck at night w/ any type popper though...and ive tried quite a bit when all other methods failed..

I havent got it yet.. Thought you forgot!

Shoot, I really wanna try that alien thing!! Ut oh...now im worried...
What? I sent that out a long time ago. I'll have more done soon, I'll try again:wavey:

me to....:spin:

MotoX -

Go with live eels, 3 way rig, 6-8 oz sinkers, if drifting keep bouncing them off the bottom, if anchored, just leave it there. Use lighter mono/floro for sinker and heavier mono/floro for eel (longer length of line for eels). then WACK....

Ice

Definately work them slow for bass. Personally I stick to sinking poppers......Hab's Squid or Super Strike littlenecks work the best IMO.

Unfortunately, da bloos will eat them too.:crying: