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The 52 lber pictured on John's bragging board, was caught on a live bunker, the big ones back in the late 80's. Although, I was seriously fishing, the fish was an accident of sorts. I was using a 6 foot penn spinner, small reel with 12 # mono and a barbless snag hook to grab me a fresh bunker any time I needed one. Back then you could snag bunker with your eyes closed. I snagged me one and was reeling it in, when the line went slack so I went to snag me another and ended up setting on the striper, who had taking the bunker and run towards me. What a battle on that small rod and reel. Only time I've ever seen a big striper come out of the water and thrash it's head back and forth like a largemouth might, I mean 1/3 of it's body was out of the water....made me wet my pants....especially since it did it about 10 foot from a sailboat on a mooring.
Two years later I boated a 55, same bait, same spot, but this time live linned behind the boat as I normally did back then. That fish was unreal and almost spooled my Abu 4500, if I hadn't had a trolling motor already in the water to follow her, she'd have kissed me goodbye for sure. In the mid 80's, I had one on at my feet (yup, same bait but beach in Scituate) that I think was close to 60. That day was the blitz of all blitzes for me, one 40 lber after the other, fish from high 20's to close to 50 for 3 hours straight and honking size blues until your arms ached. That was so fun, mid day, atoms poppers and a fish every single cast. The entire bay was white water, with bunker flying out of the water like flying fish, all trying to escape the buzz saws below. Man I wish those days would return, sink every commercial bunker reduction boat for structure, give them some government aid until they can find jobs and put a permenant ban on any commercial fishing of the species. I tell you people better smarten up, bunker are too important and until they manage that resource, forget seeing numbers of large stripers.
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