Do Stripers Settle in for the Night?

[cow tamer]

I was fishing an inlet last night and found that after I'd caught a fish, nothing else was happening. I move 20 ft. down and bam, I'm onto some fish, then nothing. I move down another 20 ft. and bam, and so on. This got me thinking that once bass have moved into an area for the night that they stay pretty much in that area or spot (unlike blue fish). I would have thought that they would have swam back and forth within the inlet, but being somewhat lazy and conserving of strength, it now appears to me that they just set-up in a certain spot and wait for opportunity to come to them rathar than search out the opportunity. Now maybe this just happens in moving water and not along a beach front. Last night convinced me that I need to cover the whole inlet rathar than wait for the fish to move to me. What are your thoughts on moving along a stretch of inlet? a stretch of shoreline? during the night? during the day?

[JohnR]

I think sometimes when the other fish see one of their member being dragged away from them in a storm of comotion it may spook some away. Think of how often you get whacked early on and everything shuts down right away. Was that the sole fish? Or did the others get spooked? Does the school (swarm) scatter and then regroup a little bit away at a rally point?

How does catching a fish impact other fish of that school? What is the tipping point between when fish will dive on bait even knowing that something strange is happening when some of their members are removed from the heard? A slew of bait? A new moon? Stormy water keep the fish? FAC scatter?

Think how sometimes when you bring in a fish others follow it right in, almost as if they are trying to find the source of what is dragging their partner away or as if they are trying to help spring free their pal...

I'm trying to learn / think how to approach an entire school versus a single fish. Sure you can only catch one at a time but how does that one impact the others?

[shadow]

yes I like to move around a bit,sometimes I'll catch a fish in one spot then nothing for a while so you move around a bit come back alittle while later and there's another fish in the some spot.As for as if there spooked I don't know mybe some times.I always felt that fish that follow do so becuse they want what the other fish grabed there waiting for the fish to drop it so they can grab it.If the current is really pulling in a inlet the fish will not move much.

[Adrian]

Bass certainly do station themselves where they can get the maximum amount of energy input for the least amount expended. Lazy or smart, or, just natural selection at work?. I think if the bait situation is good enough, fish will continue to move into a hot feeding spot and you can take a lot of fish without having to move. Or, they become super selective and drive you nuts tryiong to figure out what they're taking. How long the bite lasts seems to depend on the rising / falling tide. Some spots produce for a few hours and others only last an hour or so, if that . The stage of the moon can also make a big difference, even from one day to the next.

As far as a hooked fish spooking others in the school its possible. But I've also watched stripers following hooked fish on the cape flats, picking up bits of bait spat out by the thrashing fish. They seem to be very opportuntistic.

[tattoobob]

I think the bigger the ambush point the more fish are there, Bass tuck themselves in and wait for forage to pass by, and yes the move with the tide if they feel unsafe they move to deeper water

[riarcher]

Originally Posted by JohnR

I think sometimes when the other fish see one of their member being dragged away from them in a storm of comotion it may spook some away. Think of how often you get whacked early on and everything shuts down right away. Was that the sole fish? Or did the others get spooked? Does the school (swarm) scatter and then regroup a little bit away at a rally point?

How does catching a fish impact other fish of that school? What is the tipping point between when fish will dive on bait even knowing that something strange is happening when some of their members are removed from the heard? A slew of bait? A new moon? Stormy water keep the fish? FAC scatter?

Think how sometimes when you bring in a fish others follow it right in, almost as if they are trying to find the source of what is dragging their partner away or as if they are trying to help spring free their pal...

I'm trying to learn / think how to approach an entire school versus a single fish. Sure you can only catch one at a time but how does that one impact the others?

Had an Uncle that would swear like the #^&#^&#^&#^&ens if I reeled in a hooked fish too fast.
"What the he!! you doin? You're making that fish scream in agony reelin in so fast! You're making so much commotion you're scarin the others away! Smarten up or your as$ will stay the he!! home from now on!"
He'd always bring them in "slow & easy". Rarely lost a fish that way too.
Often when thinking back,,,,, I wonder.
Many times when he'd hook up he would say, "cast over here to me before I crank in". Ironicly, when I did it right, I'd often hooked up (when I didn't hook-up it was because I didn't "do it right" -?)and have to hold until he got set in beside me again. ("holding fish on point" ?) As I said, sometimes I have to wonder.
Seems stupid I know,,, but it did seem to work more often than not.
My uncle seemed to make simple fishing rather complicated with his rituals. But we caught fish when others got "skunked".

[cow tamer]

Might it also be a territorial thing?

[Skitterpop]

Originally Posted by JohnR

I think sometimes when the other fish see one of their member being dragged away from them in a storm of comotion it may spook some away. Think of how often you get whacked early on and everything shuts down right away. Was that the sole fish? Or did the others get spooked? Does the school (swarm) scatter and then regroup a little bit away at a rally point?

How does catching a fish impact other fish of that school? What is the tipping point between when fish will dive on bait even knowing that something strange is happening when some of their members are removed from the heard? A slew of bait? A new moon? Stormy water keep the fish? FAC scatter?

Think how sometimes when you bring in a fish others follow it right in, almost as if they are trying to find the source of what is dragging their partner away or as if they are trying to help spring free their pal...

I'm trying to learn / think how to approach an entire school versus a single fish. Sure you can only catch one at a time but how does that one impact the others?

Nice thinking JR

[Slingah]

Originally Posted by JohnR

I think sometimes when the other fish see one of their member being dragged away from them in a storm of comotion it may spook some away. Think of how often you get whacked early on and everything shuts down right away. Was that the sole fish? Or did the others get spooked? Does the school (swarm) scatter and then regroup a little bit away at a rally point?

?

me and JoeyG discuss this alot......when fishing a concentrated area ("local" rocky areas)where you are pretty much standing in the same spot...the fish do get spooked by the activity of one getting hooked and fought or the commotion of lures hitting the water.....when it goes dead after landing decent fish we will say to each other "break time" and take 10 minutes or so out of the water....I am always ready that first cast back...most times they are back again because things settled down...

[Raven]

that cruise the ocean 25,000 miles at a time....

bass are built for rapid bursts of speed.....
so they'll always stage....where thats possible....

the uncle saying screaming....may have been refering to stress hormones as aposed to sound being generated
but it amounts to the same thing.

great subject....

[Swimmer]

Interesting question?????????? To settle in or constantly move.

[SAXATILUS]

In one particular outflow I fish with a heavy current ,I have seen good size fish station and not move out of a two foot area for over two hours. And unless you put that bait right on their nose they are not going for it. Fish will also come and go and station up for shorter periods. It is best to cover as much of the flow as you can very systematicaly and then re-cover it again. One thing I have also found is when a good fish is stationed in a spot there is a reason for it, some type of current break, and time and time again you will pull good fish from that spot if their in the area. Some times after you have pulled a fish from one of those spots it is not long before another will come along and take its place. Be thorough, cover as much of the flow as you can and always remeber where the best fish came from, it will repeat.

[vanstaal]

"The gods do not deduct from man's allotted span the hours spent in fishing"

BABYLONIAN PROVERB

I have a vice! That vice is fishing. Just ask my wife or my sons. When I go fishing, the earth stops moving, time stands still — I am in a totally different world, impervious to outside forces.
just when you think you have them figured out it all changes.

[cow tamer]

Originally Posted by SAXATILUS

It is best to cover as much of the flow as you can very systematicaly and then re-cover it again. Be thorough, cover as much of the flow as you can and always remember where the best fish came from, it will repeat.

After catching and then not catching in the same spot, your procedure is exactly the technique that I had tried with great success and it is for that reason that I started this thread. I thought it to be an enlightening experience worth sharing and discussing.

[LINESIDES]

They are a predator. That’s what drives them, like all fish. If they are hungry and food is available they will eat. If there is no food, they will move to the next feeding station, and so on. However when nature tells them they need to go north or south, they are gone. They also hang around just off shore where you can’t find them and make the move when the tide is right for feeding in the spot where they are waiting to feed. They have that little compass in there head like homing pigeons, that tells them at all time where they are located on the planet. I would say there are loaners and stragglers. However when they meet there own kind and size they join the pod. Another point of interest. I have not seen any other fish do this. And I don’t know if happens with all fish. Any way Bluefish gorge them selves, in there feeding frenzy. They eat, regurgitate, eat some more, and keep regurgitating as they slaughter. Loud noise and boat motors spook all fish. It is a cardinal sin to drive over the top of feeding fish.
I see it all the time!
Later, L
P.S. Incase some of you missed this, A striped bass tagged and released in the Saint John River, New Brunswick was recaptured 36 days later in Rhode Island, U.S.A., 805 km (503 mi) away! (22.4 km/day or 14 mi/day)

[Water Treater]

Linesider:

It's impossible to "drive" a boat. You can drive a car, you can drive a truck, you can drive a tractor, and I suppose you can drive someone crazy, but you cannot "drive" a boat, or an airplane (an airship), for that matter.

Does a hooked fish spooking neighboring fish? I think they do. I've seen it not only with striped bass and bluefish but also with pigs. Just go to a pork (pig) processing plant and listen. Pigs (hogs) waiting to be slaughtered are crying. The sound will stop you in your tracks. In fact, you'll need to wear earplugs to work there. Pigs are very intelligent (and clean) creatures, and so are striped bass. Believe me, they communicate among their species. If you catch a bass in a particular spot, move away for awhile and then come back.

Bill

[jimmy z]

At this time of the year they are on the move. Today they are here, tomorrow they are there.