This striped bass weighed in at 29 lbs, 8 oz despite having 4 lbs of sand eels and a small fluke in it's belly

The striped bass are finally responding favorably to the abundance of sand eels in the Long Island area. This picture is worth a thousand words and says it all! Read on for the rest of this striped bass report. Follow the link for updated Striped Bass fishing reports

A few more reports have been coming in with the clearing of the bad weather we had last weekend. Many anglers are saying the stripers are being caught on diamond jigs both east and west of Jones Inlet in 20′ to 40′ of water. A27′s and A47′s with a green or white tube are the jigs du-joir however, some fish are being taken on 2 and 3 ounce Deadly Dicks, 2 ounce RMS Sand Eel Jigs (killer) as well as 2 and 3 ounce Crippled Herrings and West End Tackles D-5 jig. The latter is also very effective from the beach when the eels are around.

Speaking of surf fishing, Ken Vernams reeled in a monster 29 pound, 8 ounce striped bass (pictured) while fishing at Democrat Point on November 19, 2009. Ken’s fish hit an A27 with a green tube even though it had 4 pounds of sand eels and a small fluke down the hatch. Hogy flounders guys and girls! The nice thing about a day of jigging is that you can generally keep the dogfish count fairly low. Two other pros to this technique are that there are some really huge Bluefish mixed in and everyone will be able to bone up on their fish finder reading skills.

Getting back to the dogfish situation… there are some bass to chum on around the West Bar in Jones Inlet as evidence by Frank Palmisanos shows. He hooked up a 21 pounder which was weighed in on November 18, 2009. Also, one of the guys from the shop had a stellar day catching 8 bass on Monday, November 16, 2009. Frank caught his bass on the boat “Emma Jo.”

For those who prefer to chase the birds whether by boat , foot or four wheel drive what little life has been an afternoon show. Often, this time of the season rewards the surf fishermen who don’t mind walking to the lesser used spots rather than fishing the community drops. Because the migration of fish and bait can a be fast and furious, a “walker” can often head ‘em off at the pass before many people know that they are around.