Surf Fishing the Fall Striper Run

It was already the kind of Indian summer day that carries me through the long hard winter.

- Tom Keer

A piece of driftwood tossed from the beach got swept up in the current alongside a bull-nose bar, and I knew any striped bass would move into that current. Scads of baitfish were washed up on the sand, including silversides, sandeels, tinker mackerel, juvenile butterfish and peanut bunker. 

The water in front of me was looking a little “nervous” so I tied on a pencil popper and made a short cast.

Wham! A striped bass hit the plug so hard it slopped around on the surface. As it did, dozens of other big fish circled, a classic predatory response.

The heavy bass then took off on a slow, deliberate run that brought a smile to my face. It was already the kind of Indian summer day that carries me through the long hard winter.

Fall striper runs have been part of Eastern seaboard fishing lore for nearly a century. As water temperatures drop, the fish predictably migrate south along the beaches to their winter haunts off Virginia, with a tremendous concentration in Chesapeake Bay. Hot bites may be found from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to New Jersey. Look for a beach with a steep drop caused by the tides.

Schools of stripers followed by other schools can form a veritable parade that stretches for hundreds of yards. Bluefish are oftentimes in the mix, too, providing their own brand of action. These game fish are hungry, looking for a meal, and they usually find it just off the beaches where the schools of bait fish also roam.