Feeding The Cows

- Joe Cermele

SEND OUT a 12-inch live Atlantic menhaden with a 6-inch girth and it’s going to catch a big striped bass. That’s the first part of the magic. A little “rat” striper isn’t likely to take a swipe at a meal so massive. Even a 10-pound schoolie would be at risk of choking to death. When line starts peeling out after a pickup, you can usually bank on the diner weighing at least in the high teens. You could also be a five-count away from locking up on the next world record. The second part of the magic is the warning. The bait’s tail beat quickens. It moves in terrified bursts of speed. In a last-ditch effort to survive, it often comes to the surface. That’s when the striper makes its final approach, inhaling the bait in a thunderclap of whitewater that I’d use as a ringtone if only I could record it. It’s one of my favorite fall sounds, and without these oversize baitfish I might never get to hear it.

STRIKING OIL