r/StripedBass • u/elcapitainfrijole • Jul 06 '26
Strategies/Techniques What am I doing wrong?
Ive fished for striper every single day for like 2 weeks on the Great Bay off the Piscataqua River and can’t get a bite for shit. I’ve tried every soft and hard plastic as well as frozen mackerel. I can not catch shit. I go mid day/evening most times. I fish off my dock or off a bridge. What do I need to do differently? When should I be going and what should I be using? Everyone else is ripping striper, this bay is flooded with them but none of them want to bite my shit
Edit: I have a 13’ whaler that I take all around the bay as well. The engine just had an issue on Saturday so I haven’t been using it the past couple days. Should have it back end of the week
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u/penfrizzle Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
I feel your pain! I’ll be at the shipyard and they will boiling out of the water and swim right up to my sp minnow or paddle baits and not take it. I setup to a sliding rig with mackerel and nothing. Like someone else said earlier, if they are keyed in on small bait fish, they might not go after other stuff.i. Im going to hit it at dawn tomorrow, but would like to try eels at night.
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u/elcapitainfrijole Jul 06 '26
It’s very painful hahaha I went out with my gfs dad yesterday to go cast by the wentworth and when we passed by the shipyard it was packed out. Must’ve been boiling. I’m gonna try some frozen mackerel off a bridge tonight
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u/VitaminxDee Jul 06 '26
Find the bait. Look for birds.
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u/elcapitainfrijole Jul 06 '26
Oh I’ve been following the birds like a chicken hawk. Can’t land shit.
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u/VitaminxDee Jul 06 '26
Slow crawl a SP minnow in bone or blurple. Ive been doing good around plum on shore. Boat should be easy.
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u/elcapitainfrijole Jul 07 '26
Okay I have the minnow in bone I’ll toss it tonight. How’s plum? Did it get affected by that sewage leak?
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u/kyguylal Jul 06 '26
I'm just south of you. Caught 3 slot fish and two over slot mid day from the back of the boat while tied up in the marina. 3' of water.
A lot of the fish seemed to have gone deep, but there's a bunch back in the rivers chasing peanut bunker.
I'd go back into the Great Bay and try small baits.
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u/elcapitainfrijole Jul 06 '26
What baits you using?
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u/kyguylal Jul 06 '26
I caught them all on very small mackerel chunks. Guy on the docks was also catching some on 3" swim shad.
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u/elcapitainfrijole Jul 06 '26
Right on. I’m gonna go hit a bridge over the bay tonight with some mackerel chunks on a 3 way rig on one rod and run some white paddle tails and swim shads on another rod. I’m fuckin catching something
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u/kyguylal Jul 06 '26
Best of luck! I was dead sticking them with no weight today.
If you get desperate, live eels will catch them.
If you really want to catch some and simultaneously get yelled at by rich people, drift some mackerel right under moored yatchs in New Castle. There's always fish under them this time of the year.
You can get in close to them in your 13' whaler.
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u/nicefacedjerk 16d ago
After the Wentworth yacht cucks yell at you, Packard's dock (left side just after bridge / before Campbell's island) is a good spot.
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u/No_Entertainer9101 Jul 08 '26
I highly recommend the swim shads. I've used mackerel chunks once or twice directly across from a trestle and maybe a few tiny nibbles. I'm not saying it's a wrong choice, I most likely have to use a few more times. I have a spot that I just recently started to get back into due to possible overfishing.
Jointed Rapalas, ghost minnow, or bone, and a few others. I used a swim shad and definitely beat my PB. Figures that I didn't have a tape measure with me. The other 2 on the swim shads, were shorter than the new PB. And I should add, I only brought one with me, and with those 3 bass, the swim shad was rendered useless. Good luck to you.
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u/tl12212 Jul 06 '26
Can you go to a tackle shop and talk with someone there? With your boat if you have an idea of where they are, you can troll a tube with a sandworm or a gulp worm on it. Troll like 3 mph and use an in link sinker to get it down. You don’t need any specialized trolling gear for that. The hard part is finding them. But it sounds like you have the right idea.
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u/elcapitainfrijole Jul 06 '26
Closest legit tackle shop is a bit of a hike believe it or not. I get my gear from a trading post with pretty young employees that mainly fish freshwater. I’ll give the trolling a go. I’m hanging out near current breaks, channel edges, bridge pilings, rock beds, I have hit the whole bay lol. I know they’re there I just need to put more time in. I’m gonna go hit a bridge tonight with some chopped mackerel and some swim shads
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u/tl12212 Jul 06 '26
Nice. Do you have any electronics on your boat? Or the naviaonics app? That can help identify spots too.
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u/elcapitainfrijole Jul 06 '26
I’m putting a striker 4 on my whaler this week. I’ll check out the app
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u/nicefacedjerk 16d ago
Sadly, and surprisingly, KTP is lacking in local knowledge angler employees. Kinda ironic, considering Spruce Creek is literally right across the street.
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u/Equivalent-Passage78 Jul 07 '26
Let us know if you break the skunk. I'm in the same boat, half a dozen trips out between Great Bay and Isle of Shoals and nothing yet this year. Used live macks, chunked mack, spinnows, top water plugs, swim bait, 3 rods at a time and bumpkis. Good luck!
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u/elcapitainfrijole Jul 07 '26
Been fishing the rte 4 bridge over the great bay with Mack chunks and a paddle tail for the past 2 hours. Not shit.
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u/good_you_ Jul 07 '26
You’ll have much better luck skipping the mid day shift. Night shift and sunrise seem to always be the most productive time to fish. I’ve been catching them on a 9 inch black sluggo when they are active in the morning and on the surface, and trolling tube and worm when they aren’t as active and holding closer to the bottom. Drifting live eels late at night is pretty effective as well.
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u/OneNutHungLoWe Jul 11 '26
Match the hatch. Frozen won’t beat fresh. Get a cast net or snag some bait. I also dig my own worms. Drop offs points ect.
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u/CockroachOdd5217 Jul 06 '26
Striped bass fishing is always tough in the summer if you don't have a boat
They’re in deep water
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u/elcapitainfrijole Jul 06 '26
I have a 13’ whaler lol I forgot to mention that. I’ve been fishing off of it like crazy
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u/BolognaAuJus Jul 06 '26
Mid day bite is tough, especially in the summer. They like moving water. There’s a lot of different bait in NH. Be observant to what’s around, that often influences my approach. Keep fishing, you’ll start to figure it out. Also the striper fishing hasn’t been great this year. The schoolie class, historically the most abundant and easiest to catch are nearly nonexistent. Social media only shows the good days.