When your goal is large striped bass, fewer methods are more successful than using live bait. Striped bass will eat just about anything it can get in its mouth and this leads to a choice of potential baits. The problem here is that procuring enough of a certain type of bait for the day’s trip can sometimes be difficult. Flounder, porgies and blackfish to name a few, are all excellent live baits for striped bass however regulations surrounding size and bag limits, as well as declining stocks all conspire to make using these as perspective baits problematic. In the case of the winter flounder here on Long Island you could spend your entire day just trying to find a SINGLE legal size fish let alone enough for a striper fishing trip.

Other species such as bergalls, kingfish, etc are nice alternatives and will catch fish. Generally these baits are obtained in the normal fashion of using rod and reel until enough baits are in the livewell for the day. Somedays a good portion of your fishing time may be consumed by just making bait. An angler may also choose from live baits stocked in some local bait shops. Live eels and, in recent years, spots are very nice but the cost puts some folks off.

In the area I fish I believe it would be safe to say the most popular live bait for striped bass is the menhaden, (aka, Bunker, pogies). These baitfish generally swim in large schools and most years are easily spotted in the early morning or late afternoons in many of the local canals that flow into the Great South Bay. Anglers can obtain their striped bass baits by casting weighted treble hooks into the schools of bunker and snag them or a better option would be tossing a castnet over the school and catching your days bait in a single toss.

While there are still conditions where I will snag the bunker, the vast majority of the time I will be throwing the castnet on them. The first time you haul the net loaded with 40-50 bunker in it you will be wondering why you EVER were snagging to begin with.

A lot of questions around castnets surround WHICH net should be used. The answer here is “It Depends”. I rely on the menhaden throughout the season for not only striped bass but summer-time weakfish and fluke trips as well. The adult bunker (8-11 inches) are targeted in the Spring and early Fall whereas the juvenile (peanut 2-4 inches) bunker are put into play during the summer forays for weakies and fluke. Add to this the fact that the bunker are maturing in these creeks as summer passes and may grow to a size of 5-6inches which are VERY tasty to the weakfish. So, to expand on my “It Depends” answer I would add that “It depends on the TIME of year”

Let’s try to narrow this down some. At any given time I may have up to four castnets aboard the boat. In the Spring when we are finding the bait up in the creeks or shallow bay waters my primary net is a 10 footer with 1 1/4 inch mesh. This net works well when the adult bunker are in water less than 8-10ft deep. As the water gets deeper it loses its effectiveness as it does not sink fast enough due to the mesh size and relatively light weight.

Some years the bait does not show back in the shallow sections of the bay and remain in the deeper waters surrounding the Fire Island Inlet. They may also bypass the inlet almost completely, as happened in 2010 and remain in the ocean. When this happens we may be finding them in 20-30ft of water and my lighter net just won’t cut it. This is when the heavy 10ft net with 2.5 inch mesh comes out. This net has over 2 pounds of lead per/ft and sinks extremely fast. This net works well when marking the bait on the fishfinder down deep. To be sure you will not catch as well in the deeper water but with some practice you will be able to round up enough for your day.

As we move into the summer months, juvenile bunker begin to school up in the top of the creeks and swim in very thick schools. These fish are generally only 2-4 inches in length so would most likely escape through the mesh of the net I use for the adults. I say “most likely” because they may also be JUST large enough to become “snared” in your mesh. Trust me when I tell you there is nothing that will spoil your day faster than having 150 peanuts gilled in your net. I speak from experience here when I tell you that they will NOT just “shake out”

My “peanut” net is an 8 footer with just over a pound of lead per foot. The net is only 1/4inch mesh so I can be sure the bait will not get gilled. The peanuts swim very tightly together at this stage of their lives and even a light net with this will grab more than you can probably use. Remember to use good judgment and only take as much as you believe you will use for that day releasing the rest. I have actually gone with one of the Stowpens transfer pens seen the in the video below when chasing peanuts. See their video below;

My final net is somewhat of a specialty net. I added this one after finding a good population of bait that were 5-6 inches. They were just a little too small for my adult net and would tangle my net but yet were large enough and fast enough to swim away from the smaller mesh net I use for the peanut bunker. This net is 5/8inch mesh with 1.8lbs per/ft and worked out perfectly. Actually, this net worked out so nicely that despite its smaller mesh size it is going to replace my 1 1/4 mesh net this year.

That sums up my castnet arsenal. If you are considering a castnet for your live bunker in 2011 I would suggest you go with the 10ft net right from the start. I have heard many say they would rather learn with smaller net. It is not very hard to learn to throw the 10ft net and once you do you won’t need to go looking for the larger net as you will already have it

Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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