Archive for How-To / Tips
Favorite Fish Hooks for Striped Bass Bluefish Fluke and Weakfish
Posted by: | CommentsDuring the course of my fishing season here on Long Island I use several different models and sizes of hooks in the fishing rigs I use for targeting striped bass, bluefish, weakfish and fluke. Mustad, Gamakatsu and Owner are among the manufacturers I use.
I love fishing live baits for striped bass but at different times of the season a mix of cut and soft baits will be used for them as well. Live baits are also effective for me during the summer months when fluke and summer-run weakfish are the targets.
The hooks in the following video have worked well for me over the years and I hope those of you reading this find something of use for your saltwater fishing as well.
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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How To Tie Your Fishing Line to your Spinning Reel Spool
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Time for New Fishing Line
Winter is moving along here on Long Island and with it so are my off-season tackle maintenance tasks. After the clean up chores on the rods and reels it’s time to get new fishing line back on the reels. Spooling all these reels is a chore and anything I can do to save some time is well worth it.
The following video represents the method I’ve used for tying my line to the spool of my spinning reels since I was a kid chasing sunnies down at the local ponds. I have tried many other methods I’ve seen over the years but always come back to this one. For connecting my monofilament and braided fishing line to my spinning reels this works best for me. I hope it helps someone out there.
Maybe Tonight Charters YouTube Channel
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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How to Connect Braided Line to Monofilament Leader- Quick Easy and Strong Fishing Knot
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Power Pro Red Braided Fishing Line
There is no disputing the popularity of the braided super-lines in today’s fishing world. Their thin diameter to line test ratio is un-matched. The downside is the visibility factor of the braid if tied directly to our presentations. It is for this reason that a shot of leader material is added to the braid which is then tied to the rig to reduce the visibility of the running line to our targeted species.
To be sure there are almost as many methods of making this braid to leader connection as there are reels being spooled with the braid. The following video demonstrates a knot that most will recognize as being similar to the popular Albright Knot but with a slight modification.
Maybe Tonight Charters YouTube Channel
I hope this helps someone looking for an easy to tie and quite strong knot for their braid to leader connections.
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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How To- Striped Bass and the Ocean Bunker Schools
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Striped Bass Candy
Each Spring brings with it a highly anticipated event which drives many Long Island Striped Bass anglers to cash in vacation leave, call in sick to jobs and just about completely neglect everything else on their daily schedules. I am speaking about the yearly appearance of large schools of menhaden (bunker) in the Atlantic Ocean waters along Long Island’s south shore beaches.
The action generally starts along the New Jersey beachfronts in early to mid April before spreading northward to the New York Bight area and ultimately sliding east along Long Island’s south shore. In the area I fish (Fire Island Inlet) we can usually count on seeing these baitfish in late May and early June. Hot on the heels of these schools are some of the biggest striped bass of the season. Many personal best stripers are caught at this time of year.
Two of the more popular methods employed in this fishery would be casting a weighted treble (snag-hook) into the densely packed schools and sweeping the rod until a bait is foul hooked or snagging and re-rigging the bait on a rig that is then sunk to the bottom below the school. Let’s take a closer look at these methods.
First off, understand that not all schools are created equal. Coming across a loosely packed, slow moving school where the baitfish are happily performing their trademark “snapping” on the surface would be an example of a less desirable bait school. While there may be fish on this particular school and it could be worth a quick shot I would suggest searching for other schools. Coming across a tightly packed, quickly moving school with the fish tight together on the surface and moving along pretty well is a good indicator that something below is driving them to the surface and pushing them along in an attempt to get out of harm’s way.A lot of times you will notice the baitfish shower out of the water on the surface. A sure sign that gamefish are feeding on them. It goes without saying that these schools deserve your FULL attention.
Bunker Snag Hook
With snag rig at the ready, cast your weighted treble across the school and sweep the rod until you snag a baitfish. A tip to make this process easier would be to make your cast into the school and reel SLOWLY while the snaghook sinks. Eventually you will feel the baitfish bumping the line and this is when you can begin sweeping the rod knowing that your rig is now at the depth the school is swimming at. Once a bait is foul-hooked if there are fish on the school you will generally know fairly quickly as the snagged baitfish is emitting vibrations the gamefish are quick to sense. In addition, the weight of the snag itself will pull the baitfish down below the school and hopefully into the mouth of a waiting striper.
In general I will leave the bait to swim in the school just long enough that I can feel it is no longer struggling at which time I will reel it in and toss it in the livewell before snagging a new one out of the school to start the process over again. If fishing in a relatively small school I will let the baitfish swim where it wants but if the school is very large, and some are EXTREMEMLY large, I will try to coax the baitfish out of the middle of the pack toward the edges of the school.
If you are not able to find a school being actively fed upon that does not necessarily mean you are out of action. In this case, snag (or castnet) a bunch of baits for the livewell. These baits are then rigged and sent to the bottom and drifted through areas where the schools are and/or have been swimming. There are a LOT of fish caught in areas where a school has just passed as the stripers are prowling behind the school doing a cleanup of stragglers who strayed from their friends. I find this method works very well when the bait is scattered over a large area or I am marking the schools near the bottom. Those schools on the bottom may be getting massacred without ever showing a mark on the surface. Even if fishing a snagged bait in the school I will always be dragging one along the bottom as the boat drifts. 
Another option that works alot of times when the others don’t would be cutting the bunker into chunks and drifting those along. It can be VERY effective drifting the head portion of the bait as this would mimic what the stripers along the bottom are accostumed to seeing when bluefish are feedind on the schools above. The blues slash the baits from behind leaving the head sections to sink to the bottom where the stripers are more than happy to take the easy pickings.
Tackle I use for this type of fishing includes medium-heavy 8ft casting and/or spinning rods. I use 8ft Star Rods from their Stellar Lite series. The reels on the conventional rods are Shimano Tekotas loaded with 25lb monofilament and the finished off with a shot of 50lb leader. For spinning I have Quantum Cabo 40′s spooled with 30lb braid and a 3 or 4 foot shot of 50lb mono leader which is then tied directly to the snaghook.
I personally prefer using conventional casting equipment for this fishing as I can easily freespool line to a fish that has picked up the bait and leave it run to swallow the bait before driving the hook home.
Spinning equipment is widely used as well and since alot of my charter clients don’t cast conventional very well it works very nicely for them. With spinning tackle I advise my anglers to cast into the schools, snag their bait and once one is on the bail is then opened and the line is held by their index finger similar to as if getting ready to make a cast. When a take is felt it is an easy matter of letting the line off their finger, point the rod tip at the fish and then close the bail after the fish has been allowed to get the bait down and set the hook. A lot of folks fishing with spinning equipment will back off the drag knob until it is loose enough for a fish running off with a bait to pull line off unimpeded. For me I just have a mental picture of that drag knob falling off and into the briny so I use the index finger instead.
Live Bunker Striped Bass
I hope everyone is able to take advantage of this amazing Spring time ritual. Around Fire Island area we can usually expect the action to hold up into early July (Weather depending of course). Have fun out there and don’t hesitate to email your pics of your live bunker successes.
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Choosing A Cast Net for Live Bait
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Live Bunker for Striped Bass
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. Read More→
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Take Em On Top – Striped Bass Plugging
Posted by: | CommentsI flat out LOVE fishing for striped bass with plugs. While it is true that I spend the majority of my time targetting bass with live baits, there is no method as much fun as taking them on artificials. There is a great sense of accomplishment in knowing that fish at the end of your line is there simply because you fooled it into believing your presentation of a piece of plastic or wood was something it would love for dinner. Bucktails, leadheads adorned with any of the popular trailers and the diving/swimming plugs all account for fantastic catches but I prefer another option.
Gibbs Lures Danny Plug
For my money, none of these afford the angler the thrill of seeing the fish explode on your offering like top-water lures do. While maybe not as productive as the other types of lures mentioned above (although they can be at times) I believe the top-water plugs provide the most fun. You make your strategically placed cast so that the retrieve will bring the lure over the piece you anticipate to be holding fish. As the plug crawls lazily along the surface, the excitement builds as it closes in on the target area. Then it happens, the fish you had planned on being there blows up the surface, spraying water everywhere and is off to the races. You just can’t beat that!!!
There are as many different makes and models of top-water lures as Carter has liver pills but over the years I have narrowed my favorites down to the three I am going to describe in the following. Some may agree with these and others will wonder why I may have left a particular type off my list. I would just reply that in the area I fish I have had my best results with the set mentioned below. To be sure, others DO get tossed into the mix as well but I always comeback to these three favorites.
At the top of my list is the Gibbs Danny Plug. Nowadays there are any number of custom plug builders making these lures and their creations are beautiful and also work well. I pretty much stick with Gibbs just for the simple fact I can walk into just about any tackle shop here on Long Island and find the size and color I want. The Danny is built in such a manner that it swims (wiggles) on a point in it’s center. The front and back will both swing side to side in a fairly equal manner. This plug does it’s best for me while slowly crawled along, the retrieve is just fast enough to keep slack out of the line and the plug wiggling. Since the plug will ride on the surface the angler can adjust his retrieve speed to get the plug working properly. The eye of the plug where the line is connected can be bent up and down to control the plugs depth. Bend the eye UP to have the plug dive, while bending the eye down will make sure the plug rides up top where we want it. Don’t overdue the eye bending and I NEVER mess with the metal lip itself. I have done that experimentation in the past and messed up the plugs ability to grab the water and swim correctly.
Big Water Lures Pikie
Next in line is another lure with a metal lip but it swims in an entirely different fashion. The Pikie type lures feature a metal lip that can be tuned similar to the Danny. However these plugs also feature a cupped head and the weighting is forward to change the swing point on the lures body. Whereas the Danny plug can be tweaked to have it dive down a couple of feet, the pikies can be set to get down MUCH deeper, especially in a fast running current. They also do very nice on the surface which is where I fish them just about 100 percent of the time. The Danny generally rides in the water fairly flat front to back while the pikie can be swam along having the nose dig just under the surface with a tight wiggle as the tail flaps back and forth in a wider manner. It is the different weighting in the plugs body that accomplishes this. These things REALLY make a commotion on the surface that seems to tick off the fish as strikes on these plugs can be vicious.
Super Strike Lures Little Neck Popper
The final plug I want to mention is the Super Strike Little Neck Popper. These come in two models, a floater and a sinker. I strongly prefer the sinker model for my purposes. The Little Neck can be fished as a standard popper where the lure is retrieved and “popped” with the rod tip causing the cupped front of the plug to throw water and causing a disturbance. This works very well but there is another way to fish this lure that I prefer that is really a mix of two retrieves. The plug is cast and reeled back fast enough to get it on the surface. Once up on the top I retrieve the plug very similar to a Danny plug, however in this case my retrieve is just fast enough to keep the lure on the surface. Done in this manner, the cupped face will cause the plug to wobble on the surface like the metal-lipped lures. Every so often the retrieve speed is picked up just fast enough to cause the plug to jump up a bit throwing a small bit of spray. A lot of takes occur just after this.
I am not a fan of having lures in every color of the rainbow and I carry these three lures in two colors only. White and Yellow are my color choices. If you would like to see more information on some of these plugs check out the following lure makers;
http://www.gibbslures.com/
http://www.superstrikelures.com/
http://www.bigwaterlures.com/
http://www.atlanticoffshorelures.com
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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