You can catch big stripers up and down the East Coast each year, using a variety of methods and many kinds of tackle. If you wish to take full advantage of your chances for a striped bass longer than 40 inches, then live bait on a 3-way rig is your best option. Standard baits in the New England region are eel, hickory shad, scup and menhaden, also called porgy or bunker. Live baits work well no matter the time of day or day of the week. Start fishing seriously for stripers in May, and you can keep on until ice becomes a problem on the boat’s deck in late November. Big bass over 60 pounds have been caught at night or during broad daylight.

Just think – the biggest challenge facing you fishing in this area is where the fish are housed. Bass fishing is so simple that with a few pointers, your grandmother if she’s got enough strength could land a huge fish! A seventy-six pound bass was recorded in Montauk Point, caught by Captain Rob Rochetta. This was one of the heaviest bass ever landed and was as a result of the use of a three-way rig. In New Jersey, a record breaking striper was landed by Al McReynolds at a jetty. This striper weighed in at a staggering seventy eight lbs and also was landed with a 3-way rig. Valiant Rock, Sugar Reef, Plum Gut and the Sluiceway all boast catches between 55 and 70 lbs and each time a three way rig has been the choice of the fishermen who claim these prizes.

A 3-way jig is actually very simple. The jig gets its name from its starting point: a 3-way swivel. One swivel goes toward your main line, obviously. The second is designed as a dropper loop (which is exactly what it sounds like: a piece of line with a loop used to attach a heavy enough lead sinker to bounce on the bottom in a running tide). In some cases, a dropper loop needs a sinker that weighs as little as 4 to 6 ounces, while other rips and reefs may call for 16 to 20 ounces to keep your bait in the strike zone during your drift. Swivel three holds a 4 to 5 foot length of fluorocarbon leader material.

This type of rig can get very expensive and this is one downside of it. However, you can control costs fairly simple to avoid turning this fun hobby into one that requires massive spending. When you factor in the cost of Gemakatsu hooks, Seaguar Fluorocarbon line, and a three way Spro Swivel, you can soon find your costs mounting up. But, if you set your rig up so that your main line is your heaviest (55 lbs is ideal), your leader line is heavy (around 50 lbs) and your dropper loop is your lightest (30 lbs is preferred) you can cut down the cost of losses by merely snapping the dropper loop losing only your sinker. The bottom line is that the sinker is the least expensive item on your rig and is the easiest to replace cost-wise.

Choosing your lines for each part of your rig helps ensure the success of the rig. If you use a braided line (best choice) for your main line you will find that the smaller diameter allows you a lot of options. This line is great for keeping within the strike zone – you can’t catch fish if your bait isn’t in the strike zone. When compared to monofilament line, the lower stretch capacity of braided line allows you to feel exactly where you are (in terms of the surface you are on). You can easily identify sandy bottoms, rocky bottoms or even a mussel bed which of course will allow you to determine exactly what you need to do to get your hooks set into your catch. While Fireline, Stren and Power Pro all make an effective braided line, Daiwa is way ahead of their competition. Their braided line is comprised of eight strands versus the four offered by others. An added bonus is that while most complain that braided line lacks that “broken in feel”, Daiwa offers a premier, smooth line that is limp and easy to use.

Striper fishing with live bait can be an extremely fun adventure. To make it more enjoyable, you should make sure you have the right type of reels. Some of Daiwa’s most popular reels include: Saltiga 30T, Daiwa Seaborg 300FB, and Daiwa Viento.

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