Top 10 Fishing Tips for Striped Bass

1.Striped bass prefer deep water with a sandy or gravel bottom.


2. They’re voracious and carnivorous predators that prey on eels, smelt, shad, minnows, and on small creatures such as worms, crabs, eels, crayfish, squid and mayflies.

Striped Bass Lures

3. Striped bass are caught with large lures, spoons, spinners and streamer flies but the most effective baits are live bait.

The best live baits for Stripers includes

  • smelt
  • creek chub
  • golden shiner
  • minnows

4. Trolling using a combination of lures and baits works well.


5. Striper bass spawn in spring when the water temperature is between 55 and 68 degrees.

Unlike largemouth bass, stripers prefer rocky streams or rivers for their spawning.


6. Use jigs that resemble bait fish and work them along the bottom.


7. Summer finds striper bass more aggressive and spending a lot of time near the surface feeding on bait fish.


8. The best time to catch them is when the ambient water temperature is between 57 to 68 degrees. In these conditions use spoons, spinners and crankbaits.


9. Like the other bass, they move into deeper water after bait fish when the weed cover starts to die off.


10. The same fishing techniques used in spring work well in fall and winter in southern states.


See our winter techniques for stripers that live in the north.


If you have a striped bass fishing tip you’d like to share, please send it to us.