Striped bass tips scale at 61-plus pounds

via Newsday

Tangling with another big striped bass was Mike Milano's sole intent late Tuesday night as he pulled on a wet suit and eased out to one of his favorite rocks along Montauk's south side.

"Two weeks ago," said the Selden resident, "I released a cow that bottomed out a 55-pound scale because I already had a 37-pounder on the beach."

Hooking that whopper, which inhaled a live eel, turned out to be a practice run for the monster Milano claimed, "hit like a freight train" at the top of outgoing water around 2 a.m. Wednesday morning.

"I was casting a big yellow darter and had already released a few bass to 18 pounds when I set the hooks into something huge," revealed Milano. "The fish was simply unstoppable on its first run. She wrapped my line around a boulder and then held on before moving off with powerful burst. That fish was so strong, I could barely budge her."

The big bass fought hard for 25 minutes but when the battle ended, Milano's 30-pound test Berkley Fire Line had withstood the challenge and he had wrestled a 61.44-pound heifer from the sea. The trophy striper was officially weighed at Paulie's Tackle of Montauk.

Tight-lipped about his success, as are many Montauk regulars when it comes to surf fishing, the 29-year-old Milano did relinquish one tip for surf fishermen hoping to score with world-class bass:

"Be persistent," he advised. "Fish as much as possible." According to Milano, time spent in the suds helps anglers learn the variables and nuances of every place they probe. "Eventually," he explained, "you'll recognize which tidal and moon phases are best for each potential hot spot."

Milano fishes 15 to 20 hours a week and favors late night trips "coming off the full moon." With three bass more than 50 pounds already to his credit, his simple advice seems like a good starting point for anyone serious about advancing through the ranks along the striper surf.

While surf anglers continue to wait for the fall run to hit full stride, another bass battle has been brewing on the political front. This one concerns the selling of stripers and red drum, (aka, channel bass or redfish, and prevalent in southern waters) caught within the federally regulated Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The EEZ covers coastal waters from three to 200 miles offshore and has been off-limits to both recreational and commercial fishing for stripers since 1990. With striper populations in good shape these days, some user groups have queried about lifting the sanction.

Last Saturday, President George Bush signed an executive order prohibiting the sale of stripers and redfish caught in the EEZ. The redundant clause will protect both species from increased commercial exploitation if the offshore moratorium is lifted. The order also encourages states to consider granting game fish status to stripers and redfish in inshore waters.

Fishing pressure on stripers has risen significantly in recent years, exacerbated by shortened seasons and tighter restrictions on fluke and other popular inshore targets. Thus, careful monitoring and continued protection of the noble linesider in federal waters seems justified at this point. Anything less, to paraphrase the current president's father, George Herbert Walker Bush - a former president who occasionally finds stripers difficult to catch - wouldn't be prudent.

Preparing Menhaden/Bunker/Mullet bottom fishing Baits for Red Drum, Redfish, Striper, Cobia, Sharks, etc.

Q: Howdy all.

As my name suggests I don't do a whole lot of bait fishing. Nothing against it, it's just not the most productive method for my homewater.

But I'm coming down for a few days in a couple of weeks and will be chucking chunks. I try to get around as much of the learning curve before I fish as possible. I know that like any fishing there are right ways and wrong ways to prepare and hook bunker chunks and that those ways seperate competent productive fishing from incompetency. I've got enough handicaps as it is, don't need to add improper bait presentation to the list.

Sure would like to hear everyones ideas on how to prepare and hook bunker chunks.

Oh yeah, I assume those little boxes y'all wear on your belts are bait canteens?

A: Hi Plug, I've been meaning to draw up this diagram for a long time so when I saw your post earlier tonight I decided now is as good as any (was supposed to be building reels :)

Yes, the "canteens" (bait box to us) are to keep bait in so you don't have to keep running back and forth up to the truck every time you need a new chunk of bait. Storing them in yer pocket could get kinda messy! :)

Make sure you drill small drain holes in each corner [of the bait box] so the water can drain out if it gets dunked. Most of us also keep our bait in a sealed bag of some type for protection from water and to help keep it fresh longer. Another tip with these things is to string 2-4 pieces of heavy mono through the top of the bait box and the rear wall, kind of like hinges. Doing this can save the top flap if it where to come off in the heat of battle.

Back to the bait....

Find the "firmest" bait you can find and then check the gills for bright redness, clear eyes don't always tell the true story.

Ok, this is how I steak a Fatback... or Bunker to you Northern boys...

First, no scaling is necessary. The less you do to it the better as far as I am concerned, I'm sure you know how soft it is to begin with. All I do is clear the hook point of any scales it might pick up as you bait it (very important!) and then flick off any scales that might be interfering with the hook or hanging off the edges of the steak. A large, very sharp knife is also a must, we don't want a mangled piece of bait that's going to fly off the hook on the 1st cast. A serrated knife as shown above is the best I've found for the job.

This diagram is for a fairly large Menhaden as is the head baiting method shown. You won't get this many baits out of a 8" fish. A smaller head can be baited through the eyes without obstructing the hook setting abilities of the hook but I don't recommend it on larger heads. You just want enough of the hook in the bait (head or steak) to keep it from coming off easily, no more.

The first thing I do is whack off the head (#1). If I'm using lots of heads I will leave a little more meat on it like in the hooked head diagram or even more. If I'm going more for distance and not using heads I make what we call a gill cut first, that's where you'll end up with a little of the gills intact on that 1st steak [between #1 and #3 above].

The next cut, #2, is to whack the stomach off in one fell swoop [Menhaden bellies make fine strip baits for Flounder, Trout, Blues, Sea Mullet, Toads, etc., so don't throw them away if you can use them]. No need in wasting time cutting the stomach flaps off each steak later, plus, that's just one more step where you can damage the steak.

The first steak resulting from cut #3 will look similar to the steaked hook shown, NO FLAPS hanging down and no stomach holes to aid the current in pulling your bait down the beach!

Follow the rest of the numbers in that sequence and DO NOT let the steaked bait see water until it lands in the ocean. In fact, the bait should never sit in water period, even when whole. A cooler that drains constantly is a must for me.

Cob and larger size Mullet can be prepared similarly except for cut #7, best to leave the head whole with these.

With Finger Mullet I'll make a single angled cut from about the top of #5 behind the dorsal down to the bottom of #1 just behind the gill plate and use only that head and dorsal section for bait.

Cut up only what you need for the next hour or so, no need to cut up more than will fit in your bait box. Plus, it will start going bad anyway. Store the rest whole and covered with ice until you need it. If bait is scarce and what you have begins to deteriorate, removing the heads and stomach sections can help delay the spoiling process. Rinsing the slim off in seawater or an icy salt brine when you first get them can also help delay the inevitable.

Good luck while you're down, hope this helped.