Striped Bass

Season in Long Island

Peak months: May, Jun, Oct, Nov.

NY Sea Grant: schools arrive from April (Hudson fish), Chesapeake fish about mid-May, peak fishing in June then tapering; fall run starts mid-September with best fishing in October or November. The Fisherman calendar: mid-November best from Fire Island to the Rockaways before big fish head south. OTW winter reports: holdover bass caught in the western back bays in December and March (catch and release before the season opens). (Our inference)

Season by region

Where to find them

Spring: the western Sound bays (Little Neck, Manhasset), Jamaica Bay and the Rockaway to Long Beach surf, then the whole South Shore. Summer: Montauk, Orient Point and cool rips out east, plus North Shore live-bait fish. Fall: Montauk from mid-September, then west along the South Shore beaches and inlets (Moriches, Fire Island, Jones) into November. Winter: holdovers in the western back bays.

From the wash out past the bar; spring and fall blitzes on bunker, sand eels and small bait.

What to look for

Bunker schools being pushed, birds over sand eels or rainbait, rips and drop-offs where waves make turbulence, inlet current at night.

What to throw

Bucktail or jighead with a 4 to 5 in paddle tail1/2 to 1 oz, 4 to 5 in tail. Slow hops along the bottom: lift, drop, let it touch, repeat.

Soft-plastic eel or stickbait (Slug-Go, GT Eel style)Weightless, or 3/8 to 3/4 oz jighead oz, 9 to 13.5 in. Weightless on top when fish are active or at first light; weighted versions drifted through rips, twitched through boulders or dead-sticked near bottom.

Swimming minnow plug (Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow style)3/4 to 1 oz, 4 to 5 in. Steady medium retrieve with occasional twitches and pauses.

Pencil popper1 to 5 oz, Sized to the bait, from silversides to adult bunker. Slow and deliberate, speeding up when a fish shows interest; or hold the rod tip and bounce it hard while barely advancing the plug so it churns in place.

Bait

Live eels, Live bunker (menhaden), Live mackerel, Bunker or mackerel chunks, Cut squid, herring, crabs, Live spot (summer, North Shore). Fish-finder with a pyramid sinker and a long leader, with a float near the hook to keep the bait off the bottom away from crabs and skates. Use a circle hook with bait..

Leader

NY Sea Grant: light (6 to 12 lb) to medium (20 lb) line on a spinning rod; heavier surf outfits for big fish around rocks.

Common mistakes

• Leaving bait on the bottom for crabs and skates (NY Sea Grant floats it up)
• Using a J hook with bait instead of a circle hook
• Fishing mid-day flat calm when the fish feed after dark and at dawn

Landing

Let a wave carry it up the beach; release fish should stay in the water.

Handling

• Sharp dorsal spines
• Sharp gill cover edges

Keep released fish in the water, support the belly, and use a circle hook with bait. ASMFC estimates about 9 percent of released stripers die, so handle quickly.

Keep or release

Prized eating fish, but the stock is overfished and rebuilding (ASMFC 2024), most anglers release most fish, and New York keeps only a narrow slot. Check the New York rules.

Recipes for striped bass

Typical: Bay and East End fish often 26 to 35 in in spring. Large: Cows 30 to 50 lb; fish to 50 in reported off Moriches in October 2026. NY record 76 lb (1981); NYSDEC no longer accepts new striped bass records.

New York (marine waters) limits

• Minimum: 28 in TL (slot)
• Maximum: 31 in TL (slot)
• Bag: 1 per angler
• Season: April 15 to Dec 15 (marine waters beginning at the Hudson River south of the George Washington Bridge, and the Delaware River)
• Hudson River north of the George Washington Bridge: slot 23 to 28 in, 1 fish, open April 1 to Nov 30
• Hudson River above the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge: fishing for striped bass, including catch and release, is prohibited Dec 1 to March 31
• Non-offset (inline) circle hooks required when fishing for striped bass with bait (any live or dead, whole or part of a marine or aquatic organism or terrestrial invertebrate); not required with an artificial lure, whether or not it is tipped with bait
• No separate party/charter limit is published

Last checked 2026-10-17. A summary, not legal advice; the official rules win. New York State DEC fishing regulations.

Sources

• New York Sea Grant fish profile: Striped Bass (Cornell, 2001) (Official source)
• The Fisherman: Times and Places, Trophy Striper Calendar (Mikoleski, 2019) (Angler knowledge)
• On The Water: Long Island and NYC Fishing Report, December 28, 2023 (Angler knowledge)
• On The Water: Long Island and NYC Fishing Report, March 21, 2024 (Angler knowledge)
• On The Water: Long Island and NYC Fishing Report, May 14, 2026 (Angler knowledge)
• On The Water: Long Island and NYC Fishing Report, October 8, 2026 (Angler knowledge)
• The Fisherman: Too Warm, Or Too Cold? Species' Preferred Temperature Ranges (Aguiar, 2023) (Angler knowledge)
• On The Water: Spring Fly Fishing for Striped Bass (Barrett, 2022) (Angler knowledge)
• US FWS species profile FWS/OBS-82/11.8: striped bass, Mid-Atlantic (Fay, Neves and Pardue, 1983), mirror copy (Official source)
• NYSDEC Marine Recreational Angler Records Program (Official source)
• NYSDEC Recreational Saltwater Fishing Regulations: size, possession limits and seasons (fish table last changed May 12, 2026; shark table last changed Aug 27, 2025) (Official source)
• NYSDEC Tidal Hudson River Special Regulations (Official source)
• NYSDEC Best Practices for Saltwater Fishing: striped bass and shark circle hook requirements (Official source)

All the fish of Long Island