Striped Bass Fishing With Bunker
August 29th, 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »Bunker which are also known as Porgy and menhaden are probably the best possible baits when it comes to striped bass. Not too long ago, Bunker made up about 80% of a typical stripers diet. In fact, Bunker is an easy target for stripers, because it is fatty, oily and contains high calories. The problem is that today, a lot commercial entities are competing for bunker. One of the reasons for this is the oils in the bunker are used in everything from pet food to medicines. The next time you are shopping, take a look and see how many labels contain Omega-3 oils. You may be surprised at the number of products that are using these oils which are directly derived from bunkers. Commercial fleets have become very efficient at snagging entire schools of bunker. In fact, they can wipe them out with a single pass of the net. All too often, commercial fishing companies will use a spotter plane to locate a school of bunker and provide their boats with the coordinates via radio. When this occurs, the ship will lay out a large net that will encircle an entire school, a process known as purse seining. What makes this particularly troubling is the potential ecological impact of doing this. As a rule, Bunker’s feed by straining suspended matter and food particles out of the water making them filter feeders. As a general rule, you will find Bunker swimming in massive schools that can literally number in the millions. In fact, there is little doubt if you found one bunker that there are many more in the immediate area. When the summer heat takes control of the waterways, bunkers will typically find their way into small estuaries and back creeks and literally suck the oxygen from the water. When this happens, which is nearly every summer, massive fish kills occur.
It is because bunkers are filter feeders that it is impossible to catch them with traditional bait, flies, or even lures. There are only two ways that they can be caught, one is with the treble hook and the other is netting. Using treble hooks is not only a lot of work, but it is really messy. It does however, allow you the opportunity to cover the entire water column. If you elect to use treble hooking, make sure that you are prepared by wearing very old clothes because no doubt, both your clothing and your boat will likely be covered in blood. You may even discover that you catch a bluefish or striper before you even get the bunker in the boat. If you do find a school of bunker, you may consider using this fishing technique: cast into the school of bunker, and rather than reeling it in let it swim around with the rest of the pod. Keep in mind that the bunker now has a hook in him, and at some point it will sink below the rest of the school. Once it does, it will not take long for a striper to identify this wounded bunker. This can be an effective and relaxing method of fishing.
Netting bunker is nearly an art form as it requires a great deal of preparation and thought. Netting bunker requires the use of a gill net which has floaters to keep it on the surface as well as weights to ensure that it stretches out properly. You need to make sure that you have purchased the right size net, it should not have openings of more than one inch. This size allows you to net bunker because their heads fit through the openings but, their gills become entangled in the mesh. You should look for gill nets that are between 50 and 100 feet long and have a depth of 4-6 feet. To properly weight the gill net you will need about 1.25 pounds of lead weight per each foot of net that you have to work with. If you under-weight your net, what will happen is that it will not sink properly and the fish will most likely flee your net long before you have a chance to draw it into the boat. Live wells can be used to help keep the bunker alive. You may be surprised to find that a single netting can result in four dozen or more bunker giving you more than enough for one days fishing.
When you are starting out it is best to go in the early morning, in the area of a reef. Start in really shallow water and avoid using any weight. You will be astounded when you see the bunker run to the surface as they fight for survival. How often do you get to see a bunker fleeing for his life, get knocked 3 feet into the air, and then be swallowed whole? Just remember as the sun gets higher, boat traffic will increase. At this time, the bass will likely retreat towards deeper water. This is the time when you will want to strap on sinkers and a three-way rig and resort to the more traditional Porgy, Hickory Shad and eels. You may discover that the bunker has become so effective that the scent will stay on your boat and could disrupt the fishing plans of other fishing boats in the area. This is especially true if they were using bait other than bunker. Remember, once the striper gets the scent of a bunker in the water, it may be all they can think about.
When you are preparing to undergo a saltwater fishing experience, it is important that you have the proper fishing gear. Some of the most popular gear include Shimino Spinning Reels, Penn Fishing Reels and Daiwa Fishing Reels.