July 2020 – Fish360.Net

Striped bass swim in the Eastern and Western coasts of the continental United States of America. In Massachusetts, we are fortunate to have monst’ah strip’ahs. If you want to successfully target these large fish, then you need to start fishing less. More specifically, fish patterns. Saltwater fishing patterns are complex and inter-dependent. The first pattern to master is the “TOY-TOD-SOL-LUNAR” pattern.

June is a great time of year (TOY) for Massachusetts anglers because migrating striped bass collide with moving bait fish like mackerel, menhaden, squid, and herring.

I have fished from sunrise to sunset. Based on multi-year data from my fishing journal, I have hooked the most fish one hour before and two hours after sunrise and sunset. Hence, the best time of day (TOD) is around light transitions, which trigger striped bass into feeding.

Some anglers worship the New Moon and curse the Full Moon. Other anglers worship the Full Moon and curse the New Moon. I am not LUNAR-religious. I fish the New Moon and the Full Moon equally because they produce similar tides. I have had great success two days before and two days after the New and Full moons. My journal entries suggest that the Moon’s tidal effect is more critical to hook striped bass than the ambient light it produces.

The TOY-TOD-SOL-LUNAR pattern by itself is not enough! You need to apply this pattern to a structure that will attract and hold fish. A structures will hold more fish on the flood or the ebb. Keep a fishing journal to help you identify what tide produces best on your structures during the TOY-TOD-SOL-LUNAR pattern.

Fishing patterns will only hook monst’ah strip’ahs. To land them, you need exceptional gear like a St. Croix Mojo Surf rod (length: 11′ | Lure: 2 – 6 oz) and a water proof reel like a ZeeBaas reel, which has 40 lbs of drag and a 500 yard capacity for 50 lb braided line.

Tweezers are a great tool for precision work like collecting scale samples from fish. Unfortunately, tweezers easily hide in nearly unreachable cavities in my surf bag, kayak, and tackle box. Tweezers also jump out of my hand while I am trying to carefully collect scale samples from a nervous fish. I have hence developed a simple method to join tweezers to a lanyard.

Attaching tweezers to a lanyard is simple and only requires inexpensive tools and materials. First, secure a 2″ 50 lb monofilament loop to the end of a lanyard via Double Surgeons’ Loop Knot.

Second, insert the monofilament loop through an appropriately sized heat shrink tubing (e.g. 1″ length | 3/16″ diameter).

Third, pass the monofilament loop all the way up between the tweezers’ arms.

And lastly, slide the heat shrink tubing onto the tweezers and apply heat.

This simple solution keeps my tweezers secure and accessible at all times. The less time I take to collect scale samples for the Sportfish Angler Data Collection Team (SADCT), the faster the fish recovers. Time is fish!

Monthly Archives: July 2020

Targeting Monst’ah Strip’ahs

DIY Tweezers Lanyard